bdmetronews Desk ॥ In the closing days of the Trump era, some of the president’s top political lieutenants have embarked on a clear mission: to distract Trump from the parts of the job that they believe could cause more pain to the country if the president pays too much attention to them.
And while Trump is increasingly isolated—and some aides hope, distracted—some of the most important members of his administration are cleaning up loose ends, pursuing their personal agendas, and trying to keep Trump from sparking yet another crisis.
One senior Trump administration official described the activity around the outgoing president as a prolonged act of “babysitting” a “violent toddler” that aides and chief advisers hope to get through in the next week without Trump triggering any more history-making disasters.
Four other senior administration officials familiar with their conversations said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien, and Vice President Mike Pence have discussed continuity of government in recent days, including potential risks that face the country following the violence last week when a Trumpist mob stormed the Capitol. Those conversations have focused primarily on needing to continue operating as usual—with one important distinction: The idea now is to do it with as little communication with the Oval Office as possible, those officials said.
The idea is to run the ship as it’s always been run,” one of those senior officials said. “Everyone seems to be keeping their heads down and staying in their zone. There’s been no talk of the 25th Amendment or removing [Trump] from office. It’s just, ‘Let’s get through this.’”
