Two factions are reportedly jockeying for position within President Trump’s White House, according to the Washington Post which says it interviewed “18 top White House officials, confidants of the president and other senior Republicans with knowledge of the relationships...”
Two factions are reportedly jockeying for position within President Trump’s White House, according to the Washington Post which says it interviewed “18 top White House officials, confidants of the president and other senior Republicans with knowledge of the relationships...”
The report describes one side as “New York moderates” headed by former Goldman Sachs executives Gary Cohn and Dina Powell and often including Ivanka Trump and her husband, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner while the other side is said to represent “Republican populists” headed by controversial chief strategist Steve Bannon.
The piece says, “The emerging turf war has led to fights over White House protocol and access to the president, backstabbing and leaks to reporters, and a heated Oval Office showdown over trade refereed by the president himself.”
It also indicates that Bannon’s side appears to be having more influence on Trump and cites a recent example where the president decided to visit the Tennessee tomb of former President Andrew Jackson, as Bannon reportedly wanted, rather than attend a Broadway show with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as the New York group had suggested.
Previous reports have suggested other conflicts within Trump’s team, such as friction between Bannon and White House chief of staff Reince Priebus.
However, according to The Atlantic, it appears that they have been trying to counter the speculation by speaking out against the existence of any friction, doing joint interviews, and even appearing together at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Meanwhile, the New York Daily News reported last month, based on inside sources, that Bannon and Kushner have been at odds.
One person has been quoted as saying, “There’s a real power struggle in Trump’s court and Steve is doing an end run around Kushner because he has no experience.”
Meanwhile, Trump himself has denied any problems within his team, tweeting on March 7, “Don't let the FAKE NEWS tell you that there is big infighting in the Trump Admin. We are getting along great, and getting major things done!”
