Chaos Theory

Donald Trump pledged to disrupt the system. He’s Keeping that promise.

or two years, Donald Trump mastered the art of disruption. Name a political precept and he probably broke it during his improbable march to the White House. But disruption in government–the rulemaker breaking the rules–turns out to be more costly. In the first month of his presidency, the New York billionaire has witnessed the lesson of Samson: toppling the temple can be painful if you try it from the inside.

Federal judges in four courts froze a hastily issued Executive Order barring certain immigrants from entering the country. Intelligence officials leaked descriptions of classified intercepts in a winning attempt to force Trump to fire his National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn, who had misled the nation about his ties with a Russian diplomat. Then more leaks came, from current and former officials to the New York Times, asserting that Trump campaign aides and senior Russian intelligence officials had been in contact during the 2016 presidential campaign. And the President of China, Xi Jinping, successfully pushed Trump to retreat from his pledge in December to give more recognition to the government in Taiwan.

Disruption can take many forms. Protesters have filled the streets, blocked airports and interrupted town-hall meetings by lawmakers across the country. Republicans, meanwhile, have been growing increasingly restless, with the House Oversight Committee probing Trump’s security protocols for discussing classified information at his weekend retreat in Mar-a-Lago, and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell suggesting that the Senate investigation of Russian interference in the election would expand. Others in the GOP have raised concerns that their legislative hopes under unified Republican control could fade, given the confusion over Trump’s priorities on issues such as tax reform and trade. “There are a lot of questions on the part of the people who took the President home after the dance,” explains Republican Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas.

In response, the White House has fallen back on its reality-show ways, distracted by the internecine drama of senior aides who spend their days mixing government business with jockeying for position and favor with the boss. No one has felt the pressure more than White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, who was christened as the man “in charge” by the President mere weeks ago yet has been trailed ever since by snipers regarding his aptitude and longevity for the job. Running the White House in a normal environment can be overwhelming. But the affable 44-year-old routinely finds himself rushing down the hallway from his office to intercept unscheduled visitors to the Oval Office. He had to break up one impromptu meeting of Trump and his Homeland Security adviser after an aide asked the chief if there had been a change to the schedule.

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