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It sounds like Trump is surrounded by a bunch of traitors. Everyone is conspiring, coordinating with attorneys, seem to exhibit a lot of butt hurt that they don’t get the set policy. All of this should be preempted by the fact that Trump is the president, he sets policy, and he can use whoever he pleases to carry out his foreign policy objectives that we elected him to pursue. I’d like to know why these people didn’t quit, and we’re not fired, and in some cases have not yet had their clearances yanked and fired.

“....seem to exhibit a lot of butt hurt that they don’t get the set policy. “

Bingo!

My first job out of B school in 1979 was as a financial analyst with a fortune 200 manufacturing corporation. Every couple weeks, along with several other analysts, I was routinely called on to make presentations to the executive committee and occasionally even the board. The CEO would drop in on us all the time during our strategic planning think tank sessions, and often we’d share flights with the CEO or other top brass to visit prospective merger, acquisition or divestiture candidates, or large construction sites, on the corporate jet.

Boy did I feel important!

Then after three years of this, it all stopped - no more being treated like a kingmaker - it turned out that this highly unusual interaction with top brass had been part of a strategic planning phase - now being followed by an implementation phase involving no such interaction. Suddenly we were just like every other mid to low level management grunt - reporting only to our direct supervisor and rarely even seeing top brass, much less advising them.

It’s not that we had failed - nobody suggested that - it was just a change in the dynamics - but I had been “spoiled” by that experience and it felt like a real slap in the face.

These bureaucrats remind me of myself back then - they are butt hurt because the President was not seeking or heeding their advice, or laying them the respect to which they were accustomed.