CNN’s Tapper on Trump’s ‘Hot Mess of a Week’: ‘If This Isn’t a Tailspin, What Is It?’

Friday on CNN’s “The Lead,” after recapping the week, host Jake Tapper asked, “If this isn’t a tailspin, what is it?”

Tapper said, “Chaos has been part of how Donald Trump has run his businesses. Chaos has been how he ran his campaign. And chaos has marked how he has run the country. But is there something worse about this week’s maelstrom?”

He continued, “An ally of the president’s tells Gloria Borger this past week has been different and quote, something is very wrong. That advisers are scared. The president is spiraling, lashing out, out of control. The chaos is not just about staffing or the president’s intemperate tweets. It has had a real policy effect, with the tariffs on steel, sending shock waves on his staffers and administration who have been caught completely unawares, but around the world.”

He added, “It is entirely possible, of course, some other shocking news will break this hour as we head into the dangerous waters of Friday evening. But with that risk, let us take a moment to try to unpack and understand this hot mess of a week.”

After listing the past week’s news including Trump being unhappy with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Jared Kushner’s problems, McMaster potentially leaving and Hope Hicks’ resignation, Tapper said, “One friend of President Trump said the Hope Hicks departure could send the president into a tailspin, which of course prompts the question —she hasn’t even left yet — if this isn’t a tailspin, what is it?”

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