Pirate's Cove

Here we go yet again: an article making claims that provides zero in the way of credible sources, meant to be a hit job on Trump. And the media wonders why he won, as they show their obvious bia

Trump’s respite at Mar-a-Lago creates headaches for White House staffers

When President Trump sat down with a reporter for a wide-ranging, 30-minute interview at his private golf club here Thursday, not a single aide or adviser was present at the table — and not a single aide or adviser knew about it in advance.

One would think the media was happy that POTUS would speak with reporters in such a manner, something that hearkens back to days of yore, where the president was a person of the people. If the Washington Post keeps this up, they could find news outlets with less press access.

The interview was enabled by Christopher Ruddy — a club member with a level of personal access to the president in Florida that rankles White House staffers. He invited New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt as his personal guest to lunch at Trump International Golf Club, sat near Trump’s regular table and brought the reporter over to meet the president, who was still in his golf clothes.

As word trickled back to the White House, advisers worked to reach the president, with Trump’s personal aide interrupting at one point to hand him a cellphone with White House communications director Hope Hicks on the line; she checked in on the interview from afar.

But others were out of the loop even after the Times story was posted online Thursday evening. One White House official, when asked about the president’s impromptu interview, was perplexed, wondering aloud, “What interview? Today?” Another frustrated aide called it “embarrassing.”

Did they? Who? What’s embarrassing is running yet another piece with zero named sources that readers can evaluate for credibility.

Mar-a-Lago — Trump’s manicured, gilded oceanfront retreat here — is the president’s “Winter White House,” the villa to which he escapes for rounds of golf and family time. But, to the chagrin of many aides, Mar-a-Lago also is the place where Trump is often his most unrestrained and unfettered, making it harder for his West Wing staffers to control his daily media diet and personal contacts as they now try to do in Washington.

What aides? Name them.

White House officials said they appreciate that time at Mar-a-Lago is a respite for Trump; it is a familiar and comfortable haven for him to recharge while surrounded by his family and friends. The president often gets less riled by the sorts of stray comments on cable news that, back in Washington, might prompt an angry tweet or rejoinder, one aide said. Mar-a-Lago is not necessarily a panacea for angry tweets — Trump has fired off a few agitated messages since arriving in Florida.

There’s not one named source in this hit piece. The only people mentioned are those few, like Roger Stone, who say things like

“Nobody tells Donald Trump where he can and cannot go,” Stone said. “The president is able to get a lot of information that is normally blocked from getting to him. . . . You don’t have the minders. There is no doubt that he makes more calls.”

And, like the few other names, they do not say aides are frustrated and stuff. How do we trust pieces like this? We don’t. There’s the old meme “pics or it didn’t happen.” Well, names or it didn’t happen.

Crossed at Right Wing News.