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President Donald Trump.
- In the wake of a scathing New York Times op-ed written by an anonymous senior member of the Trump administration, officials say the president's paranoia and distrust of his own staff are deepening.
- "He would basically be like, 'We've gotta get rid of them. The snakes are everywhere but we're getting rid of them,'" a person close to Trump told Axios.
In the wake of a scathing New York Times op-ed written by an anonymous senior member of the Trump administration, officials say the president's paranoia and distrust of his own staff are deepening.
Officials say Trump has reason to fear members of his own administration, some of whom believe he's unstable and unfit to lead.
"I find the reaction to the NYT op-ed fascinating - that people seem so shocked that there is a resistance from the inside," a senior official told Axios. "A lot of us [were] wishing we'd been the writer, I suspect ... I hope [Trump] knows - maybe he does? - that there are dozens and dozens of us."
The president has long been paranoid about disloyal staffers, vowing to hunt down and fire aides who leak to the media. And he appears convinced by conspiracies that a "deep state" - an anonymous cabal of unelected bureaucrats - are working to undermine his presidency.
"He would basically be like, 'We've gotta get rid of them. The snakes are everywhere but we're getting rid of them,'" a person close to Trump told Axios.
On Wednesday, the president responded to the Times op-ed with a simple tweet: "TREASON?"
The person close to Trump added that the president's paranoia will only grow as many of his longest-serving aides leave the administration.
"People talk about the loyalists leaving," the person close to Trump said. "What it really means is [that there'll be] fewer and fewer people who Trump knows who they really are. So imagine how paranoid you must be if that is your view of the world."