July 23, 2017

This looks good: The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency by Chris Whipple.

Related from Jonathan Swan: “Reince Priebus has redefined what it means to be the White House Chief of Staff — and not in a good way. It’s unclear at this point how he survives much longer, and the breeziness with which the President humiliates him has even his enemies wincing in sympathy.”

Playbook: “Scaramucci’s maiden Sunday show performance as communications director featured some very unusual tactics. 1. He spoke directly to Trump. 2. He mentioned his credentials of going to Harvard Law School at least twice.”

Laurence Tribe, Richard Painter and Norm Eisen: “President Trump thinks he can do a lot of things just because he is president. He says that the president can act as if he has no conflicts of interest. He says that he can fire the FBI director for any reason he wants (and he admitted to the most outrageous of reasons in interviews and in discussion with the Russian ambassador). In one sense, Trump is right — he can do all of these things, although there will be legal repercussions if he does. Using official powers for corrupt purposes — such as impeding or obstructing an investigation — can constitute a crime.”

“But there is one thing we know that Trump cannot do — without being a first in all of human history. He cannot pardon himself.”

Mike Allen: “Aides say the quickest way to get Trump to do something is to tell him he can’t, or argue that it’s contrary to tradition. You always have to give him an alternative, and sometimes you can persuade him.”

Washington Post: “Over the course of his first six months, Trump averaged an approval rating of 38.8 percent, according to Gallup, more than five percentage points lower than the second-least popular president, Bill Clinton. Every other president since Dwight D. Eisenhower, who entered office after an election, has had an average approval of at least 50 percent.”