President Donald Trump in recent days is feeling more emboldened to behave how he wants to, rather than listening to the advice from his closest allies, The New York Times reported Sunday.
According to more than a dozen sources who are close with Trump and who spoke with the Times, the President has thrown caution to the wind when it comes to keeping quiet on special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. That was evidenced in Trump’s tweet this weekend, calling out Mueller for the probe. Trump has reportedly previously been encouraged by aides to stay silent on the issue, so as to avoid provoking Mueller, according to the Times.
Over the weekend, Trump tweeted about Mueller’s team of “13 hardened Democrats,” suggesting bias within that probe. Sources close with Trump, like longtime political operative Roger Stone Jr., have suggested that Trump’s recent moves mark a new age of confidence for Trump who is not concerned about getting rid of White House officials he doesn’t want to work with any longer.
Last week, Trump fired his secretary of state, and accepted the resignation of his chief economic adviser. He is reportedly expected to announced further shakeup later this week.
Read the full NYT report here.
