ANALYSIS: Amid departures and feuds, Trump lonelier than ever at top

 Trump finds himself increasingly isolated inside his own West Wing – an angry and mistrustful figure facing down an intense stretch of his presidency with fewer friends than ever at his side.

A confluence of revelations, investigations, and scandals has robbed Trump of the counsel of many of those with whom he’s been closest during his still-brief political career. He now has multiple major positions to fill inside his West Wing, even as he clashes – publicly and privately – with everyone from his chief of staff to his attorney general to his secretary of state.

Chief of staff John Kelly seemed to reference the dark mood inside the White House on Thursday, joking that he never thought he’d leave his old job as secretary of

 “The last thing I wanted to do is walk away from one of the great honors of my life,” Kelly said, “but I did something wrong and God punished me, I guess.”

The departure of White House communications director Hope Hicks puts an exclamation point on a period of turmoil unusual even for the Trump White House. Hicks’ portfolio is vast, and she stands out, not just for her relative youth, but for the close relationship she developed with the president.



Source: abcnews.go

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