Soon after Sean Spicer’s resignation as White House Press Secretary on Friday afternoon, I was speaking with BBC outlets and Radio France International about the wider story — Donald Trump going into his bunker, as the Russia inquiry closes in, with the appointment of hedge fund manager Anthony Scaramucci as Communications Director.
And there’s a follow-up interview on Saturday morning with BBC Radio 5 Live.
The discussions link the developments to Trump’s increasingly strident attempts to limit and even halt the investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, as the inquiry moves into the financial and business affairs of Trump, his family, and his associates.
See also Podcast: Can Trump Pardon Himself?
There’s also discussion of where the US system goes next if and when Trump departs early from office.
The Spicer car crash may have ended, but the train wreck is coming….The Russia inquiry is closing in….
Spicer’s resignation is one of the first waves, but the tsunami is still on the way.
Listen to Radio France International
Trump is now in a final battle, tryoing to build a fortress against ‘Fake News’, ‘Fake Media’, his critics, and Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Listen to BBC London
We’re getting an increasingly smaller group of family and friends around Trump as the pressure builds and as he has decided to go all-out — it’s either him or the Special Counsel. One of them will have to fall.
Listen to BBC WM
In January, there were Senators calling for Scaramucci to be investigated for possible violation of sanctions against Russia. So it isn’t logical, if you want to defuse the Russia investigation, to name him.
But Trump, without any of his closest advisors, went ahead and made this appointment, saying, “It’s Showdown Time. It’s him v. ‘Fake News’ and ‘Fake Media’.”
Listen to BBC Radio Wales
In Trump’s view, Scaramucci shows that you can defeat “Fake Media”.
Trump never retreats. He only attacks.
But the next week is going to be a combination of chaos and siege. The chaos is inside the White House. The siege are the stories of how deep the Trump-Russia stories may go and the Special Counsel’s investigation.
