CNN: WH Came Up With System To Keep Aides From Trashing Trump After They Leave

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Madeleine Westerhout watch President Donald Trump. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
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With the White House becoming a revolving door for staffers over the past two-and-a-half years, President Donald Trump and his remaining aides had to create a system to keep the fleeing staffers from writing embarrassing tell-alls, according to a new CNN report.

CNN reported on Wednesday that the White House has several strategies to keep a departing aide with a soured relationship with Trump from running to the nearest publisher: Meet with the President to mend fences and agree not to attack each other, create a “soft landing” for the staffer, or threats of legal action.

For example, Trump was reportedly privately furious at his now-ousted personal assistant, Madeleine Westerhout, for gossiping about his daughters to the press, even though he publicly stated that she was a “very good person” and that he “fully” forgave her. According to CNN, Trump only did so after his staffers coaxed him into allowing Westerhout to leave on good terms, and now the White House is looking to plant her somewhere else in Trumpworld.

Trump also reportedly met with former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, with whom he’d been clashing for months before Kelly announced his resignation, and asked him about any potential plans to write a book on his experiences in the White House. Kelly reportedly promised not to do so — unless Trump decided to go on the offensive.

If Trump’s relationship with the outgoing aide is damaged beyond repair, the White House’s fallback is the NDA Trump has employees sign, though it’s unlikely such agreements are legally enforceable.

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Notable Replies

  1. The only fear any ex-aides should have is Trump will Tweet you and that don’t mean sh*t.

  2. When you train a puppy to drop something they aren’t supposed to have by offering a treat instead, they pick up lots of things they shouldn’t have.

    In this analogy, both Trump and the staffers are the puppy.

  3. This “system” worked so well on omarosa and spicey and mattis and the mooch and…

  4. That’s a lot of $15k/month no-show jobs. Bet they’re using campaign or RNC funds to pay for them, because Trump sure as hell won’t do it.

  5. Imagine what these people could tell us - things that his remaining aides are desperately and continuously trying to hide - that are worse than what we see and hear every day.

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