'Total panic' as 'shell-shocked' White House struggles to find impeachment footing

[brooklynite]

Source: NBC News

WASHINGTON — White House officials were scrambling Thursday to figure out how to counter the House Democrats' impeachment inquiry, with one source familiar with the situation describing a sense of “total panic” over the past week at the lack of a plan to address the new reality.

There appears to be rising “anxiety, unease, and concern” — as one person close to the White House described the mood in the West Wing — that the whistleblower’s allegations could seriously wound the president and some of those around him. “There’s not a lot of confidence that there’s no there there,” this person said.

White House officials remained unsure of how to proceed, not only because there is no apparent plan to deal with the situation, but because the allegations are so serious that the usual methods the president has used to successfully escape past controversies may not apply: “This doesn’t look like something that’s going to be overtaken by the next news cycle,” the person said.

Another person familiar with the discussions described the mood inside the White House as “shell-shocked,” with increasing wariness that, as this impeachment inquiry drags out, the likelihood increases that the president could respond erratically and become “unmanageable.”

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/total-panic-shell-shocked-white-house-struggles-find-impeachment-footing-n1059251

[tblue37]

1. Yet they are willing to serve and protect an erratic president who needs to be "managed"

but really can't be.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. You know you're in trouble when Kellyanne can't come up with a pithy retort.

[lagomorph777]

20. She always seems pretty pithy to me.

Must be a real delight to wake up next to her in the morning.

[lastlib]

25. Well, she smells better than the rabid pit-bull........

[LudwigPastorius]

46. Whoever she wakes up next to probably gets the pith scared out of him.

[lagomorph777]

48. George Conway; he writeth thome pithy anti-Trump thtuff

[SallyHemmings]

3. Trump will take the lead in his defense

This should only expedite his departure.

[NurseJackie]

8. I believe you're correct about that...

... he won't be able to control himself, and those that would offer a steady and guiding hand have all departed or been fired.

Trump is a listing ship, with no sails, that's headed directly into the rocks, in the middle of a storm.

[FailureToCommunicate]

16. And tragically we are ALL on that foundering ship.

[madaboutharry]

4. The fear that Trump will respond erratically and impulsively

only emphasizes that Trump is an unstable menace and a clear and present danger apart from his impeachable offenses involving Ukraine.

[jmowreader]

47. There's no "fear"

We know he will because he already is.

[madaboutharry]

50. We know that.

Apparently the staffers at The White House are just figuring that out!

[shraby]

5. Better them than half the nation. I.have.no.pity.

[BigmanPigman]

6. He really thought Dems would do nothing and that Mueller was a bust.

No plan at all! That is how confident he is in his superiority. He thought he would have smooth sailing right through the elections and Barr did his job like a good lap dog.

[NurseJackie]

7. I wonder if anyone who characterized Nancy and the party as being the "real scandal" are...

I wonder if anyone who characterized Nancy and the party as being the "real scandal" are now sorry for having said that.

[Thekaspervote]

12. Indeed... where are the adults that should be apologizing?!

[murielm99]

38. Adults?

[durablend]

9. RIP Iran

"I DIDN'T HAVE TO DO THIS YOU KNOW!!!!!!"

[Baitball Blogger]

10. What does that say about Donald Trump?

He never saw it coming? Really? The most corrupt and cruelest president in American history followed a pattern of burying evidence, while overloading the news cycle with the next new normal, and it didn't occur to him that someone was busy writing down the details that would one day make a hell of a whistle blower complaint.

What does that say about the environment that has allowed him to operate in this fashion for so long? Donald Trump brought business ethics into our government, and someone just served him his ass on a platter.

[Pacifist Patriot]

14. He's never been held accountable for anything in his 73 years.

It is no surprise to me that he lacks the self-awareness and contextual awareness to recognize the position he's put himself in.

[Baitball Blogger]

15. The Peter Pan principle took way too long with this guy.

[gopiscrap]

31. this is why I would never vote for a business person for an elected position

[tanyev]

11. Become "unmanageable"? That person thinks Trump is currently "manageable"?

[Lulu KC]

22. Exactly n/t

[gopiscrap]

32. +1

[SharonAnn]

61. Absolutely! Become unmanageable?

[Pacifist Patriot]

13. Let me see if I can dredge up any sympathy for them.

Nope, no can do. Not happening.

[Scarsdale]

17. Where is Kushner? Ivanka?

The two top advisors have no ideas? I hope Barr, Pence, Guilliani and Mulvaney go down along with the orange ass.

[Pluvious]

40. They're too busy grabbing all the flatware

And securing offshore booty caches and bolt holes.

[KPN]

43. ....

[chowder66]

44. Perfect. nt

[Retrograde]

49. They're just relatives

they’re not real government officials - except when they can use their positions to freeload off the American people

But,yeah - where are they? Saudi Arabia? Azerbiajian? Venezuela? Why aren’t they standing by Dear Old Dad in his hour of need?

[Xolodno]

58. They always seem to dissappear....

...when the heat starts getting up there. It's almost they don't want to be associated with him when the "brand" may get tarnished.

[skypilot]

18. "total panic...at the lack of a plan..."

When simply telling the truth won't work.

[Javaman]

19. This doesn't look like something that's going to be overtaken by the next news cycle,"

aka benedict donald can't lie his way out of it.

[zooks]

52. "benedict donald"

thx, needed that

[NCjack]

21. There are others that should be in panic. Manafort, Stone and Flynn are likely

reassessing their likelihood of getting Trump pardons. The info they can sell is depreciating, and when Trump's impeachment occurs, their info will be of little value.

[moonscape]

55. Oh, I see him doing mass

...pardons to stick it to our side and because he can, at the
last moment he can.

[Progressive Jones]

60. That will just increase the likelihood of angry mobs. nt

[BluNoMatterHu]

23. This administration has shell-shocked the country!

Now they're getting a taste of how we've felt as a nation having them in charge. Anxiety, Unease, and Concern! It's only going to get worse for them and better for us.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

24. I knew the night of the election that Trump would be the worst president in U.S. history.

God, I hate being right.

[gopiscrap]

33. My wife and I both said the same thing

[I_UndergroundPanther]

59. Cried and turned off the elections once trump had

Been declared winner. I could not sleep that night and have been anxious since.

[SharonAnn]

62. I thought so, too. But I had no idea how bad he would be.

[Frustratedlady]

26. I would imagine there are around 30 people who are shaking in their boots...

those supposedly reported to have known about the transcript and of putting it on an extremely secure server.

If I were in that position and my name was paged, I'd probably wet my pants. Just the thought of being suspected of being the one who passed on the information to the whistleblower would keep me awake at night...or, finding the funds to buy a ticket to Siam.

[SWBTATTReg]

56. I agree w/ your assessment! And I might add, that no lawyers are going to touch this case...

who in their right mind would, after the way rump has already gone through tons of lawyers too, some of whom said that he wouldn't listen to their advice, etc. He's going to dig a hole so deep, that one could fly through to China...

[eggplant]

27. "as this impeachment inquiry drags out"

It's still being measured in days. I don't think that qualifies as dragging out yet.

[FakeNoose]

28. The White House knew about the Whistleblower's Report almost 2 months ago

Chump and his people had advance knowledge, long before it came to the attention of Adam Schiff or the Speaker of the House. And yet, as everything starts tumbling, how did Chump use that extra two months? He played a lot of golf and tweeted. That's how.

[dalton99a]

30. +1

[CanonRay]

29. Don't let up the pressure for a second

Squeeze that rotted orange until it pops and whatever passes for a soul oozes out. I really think we can make Trump have a psychotic breakdown.

[lagomorph777]

34. Check out the DU Picture of the Day.

Pretty much a psychotic breakdown.

[jcgoldie]

37. Hey I didn't even know we had a "picture of the day"

Where do I find that?

[Pluvious]

41. Here ya go

It's on the homepage now

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1017554109

[DeeNice]

35. Honestly, what did they think would happen with this guy?

It's not like there wasn't a whole parade of red flags going in...

[jcgoldie]

36. "the president could respond erratically and become "unmanageable.""

...And staff filled with “anxiety, unease, and concern”

ie... a normal Friday in the Trump White House... or any other day ending in Y...

[murielm99]

39. Did staff ever have to say anything

like this about Obama? Or even Dubya?

What kind of leader becomes erratic or unmanageable? Other than Hitler?

[NYC Liberal]

45. At least the craziest thing Bush would do is get drunk and

choke on a pretzel or fall off his bike. Even when Reagan had Alzheimer’s, he’d just fall asleep in cabinet meetings or confuse his old movies with actual history. Not that either of them weren’t terrible presidents, but not batshit insane.

[KPN]

42. Their "go ahead and impeach" gambit has blown up in their face. What they failed to recognize

is that, at some point, there is always a genuine patriot who has the goods and decides to come forward.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

51. MAdame Speaker has Trump by the balls.....

that is why the WH is scrambling, like rats ready to jump ship.

[4139]

53. He's coming out swinging with a 30 second ad just an hour ago

https://mobile.twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1177669563477118976

[Grins]

54. And there it is...!

“...that the whistleblower’s allegations could seriously wound the president AND SOME OF THOSE AROUND HIM.”

Country be damned. Oh, well, as their boss once told the widow of a soldier, “He knew what he was volunteering for...”

[greatauntoftriplets]

57. LOL, I'm enjoying this.