Dr. Ronny Jackson withdrew himself from consideration for being appointed Secretary of Veterans Affairs on Thursday as scrutiny of his past revealed dark allegations and the criticism began to mount. But this is a common pattern for people who get close to President Donald Trump, note New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Peter Baker.
Many have noted that the Jackson nomination revealed the White House's completely absent vetting procedures. Normally, a Cabinet nominee would face exhaustive scrutiny by the White House when his or her name was put forward. Trump's choice of Jackson, though, seemed to be made entirely on the basis that the president liked him personally for his service as White House physician.
Trump's disregard for these normal procedures not only hurts his administration; it can hurt the people he mistakenly tries to elevate.
Some who get close to the president find their reputations or even their lives destroyed. And according to people who know the president well, he just doesn't care that much.
“People are not people to him, they are instruments of his ego," Tony Schwartz, the ghostwriter for Trump's The Art of the Deal told the Times. "And when they serve his ego, they survive, and when they don’t, they pass into the night.”
He added: “Ultimately, the fate of anyone who casts their lot with Trump is — you are passing through. And I just can’t think of anybody for whom it is not true.”
Jack O’Donnell was the former president of Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. He said to the Times of the president that he has no "compassion and empathy," adding "the recycling of people, people crashing and burning, it means nothing to him.”
