Hillary Clinton fears President Donald Trump will become increasingly paranoid after the November midterm elections and plunge his own White House into deeper chaos.
The Obama-era secretary of state and 2016 Democratic nominee, who Trump defeated, appeared on MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show promoting her book What Happened, first published in 2017 but which now has a new epilogue written by Clinton.
"What I worry about, Rachel, is that after this election this president is going to wholesale fire people," Clinton said on the show Tuesday night.
"And if we don't have one or both houses of Congress in place, he will be even more uncontrollable and unaccountable. He will fire people in the White House. He will fire people in his administration who he thinks are crossing him, questioning him, undermining him.
"The president is close to being uncontrollable. There are people still in there who, by their own admission, are trying to hold on to prevent even worse things from happening."
Trump is frustrated by leaks from inside the White House. Most recently, a "senior administration official" wrote an anonymous op-ed for The New York Times which excoriated the president and said his own staff were actively working to undermine him to limit the damage he can do.
However, Clinton said it is "bothersome to see these anonymous sources saying this."
"I understand the dilemma they think they face. They think that if they're not there, you know, after them—the deluge. There will be a total catastrophe," she said.
But she added that those inside the administration with concerns about the president "owe it to the country" to break cover and quit.
"And they owe it to people who supported Donald Trump because I don't think that those people really fully appreciate what is potentially possible under this presidency," Clinton said.
Turnover in the Trump administration is already high. According to the Brookings Institution, which is tracking turnover in the Trump administration, there is a 57 percent turnover rate in the president's "A-Team" of 65 senior White House positions, not including the Cabinet.
Seven roles in his 16-member Cabinet have changed hands since the start of his administration, five of which were because appointees resigned under pressure.
Polls suggest Trump is in for a rough ride in the November midterms. Republicans currently control both houses of Congress. But Democrats stand a strong chance of flipping at least one house, presenting a number of threats to Trump, particularly the risk of impeachment.
According to the polling tracker by FiveThirtyEight, Democrats are on an average of 49.2 percent and the Republicans 40.2 percent with less than two months until the vote.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Shane Croucher is a Senior Editor based in London, UK. He oversees the My Turn team. He has previously overseen ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
