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There is a long list of one-time allies and aides who have either turned against former President Donald Trump or whom he has turned against.
No person in US politics – certainly no recent president – has such an expansive list of high-profile allies turned enemies.
His longest-serving White House chief of staff, retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, delivered an incredible rebuke of Trump’s personality and leadership in an on-the-record statement to CNN’s Jake Tapper.
Given that Trump is the front-runner for the GOP nomination in 2024 and simultaneously facing multiple criminal cases, both the campaign and the court proceedings could prompt additional people to speak out.
What’s below is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but rather a catalog of the most notable turns by former aides and top officials whom Trump at one point chose to work for him at the White House. Some are now actively working against him. Three are running against him in the presidential primary. Others have stayed relatively quiet after resigning in protest. The link at each name includes more context.
1. His vice president, Mike Pence: “The American people deserve to know that President Trump asked me to put him over my oath to the Constitution. … Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States.”
2. His second attorney general, Bill Barr: “Someone who engaged in that kind of bullying about a process that is fundamental to our system and to our self-government shouldn’t be anywhere near the Oval Office.”
3. His first secretary of defense, James Mattis: “Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people – does not even pretend…
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