When it comes to national security, President Donald Trump isn't interested in the details, according to a New York Times report.
An article published by the Times on Monday provides an inside look into the chaos that has engulfed Trump's National Security Council since the president has taken office.
The paper reported that council staffers have resorted to using encrypted communication following White House threats to monitor phone calls and emails. Staffers have also been demoralized by the news that Michael Flynn, Trump's national security adviser, lied about discussing sanctions with Russia before Trump took office.
The Times spoke with more than two dozen of the hundreds of national security staffers. Many suggested that Trump's Twitter-style of governing contributed to dysfunction on the council.
"Many of those who remain, who see themselves as apolitical civil servants, have been disturbed by displays of overt partisanship," Times reporters David Sanger, Eric Schmitt and Peter Baker explained. "At an all-hands meeting about two weeks into the new administration, [Deputy National Security Adviser K. T. McFarland] told the group it needed to 'make America great again,' numerous staff members who were there said."
McFarland has reportedly used her experience as a Fox News veteran to make meetings move more quickly.
"And while Mr. Obama liked policy option papers that were three to six single-spaced pages, council staff members are now being told to keep papers to a single page, with lots of graphics and maps," according to the paper.
“The president likes maps,” one official reportedly revealed.
