Too Little, Too Late

By Edozie Umunna

Art by Vicky Wang, staff artist

“He’s an idiot and a dope who has no business being in the White House and should not be involved in national security issues.”

“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us.”

These two quotes both come from former Trump White House officials. The first comes from former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster and the second from former Secretary of Defense James Mattis. But what’s truly significant about their words is the timing.

These two criticisms of the President came two years apart. 

Seven hundred and thirty days and the narrative surrounding the White House is the same; the man in office is unfit for the job.

So as private American citizens what can we take away from the ex-White House officials’ words?

Well, it would be one thing if the words of Secretary Mattis and General McMaster were outliers. But they’re not. Not at all. 

One could also reference the words of former National Security Advisor John Bolton who on June 23 called Trump “erratic, stunningly uninformed and unfit for office.”

Or the words of former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who called the President “undisciplined” and a “fucking moron.”

Or even the words of former White House Director of Communications Omarosa Manigault who alleged that Trump had “called [her] a nigger” and later went on to write that “[Trump’s’] decisions and his behavior were harming the country.”

And if all that isn’t enough, one could also look to the statements from the 410 other White House Staffers who have resigned or been fired since Trump took office in 2017. 

With the overwhelming amount of evidence presented from the people closest to the White House, the truth is clear to see: this President is simply unfit for the job.

But there’s also the question of what conclusion we can draw concerning those who criticize the President after they leave the White House; the operative word being “after”. Most of the staffers I’ve mentioned waited until after they had left or had been dismissed from the White House to truly speak out about the horrors taking place at the executive level. This means that they agreed to join the administration and for a period of time were champions of the movement they now so vehemently speak out against. 

While I applaud those I have mentioned for having the backbone to tell the world about the deficiencies of Donald Trump after they have left the White House, true courage is the ability to take a stand while a part of the movement. While they have the ability to inform now, they had the ability to reform as members of the administration; and they didn’t. 

As I’ve stated earlier we have more than enough evidence concerning Donald Trump’s character. It won’t be surprising or impactful when the next ex-White House staffer comes out and criticizes Trump’s ability as a President. The real surprise and change would come when someone close to the White House actually makes an attempt to fix the way things are in Washington.

Until real changes are made as supposed to lip service, nothing will get done.

#exwhitehousestaffers #trumpadministration #whitehouse #2020election