Role and limits of the chief of staff

Donald Trump suddenly faces defections in Congress, from right-wing influencers, and even from his own White House chief of staff.

In this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:

* Susie Wiles’s…intemperate comments to Vanity Fair about all the incompetents and cynics in the Trump administration;

* The challenge of passing the cult following from Trump to JD Vance (or anyone else for that matter).

* Why Republican disarray has spread beyond health care.

Then, the particularly pitched blowback Trump has faced for pissing on Rob Reiner’s grave. Are we seeing the MAGA alliance crack up? Or are his internal critics limiting themselves to the safe zone of commenting only on Trump’s insensitive social-media posts? And why does the Democratic Party’s strategic outlet turn so heavily on the answers to those two questions?

All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.

Further reading:

* Matt on the Trump-Vance succession.

* Brian’s somewhat more optimistic view on the Trump-Vance succession.

* Politicize (Trump’s reaction to) Rob Reiner’s murder.

* The Susie Wiles profile.