Trump has repeatedly promised us all that we're gonna win so much that we'll be sick of winning. If by "winning” he means most of us sitting around, watching while he and his merry minions bounce broomsticks off of each others heads like spectators standing too close to a kid in a blindfold trying to whack a pinata, then sorry pal, there is no such thing as too much winning like that.
Recently, the media has been all agog about the escalating feud between White House powerhouses Jared Kushner and Steve Bannon. There are rumors that Bannon, and possibly Reince Priebus are already one foot out of the door. Trump was quoted by a source of yelling at Priebus and Bannon to "Just fix this thing!", and allegedly told Kushner to "cut it out!". Apparently all of the noise is making it hard for Hair furor co hear "Fox and Friends".
But according to a REPORT in Politico, the summit has already taken place at Mar-A-Lago at Trumps instructions. The title of the article is “Bannon and Kushner hold sit-down in attempt to bury the hatchet”. Why am I so sure that the hatchet is going to be buried, and it’s exact location will be in Steve Bannon’b skull. According to the article;
The sit-down, which was confirmed by two White House officials, was an attempt to smooth over tensions between the two men, which have dominated headlines for days. Whether the meeting was successful in creating a détente – and how long it lasts – is an open question, especially in a White House that has been dominated by infighting.
Oh, to have been a fly on the wall. To my mind, this is more than just a personality clash between the devoutly Orthodox Jewish Kushner and the flaming anti-Semite Bannon. Kushner was born Jewish, and Bannon is no Johnnie-come-lately to hating Jared’s religion, yet they were able to interact successfully during the campaign, although reports at the time indicated not always very smoothly.
And I don’t believe that it’s just a clash of ideologies either. The report went on to state;
In recent weeks, though, there has been substantial discord between them. The fight, people in the administration say, centers on policy differences. Bannon, White House chief strategist, is a flame-throwing populist who formerly ran Breitbart News. He has criticized Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, for his more politically moderate approach. Kushner is suspicious of Bannon’s fiery style and has been concerned about how he’s influencing the president.
There has never been any doubt that Bannon is a bomb thrower who wants to “deconstruct the system”. Jared, as a rich kid and businessman knows and understands how the system can be played, to their advantage. He doesn’t want to deconstruct the structure, he wants to fine tune it to give the manor born as much advantage as possible to gorge themselves on the rest of us.
But in my opinion, it’s even more basic and fundamental than all of that, although it certainly plays a part. The last sentence of the above quote says it all; “Kushner is suspicious of Bannon’s fiery style and has been concerned about how he’s influencing the president.” To me, the gut crux of the feud is, and always has been influence.
In the incredibly insulated world of Trump’s family and the Trump company, Jared is family. He has become used to being one of Trump’s most trusted confidants. He has observed Trump, and understands the man. Trump may not listen to anyone else, but he will listen to Jared and Ivanka. And Trump doesn’t take lightly, nor is he likely to forget that the two of them have been with him since his announcement, through thick and thin.
I have no doubt that when Steve Bannon came onto the campaign, he read that dynamic, and tried to put Kushner in his “senior advisor” place, establishing Bannon’s “Alpha Male” role in the campaign. Kushner would have told him to go pound sand, and Trump’s continued leaning on Jared and Ivanka for advice, even for Bannon proposals would have told Bannon how the wind was blowing. I think this feud has been ebbing and flowing ever since Bannon arrived, but now, with the stakes higher, and Trump flailing so badly, blame is being cast, nerves are frayed, and the showdown is here, there isn’t room for both Bannon and Kushner to run this show jointly.
I don’t believe that Bannon can win. He and Kushner can hold powwow after endless powwow, they can smile and happily do the bunny-hop in public, hell, Bannon could even capitulate to Kushner, but nothing is going to work. Bannon has shown himself to be a serious threat to Kushner’s influence over Trump’s thoughts and actions, and this is something that Kushner cannot tolerate. Bannon has to go, and Priebus too, if he’s trying to get Trump to behave in a more “normal” GOP governing manner. And Trump has proven time and time again, that while he may screw everybody from Jaime Dimon at JP Morgan down to the painters at Mar-A-Lago, blood is thicker than water.
Chris Matthews on MSNBC has recently taken to comparing the Trump White House, with its family connections to the House of Romanov, the last Russian imperial dynasty. Oddly, I’m not so sure that Jared Kushner would disagree with that comparison. And when The monarchy is threatened? What did the Queen of Hearts say? “Off with their heads!”