Trump Resorting to Arm-Twisting
On the campaign trail Donald Trump said he hires “the best people.” As president he says his administration is the smartest in history. And yet less than four weeks in and Trump has had to revoke the nomination of his Labor Secretary pick, and fire his National Security Advisor. And now, it turns out Trump’s choice to replace Michael Flynn, his disgraced NSA, has turned him down.
Robert Harward has told the president he is not interested in joining the Trump administration, according to a just-published report in the Financial Times. The paper says Trump is trying to convince Harward, but to no avail.
Trump is “trying to convince his preferred candidate to succeed Michael Flynn as national security adviser to change his mind,” FT reports. It describes Harward, a retired navy special forces officer, as “conflicted “between the call of duty and the obvious dysfunctionality” of the Trump administration.
One sticking point reported is Trump’s Deputy National Security Advisor, K.T. Macfarland, whom Trump has asked to stay on. Harward reportedly would rather bring in his own people. Given her background, it speaks well of Harward that he would want her gone.
Image by Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff via Flickr and a CC license