ROME IS BURNING

West Wing Is Crumbling as Trump’s Behavior Triggers Exodus

Karoline Leavitt is one of four White House stalwarts to leave this summer. And more are on their way.

Donald Trump’s increasingly eccentric behavior has led to a West Wing exodus amid concerns that the White House is veering out of control.

Four staffers have resigned in recent weeks—including Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt—and more departures are expected.

The 80-year-old president hectored staffers over recent setbacks and challenges to his authority, according to insiders, and peppered Leavitt with calls during her maternity leave in New Hampshire.

Trump has also ignored concerns about his health and obstinately refused to stay on message during the crucial run-up to the midterm elections.

The fear in the West Wing is that administration staff will be vulnerable if the wheels come off the administration after a massive defeat in November, creating a lame-duck president.

According to sources, Leavitt may have been the biggest name to announce her departure so far, but she will not be the last.

Much of the credit for the more disciplined Trump 2.0 has gone to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, but her influence over the president is said to be waning, especially since she kept up a heavy workload while being treated for early-stage breast cancer, which was diagnosed in March.

Two senior aides announced this week that they are leaving, citing the need to spend more time with their families.

On Friday, Andy Baker, 46, the White House’s deputy national security adviser and close ally to Vice President JD Vance, was reported to be on his way out.

He was involved in some earlier negotiations with Iran, but leaves with the war still raging and no obvious exit route.

He follows Leavitt, 28, who cited the demands of raising a young family with the round-the-clock pressures of working with Trump.

The back-to-back resignations come just weeks after White House Counsel David Warrington, 58, another former Trump personal attorney, quit his post as the president’s top legal adviser.

Warrington played an important part in Trump’s attempts to expand his presidential powers as he sent troops into U.S. cities, deported undocumented immigrants and unveiled his ill-fated tariffs.

He was also part of the legal decision allowing Trump to accept a new Air Force One airliner from Qatar.

Leavitt’s lieutenant, Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson, 29, also announced her departure late last month. She is leaving her $121,500-a-year role to join OnMessage Public Strategies.

Reports suggested that the president’s desperation to retain Leavitt, in particular, backfired because he put her under even greater pressure while she was on maternity leave caring for a newborn baby.

Similarly, the stresses of working on the president’s legal and security affairs are said to be intense, especially with his reputation for ignoring advice and trusting his own gut.

Wiles told Vanity Fair’s Chris Whipple that Trump had an “alcoholic’s personality,” meaning that the teetotaller had an all-encompassing attitude, believing there was “nothing he can’t do.”

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The West Wing enforcer has not given any updates on her health since revealing her cancer diagnosis, but Trump is said to have become more strident in recent months as his policies were opposed and, in some cases, defeated.

In some cases, as with Jeanine Pirro’s failed vandalism prosecution involving the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Trump’s demands have stubbornly persisted despite legal advice.

The Daily Beast has been told that Trump may decide not to replace his press secretary, believing, as he does, that he is his own best publicist and offers regular access to the media. The communications department would remain under Steven Cheung’s leadership.

But the way the wind is blowing in the West Wing this summer, there may not be anyone left who wants such a difficult job.

The Daily Beast contacted the White House for comment.

The reply offers an insight into the president’s current team. “The failing Daily Beast and their glue-sniffing reporters have no idea what is going on or what they are talking about,” said White House spokesperson Davis Ingle.

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David GardnerChief National Correspondent

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