Maggie Haberman

But what is striking is this climate of fear that has been created within the federal government to say not just are we getting rid of these programs, but we are looking for who might be trying to work against Donald Trump. And you should be afraid.

But what is striking is this climate of fear that has been created within the federal government to say not just are we getting rid of these programs, but we are looking for who might be trying to work against Donald Trump. And you should be afraid.

That's right. I think that's exactly right. Merit based has been something that we have heard repeatedly from Donald Trump, from other people in his new administration. And the idea is supposed to be that everybody starts out equal. And as you say, if you end up in a place that happens to be diverse, that's just because the people who rose were in Donald Trump's telling equipped for those roles.

That's right. I think that's exactly right. Merit based has been something that we have heard repeatedly from Donald Trump, from other people in his new administration. And the idea is supposed to be that everybody starts out equal. And as you say, if you end up in a place that happens to be diverse, that's just because the people who rose were in Donald Trump's telling equipped for those roles.

However, what it does is ignore the notion that there is anything such as systemic racism or that people who are of color are have historically not been necessarily looked at the same way or given an equal shake or had the same opportunities. And it's not surprising to see that Donald Trump is enacting this plan, but it has been pretty sweeping.

However, what it does is ignore the notion that there is anything such as systemic racism or that people who are of color are have historically not been necessarily looked at the same way or given an equal shake or had the same opportunities. And it's not surprising to see that Donald Trump is enacting this plan, but it has been pretty sweeping.

So I would say a couple of things, Michael. Number one, there have been all kinds of bottlenecks for hiring for various places across the Trump administration because the loyalty tests that are being applied to prospective candidates are not just very intense and people are being asked a You know, how do you feel about January 6th, 2021?

So I would say a couple of things, Michael. Number one, there have been all kinds of bottlenecks for hiring for various places across the Trump administration because the loyalty tests that are being applied to prospective candidates are not just very intense and people are being asked a You know, how do you feel about January 6th, 2021?

But the perception of loyalty is completely dependent on how Donald Trump views it at any given moment. So he has all kinds of people in his government who have said critical things about him in the past, including his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who ran against him in 2016, made fun of his hand size. But you have now people who can't be hired if they worked for Mike Pompeo. Who Trump hired?

But the perception of loyalty is completely dependent on how Donald Trump views it at any given moment. So he has all kinds of people in his government who have said critical things about him in the past, including his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who ran against him in 2016, made fun of his hand size. But you have now people who can't be hired if they worked for Mike Pompeo. Who Trump hired?

And the secretary of state in his first administration. If you work for Mike Pompeo, you can't come in. If you work for Mike Pence, you can't come in. It goes on and on and on like this.

And the secretary of state in his first administration. If you work for Mike Pompeo, you can't come in. If you work for Mike Pence, you can't come in. It goes on and on and on like this.

Correct. And whoever is whispering in Trump's ear about that other person at any given moment. Relatedly, he has stripped so far three that we know of former senior officials from his first term of security protection that the Biden administration had granted them based on intelligence community assessments of ongoing threats from Iran. Wow.

Correct. And whoever is whispering in Trump's ear about that other person at any given moment. Relatedly, he has stripped so far three that we know of former senior officials from his first term of security protection that the Biden administration had granted them based on intelligence community assessments of ongoing threats from Iran. Wow.

John Bolton, who was Trump's third national security advisor. Bolton's sin in Trump's eyes was writing a very detailed insider account of his time as national security advisor, did not paint Trump in a good light. He's been very critical of Trump since leaving. They have had a very, very extensive falling out. That one was not surprising, but it still put John Bolton at risk.

John Bolton, who was Trump's third national security advisor. Bolton's sin in Trump's eyes was writing a very detailed insider account of his time as national security advisor, did not paint Trump in a good light. He's been very critical of Trump since leaving. They have had a very, very extensive falling out. That one was not surprising, but it still put John Bolton at risk.

It's less easy to explain why he has such antipathy for Mike Pompeo, his second secretary of state, and another aide to Mike Pompeo from the State Department, Brian Hook. All these people have lost their security. Correct. They had a different type of security than Bolton did. Theirs was provided by the State Department. But nonetheless, they also faced real threats.

It's less easy to explain why he has such antipathy for Mike Pompeo, his second secretary of state, and another aide to Mike Pompeo from the State Department, Brian Hook. All these people have lost their security. Correct. They had a different type of security than Bolton did. Theirs was provided by the State Department. But nonetheless, they also faced real threats.

And again, they are facing these threats because of actions they took in the service of Donald Trump. And now Donald Trump is saying, you're on your own.

And again, they are facing these threats because of actions they took in the service of Donald Trump. And now Donald Trump is saying, you're on your own.