had never met Donald Trump when I began serving in his White House. I took the job expecting that I would never meet him. My (former) role—head of communications at the National Security Council—is not one whose occupant traditionally interacts with the president all that much (my immediate predecessor notwithstanding). The NSC comms director’s “principal,” as we say in the flak trade, is the national security advisor, not the president. The president has higher-ranking aides to look after his interests.
Plus, the top NSC flak has a rather large organization to worry about. Within the Executive Office of the President, only the Office of Management and Budget is bigger than the NSC. And given the latter’s somewhat secretive nature and placement at the center of various secretive yet intensely interesting agencies, keeping track of its happenings and fending off mis- and disinformation tends to be a full-time job in and of itself.
Read Full Article »