"There Is No Endgame": White House Aides Fear Trump Has Turned the Border Wall into His Alamo (VF)

[hlthe2b]

“There Is No Endgame”: White House Aides Fear Trump Has Turned the Border Wall into His Alamo
“The president put himself in a box” as Trump tries to fight his way out, his new chief of staff already eyes the exits, and Giuliani worries about Mueller’s possibly “horrific” report.

Link to tweet

Eighteen days into the standoff over his $5.7 billion wall-fence-barrier, Donald Trump is rolling out his heaviest weapons: a prime-time Oval Office address tonight and a visit to the Mexican border later this week. It’s the president’s personal Alamo. Inside the West Wing, Trump has told aides he’s prepared to stake his presidency on making a last stand. “He has convinced himself he can’t win re-election in 2020 unless he gets a lot of the wall built. It’s fundamental to his id,” a former West Wing official said. “The problem is, the Democrats know that.”

Trump’s aides fear he has given himself no way out. “The president put himself in a box,” the former official in touch with the White House told me. “The problem is there’s no endgame. Right now the White House is at a seven on the panic scale. If this thing goes on past the State of the Union they’re going to be at an 11.” Another prominent Republican close to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell described Trump’s handling of the shutdown as “total fucking chaos.”

Acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, installed in the job just before Christmas, may already be looking at escape routes. Unlike his long-suffering predecessor, John Kelly, Mulvaney has indicated he’s prepared to walk away if things go south with the president. “Mick has both eyes open,” said a person who spoke with Mulvaney recently. “So far, Trump has been more DIY than ever before. It’s a continuation of where things left off with Kelly. Mulvaney is not going to stick around and get ground up.” Before Christmas, Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski told people that Mulvaney wouldn’t last long, according to a person who spoke with Lewandowski. Last night, The New York Times reported Mulvaney is interested in becoming president of the University of South Carolina.

more at https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/01/trump-aides-fear-the-wall-will-be-his-alamo

[Blue Owl]

1. The Adderall Alamo

n/t

[NastyRiffraff]

2. "Another prominent Republican close to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell"

Whoever that is should try to talk sense into Mitch, if that's even possible, to hold a vote on what the Republican Senate approved before, to re-open the government. These people have got to start speaking out publicly instead of muttering anonymously.

[FakeNoose]

3. Yep - it's his hill and he's gonna die on it

I'd rather not watch this, but I have a feeling it will be played over and over for the next couple of weeks.

[Sneederbunk]

4. Within its walls he is not one of its heroes.

More like one of the jackasses.