NewsMacroTrump's Enforcers Are Leaving as War With Democrats Looms, Says Biographer Michael Wolff

Trump's Enforcers Are Leaving as War With Democrats Looms, Says Biographer Michael Wolff

Author: Alternet·

Key Takeaways

  • •Biographer Michael Wolff argued on the 'Inside Trump's Head' podcast that President Trump no longer has enough capable staff to wage a fight against incoming Democratic investigations.
  • •The Trump administration pushed back against Democrats' new oversight plans with a controversial letter from top lawyer Todd Blanche, Trump's former personal attorney who now leads the Justice Department.
  • •Wolff forecast a confrontation between Trump and Congress after January 3, the constitutionally set date on which the new Congress convenes.
  • •According to Wolff, Attorney General Todd Blanche is deeply exposed and must begin protecting himself from legal liability rather than defending Trump.
  • •Wolff compared the situation to the departures after the 2020 election loss, saying Stephen Miller will take the Rudy Giuliani role while other officials, including Susie Wiles, head for the exits.
Trump's Enforcers Are Leaving as War With Democrats Looms, Says Biographer Michael Wolff

President Donald Trump may have instructed his former personal lawyer — now the head of the Department of Justice, Todd Blanche — to threaten Democrats for daring to probe allegations of corruption, but the president is rapidly losing his teeth, according to his biographer.

Michael Wolff, a longtime author and reporter best known for his extensive coverage of Trump's political career — including several books about his first term and another about his return to office — says history is repeating itself in the second Trump administration, with similarly damaging consequences for Trump.

The Trump administration is attempting to push back against incoming Democratic leaders with a letter from the president's top lawyer taking an aggressive — and hugely controversial — stance against the party's new oversight plans.

But defending the home front without an army is a losing proposition, Wolff argued on Thursday night's “Inside Trump's Head” podcast.

“[After January 3rd] … we are going to see Trump and the Trump Administration go to war with the Democrats and with Congress, but there's going to be problems with that,” Wolff said. “Nobody [competent] works for the Justice Department anymore.” January 3 is the constitutionally set date on which a new Congress convenes — the milestone Wolff is pointing to for the confrontation he describes.

“So many people have been leaving,” noted show co-host Joanna Cole.

“Right. Most of the people he has had on his side to wage war are leaving. It is going to be Donald Trump and [Chief of Staff] Steven Miller. That is it,” Wolff replied.

Under normal circumstances, Trump might also count on his defense attorney from the hush-money conviction, since he brought him on as Attorney General. But Wolff said Blanche “is in deep, and he's got to start protecting himself” from legal liability.

“We've seen this before. This is exactly what happened after the loss of the election in 2020,” Wolff continued. “The entire White House — anybody who was semi-professional got out of there as fast as they could and he was left with Rudy Giuliani and his band of nutcases. ... even Stephen Miller left him, and he only came back after January 6th. He came back, made his amends, but he was not among that group of Rudy Giuliani crazies who came to stand behind Donald Trump.”

“And I think we're going to see this again,” Wolff concluded. “Stephen Miller will be in the Rudy Giuliani role and the other true believers — people who have nowhere else to go — will be beside Trump and everybody else will be, ‘I'm out of here.' Susie Wiles, case in point.”

This article is based on reporting by Alternet.