May 7, 2020
Is the Trump Administration Really That Different?
By Abe Katsman
Is the Trump administration really at all different? That is a question better addressed after reading presidential historian Tevi Troy's Fight House, an illuminating account of bruising internal battles among top-level aides in the 12 previous administrations.
Troy's look back through this particular lens at all presidencies since World War II provides an original perspective on how the White House operates, the effect of the ever growing number of White House staffers, and a useful baseline for comparison of current and future administrations. That alone makes this book worthwhile. But Troy's research into the nature of particular feuds provides additional valuable insight and fun.
From the perspective of any aide, every White House is a political snake pit to at least some degree. The stakes are high in terms of career trajectory and personal advancement. Some administrations maintain surprising unity in terms of domestic policy, others regarding foreign policy. But no administration has escaped completely the internal wars among titanic figures and monumental egos when powerful aides clash. These battles are more than healthy rivalries; they often devolve into hatreds and power plays overshadowing the aides' duties to the president, and they can corrode the ability of an administration to pursue its policies.
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https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2020/05/is_the_trump_administration_really_that_different.html
