On Sunday evening, news broke that Kirstjen Nielsen was leaving her job as head of the Department of Homeland Security. The New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman tweeted that according to people close to Nielsen, one reason she hung on as long as she did was because “she was aware how awful life would/will be for her on the outside,” given her role in defending Donald Trump’s policies.
Let’s make it so.
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The fact that she evidently didn’t go as far as an erratic and out-of-control Trump wanted is immaterial; she should be a pariah for going as far as she did.
I suspect that highlighted portion is true for many of Trump’s staff, especially Sarah Sanders and Kellyanne Conway, two of the most dishonest and downright ridiculous figures in our public life. Their careers are over — Over. — when Trump leaves office, and it’s hard to imagine they don’t know it. They probably feel they need to do their getting while the getting is good.
Let’s be clear about this, too: There are lines you don’t cross even when the boss says otherwise. We know what happens when people don’t understand that.