Donald Trump’s presidency “has entered a dangerous new phase,” the Washington Post editorial board warned in an editorial published Monday.
“Administration officials who had some scruples have given way to men (yes, only men) whose first priority seems to be retaining their jobs,” the newspaper’s editorial board wrote. “Because the chief requirement for that is personal loyalty to the president, who has shown himself to be without scruple, decency or respect for the Constitution, the result is the progressive erosion of core institutions.”
The Post noted the debate surrounding the “grown-ups in the room,” such as former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, during the early stages of the Trump administration.
Critics said they “were giving a sheen of normalcy to a presidency that was shattering norms. Defenders said they were erecting guardrails — keeping President Trump at least in some cases from acting on his worst instincts.”
But “now, Mr. Trump seems to have found courtiers who neither look to mitigate his worst instincts nor have the courage to tell him when he is wrong,” the editorial concluded. “You wonder what kind of pride they will be able to take in their service once it is all over.”
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