President Donald Trump was frustrated with his early White House staff, according to Michael Wolff’s book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.
In phone conversations with friends, Trump would share his frustrations concerning members of his staff and the internal chaos that drove the White House.
Wolff reports:
When he got on the phone after dinner, he’d speculate on the flaws and weaknesses of each member of his staff. Bannon was disloyal (not to mention he always looks like shit). Priebus was weak (not to mention he was short — a midget). Kushner was a suck-up. Sean Spicer was stupid (and looks terrible too). Conway was a crybaby. Jared and Ivanka should never have come to Washington.
Wolff reveals that the small group of friends did not keep details of Trump’s calls to them confidential.
“He was a river of grievances, which recipients of his calls promptly spread to the ever-attentive media,” Wolff wrote about Trump.
The infighting between Jared Kushner, Reince Priebus, and Steve Bannon intensified as each jockeyed for favor with the president.
Trump fired Priebus and brought Gen. John Kelly in to serve as the White House chief of staff. Bannon left the White House soon after, and Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump are serving a more diminished role in the White House. Sean Spicer also quit, and Kellyanne Conway remains a counselor to the president.