Trump blames aides as internal warfare roils the White House

By Daniel Okafor · Reporting from New York · October 18, 2026

Donald Trump blames aides for dim midterm prospects, but staff turnover and internal warfare prove the disorder begins with his own volatile governance.

Five days and a false start

Katie Zacharia lasted five days as White House press secretary, marking the shortest run in United States history. She held a single press briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room. She took questions from conservative outlets and announced Kimberly Guilfoyle's resignation, according to The Independent and U.S. News & World Report. Disclosures revealed that she never passed a bar exam, despite sharing 15 social posts identifying as an attorney. Donald Trump described her as an attorney, but later said she should reconsider the role. Zacharia previously served under Tricia McLaughlin at the Department of Homeland Security before resigning weeks after her appointment. That brief stint exposed rapid career shifts before she reached the podium. Zacharia left after admitting to Jack Posobiec that she never passed a bar exam. The position of press secretary has remained vacant since her firing. This collapse is not an isolated error. It is the direct product of a governance structure built on loyalty tests rather than competence.

The West Wing turns into a circular firing squad

Republicans face voter pressure over high prices, tariffs, and a war with Iran. Fox News projected that Democrats are poised to retake the House of Representatives. Donald Trump's approval rating sits at the lowest point of his presidency. Instead of addressing policy failures, the West Wing has turned into a circular firing squad. Trump privately blamed aides and operatives for a wobbling midterm strategy. He questioned why spending by the super PAC MAGA Inc. failed to lift poll numbers. MAGA Inc. has spent $200 million on the campaign, according to The Korea Herald. James Blair runs the group.

Blair and Chris LaCivita traveled to Republika Srpska in Bosnia to consult the pro-Russian government without notifying the White House. Trump wrote on Truth Social that Blair and LaCivita are outside consultants and threatened to fire them immediately if he found a conflict. White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles approved the trip without informing Trump. Yonhap reported that Wiles and Blair traded blame. Blair blamed the legislative affairs team. Trump is considering replacing Wiles after the midterms. He defended Wiles publicly, calling her his loyal chief of staff, and said she has his complete confidence.

Internal friction also struck the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Alina Habba alleged Ric Grenell failed to deposit a $6 million donation from her husband, Turhan Mildon. Grenell led the arts center temporarily near the start of Trump's second term. Kennedy Center records showed no record of the donation. Mildon instead paid a $270,000 pledged donation on Tuesday. Grenell denied the allegation and said he never asked for money to be sent elsewhere. Trump directed White House counsel to investigate the missing funds.

Can a volatile structure escape its past?

Defenders argue that strong leadership requires disruptive personalities and that friction merely signals reform. Yet a leadership style defined by high staff turnover and public conflict creates an unstable governance structure. That mechanism defines both the current administration and the Trump administration (first term) from 2017 to 2021. When a president surrounds himself with factional operators who moonlight in foreign capitals, governance ceases. In its place rises an internal war. Press secretaries falsify credentials, super PAC directors chase overseas fees, and chiefs of staff hide foreign trips from the Oval Office.

Blaming aides for spending deficits and a looming electoral defeat solves nothing when chaos emanates from the top. A president who hires press secretaries without credentials and dispatches advisers abroad cannot govern a republic. The shambles era is here. No amount of midterm scapegoating will alter the ledger.

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US consumer price index. Source: Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED).

Trump blames aides as internal warfare roils the White House

Five days and a false start

The West Wing turns into a circular firing squad

Can a volatile structure escape its past?

Sources