Disgruntled Former Employee
We’ve heard it time and time again: “a statement was made by a ‘disgruntled former employee’.” They quit or were fired, what they have to say is completely colored by the fact that they left the employer, they are “disgruntled” a word that can only mean that they are willing to lie in order to get back at the former employer.
Here’s a quote from a contracting business website:
He was called a “phone buff, pompas, (sic) arrogant, street angel – closed doors devil.”
Wow. But that was just the start. The former employee added, “This Executive is afflicted with accute (sic) narcissism, a pronounce inclination toward moral insanity, utter lack of empathy for our clients, management, staff or professional tradesman.”
The White House strategy of the day is to paint James Comey as “the disgruntled former employee.” Trump leads the strategy, characterizing Comey as a “showboat” (my mother would say the pot calling the kettle black) and as someone begging to keep his job (he wanted to come over to dinner and asked to stay on as FBI Director.) As Comey or his friends began to try to correct the record, Trump tweeted:
“James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!”
When Comey does eventually began to talk about what happens, the White House will have already begun the smear: disgruntled former employee. This way they can discount anything he says, and at the same time warn others – this can happen to you (Mike Flynn, Paul Manafort, and the rest.)
The problem for the White House is their absolute tone deafness to history. With the ghosts of Watergate already haunting the halls of both the Executive Mansion and the Capitol, they continue to conjure up the memories: Henry Kissinger on Monday, tapes on Friday. All of the “old men” of Watergate days are re-appearing and comparing today’s actions to the past. The White House doesn’t get it – they don’t have the perspective to see that much of that is their own doing. It is just one more factor that makes the Trump Administration so troubling.
And what they also don’t remember is the famous Godfather quote: “Keep you friends close and your enemies closer.” Comey is a “Boy Scout”, and folks will find it very difficult to believe he has taken on the role as “disgruntled former employee” particularly with the amount of praise Trump has heaped on him over the past year. Even the most avowed Trumpster will begin asking questions. Trump should have kept Comey in-house, giving Trump more control and access. Instead, now he’s got an unfettered Comey who can (and maybe will) say what he thinks. Trump has also given the core of the FBI and the rest of the intelligence community a martyr to rally around. All in all, not a good week for the Administration.
