An Inside Look at the Trump White House

Reflecting on my experience at the St. Albans School of Public Service, one of the most memorable moments came unexpectedly, during an event that I thought would go a very different direction. It was a Wednesday near the end of the program, and we were all looking forward to the night's programming, a panel and dinner focused on varying perspectives on the crisis in Venezuela. We had been reading about and discussing various aspects of the situation, from the history of Venezuelan socialism to Nicolas Maduro's authoritarian streak and corrupt administration to what could be done to save the Venezuelan economy from its record instability and hyperinflation; now it was time to meet four experts and survivors and hear them talk about Venezuela in person. The panel was a moderated by a conservative Venezuelan ex-pat and St. Albans parent who regaled us with stories of the Kennedys and the CIA and also included opposition leader David Smolansky, whose work mobilizing college students has earned him renown around the world and criminal status in Venezuela.

Alex and I posing with Mr. J.

Though these speakers and others on the panel presented harrowing stories and fascinating insights into the situation in Venezuela, the most memorable moment of the night came at the dinner reception afterward. My friend Alex and I happened to be seated at with with a former high-ranking member of President Trump's National Security staff who asked not to be named and to speak off the record (I'll call him Mr. J), and over a dinner of arepas and tres leches, we questioned him about the Trump administration's often-unclear foreign policy stance and how he thought it would respond to the international emergency worsening by the day in Venezuela. As the dinner progressed, however, it became clear that Mr. J was involved with far more than Venezuelan foreign policy, and in fact had spent a significant amount of time in intimate settings with the president, answering his questions and briefing him on international relations.

When it became clear just how much time our esteemed guest had spent with the president, the tone of the conversation shifted, and we entered the Fire and Fury portion of the night. As we put away plate after plate of Venezuelan cuisine—the irony of this considering the massive, government-sponsored famine currently occurring in Venezuela was not lost on us—Mr. J first corroborated the sort of rumors you read about on Vox or Vanity Fair, but then chimed in with some of his own stories, from darting into Trump's room on Air Force 1 to brief him during ad breaks in Fox and Friends to giving the President his McDonald's order during a meeting in which Trump was hungry and particularly distracted.

It was sort of incredible hearing Trump's "Leaking White House" coming to life before my eyes. Though the tales of Trump's love of Big Macs and ignorance of international affairs were throughly enjoyable, the most memorable story of the night had far higher stakes, and much greater implications for our national security. Mr. J was a holdover from the Obama administration serving under former National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster, and when we searched him up on Google, he was targeted by multiple alt-right websites and message boards as a top "Swamp Creature" in the Trump administration. Mr. J told us he had been harassed online and even had his home address posted, and he said the trolls were always looking for an opportunity to bring him down. They got that opportunity during Putin-congratulations scandal, when someone inside the White House leaked that the President had congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on his very dubious win in a notably unfair and unfree election, when the first bullet point on his briefing read "Do not congratulate." Though Mr. J assured us he had nothing to do with the leak, the alt-right trolls already doing their best to smear his name blamed him for it, and their close proximity to President Trump was enough to convince him that they were right. So Trump offered McMaster, who was more establishment-leaning himself, an ultimatum: he had 48 hours to find out who the leaker was, or Mr. J had to go. The President himself had been experiencing significant disagreement with McMaster over his "America First" foreign policy and seemed to be looking for a way to get back at McMaster, who he knew to be close friend of Mr. J. McMaster protested that an investigation like that would take months, and even though he proved the leaker couldn't have been Mr. J (he hadn't even received the Putin call talking points), Trump still insisted McMaster fire him. So McMaster quit too.

Now our National Security Advisor is John Bolton, who wanted to "strike first" against North Korea and supports an invasion to topple the Iranian government. Which just goes to show you how much influence white supremacist trolls have on our very own President Trump.

Thanks for a night to remember, Mr. J.