Nothing in the Trump presidency suggests that he has adapted to sober responsibilities of his office. He has, instead, run the White House in the manner of the Trump Organization, where people of middling qualifications were paid exorbitant salaries that made up for the high level of stress that came with trying to follow Trump’s lead.
Those who thrived at Trump Tower were able to adjust to the turbulence and keep the secrets of an operation that revolved around the flashy but silly family brand, with Donald Trump as a barking mad king; daughter Ivanka as a make-believe princess; sons Eric and Donald Jr. as pretend princes. It was all a game devoted to TV ratings and development deals and the accumulation of wealth.
The power and prestige, if not the pay, can inspire devotion in those who serve a president. But jobs in the White House also involve service to the American people. The presidency is bigger than any one person, and what happens in and around the Oval Office affects the world in real ways. Any person of conscience would feel a calling to serve not just the politician who occupies the office but higher ideals.
No ordinary program could help you keep track of the number of people who have cycled through the Trump administration since January 2017. When The New York Times last updated its running list, it exceeded 50. From Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci to Secretary of Defense James Mattis, each departure offered a view of a presidency marked by chaos and confusion caused by the temperamental man at the top.
Madeleine Westerhout could not have avoided absorbing regular doses of Trump family craziness, and the burden apparently exceeded her ability to contain it.
What did Westerhout witness? Well, she must have seen and heard much of the drama that has resulted in dozens of high-level resignations.
Add whatever she saw of the multiple scandals that have erupted in this administration, and Westerhout can easily be seen as a repository of enough startling anecdotes to fill her own contribution to the shelf-load of tell-all books published by former administration figures.
She has also earned a degree of pity for the burden she has assumed during more than 900 days at the White House.