President Trump’s pugnacious and combative personality was imprinted in the popular imagination with his role in the NBC’s reality show, ‘The Apprentice’. It had his signature sign-off, “You’re fired”! For 14 seasons, the then real-estate mogul, Donald Trump, perfected the art of theatrical narcissism and the famous know-all attitude that still persists.

Signs that as President he would hold a different perspective of critical issues were evident during his election campaign. He had even told his supporters to rough up the protesters by saying, “Get ‘em out of here!” or “I’d like to punch him in the face!”

Today, the “You’re fired” syndrome persists within the revolving doors of the White House, with the ‘A-listers’ of the Trump administration getting dismissed or have resigned or have been eased out.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was the latest casualty whose announcement was done casually through a Tweet ~ “Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service!” This was followed three hours later by an equally inelegant, “Heading to see the border wall prototypes in California!”

The style, brazenness and impetuosity of handling serious matters-of-state were reminiscent and consistent with ‘The Apprentice’ days. The 406-day tenure of Rex Tillerson was expected to be rocky from the start.

He was entrusted with the onerous task of having to translate Trump’s ‘America First’ into agreeable and polite diplomatic language, one that would be acceptable to the other sovereign states.

However, as a former Chairman and Chief Executive of ExxonMobil, Tillerson was not a politician, soldier or a diplomat… unlike previous Secretaries of State.

Yet, his was a rare voice of reconciliation, maintaining alliances and consistency of policies in the increasingly nationalistic flavour and agenda of the Trump administration.

At the end of the incumbent’s first full year, the think-tank, Brookings Institute, had released a paper that documented the staff turnover of the most influential appointees in the first 365 days.

The findings showed that the tumult of ‘hire and fire’ in the administration had accounted for a record-breaking staff turnover that was twice that of the Ronald Reagan era, and thrice that of the previous Barack Obama tenure.

The year-one turnover figures were 34 per cent during the Trump regime, as compared to 9 per cent for Obama or 6 per cent for George W Bush. Within the first year itself, the victims of the President’s whimsical attitude were Reince Priebus, Chief of Staff; Katie Walsh, Deputy Chief of Staff; Sean Spicer, Press Secretary; George Sifakis, Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Public Liaison; Michael Flynn, National Security Adviser, and KT McFarland, Deputy National Security Adviser.

Usually, a certain level of staff changes are both healthy and necessary in order to inject the much required competence, stimulate quick action and improve public perceptions of concern.

However, in the case of Trump the narrative has been one of removing appointees who are perceived to be, “too establishment.” Basically, the incoming Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has a more decidedly nationalistic slant, for example vis-a-vis Iran.

Pompeo had suggested using, “under 2,000 sorties to destroy the Iranian nuclear capacity. This is not an insurmountable task for the coalition forces”.

The statement reflects the maturity levels and cavalier approah that would be concordant with President Trump’s own sensibilities. The hawk replaced the dove, albeit in relative terms.

Just a couple of weeks back, a similar exit-saga in the White House saw the Chief Economic Adviser, Gary Cohen, tendering his resignation. As in the case of Tillerson, the ‘globalist’ Cohen was pitted against the Uber-nationalist lobby that sought trade protectionism.

Although Cohen’s free-trade instincts had delivered on the regulatory reforms and tax-cuts in order to boost the economy, his logical and principled opposition to the protectionist-tariffs, which are sure to undo the economic optimism and lead to unwarranted trade wars, led to his sudden departure.

Amidst, the growing frenzy of first-timers, family members and ‘nationalists’, space for professional sobriety, tact and reason is in short supply. Beyond his functional mandate, Cohen had alluded to personal discomfort when Trump had made the explosive comments after the race riot in Charlottesville.

Clearly, the moderating voice of economic prudence, as echoed by Cohen, militated against the growl and bluster of Trump’s, specifically his recent decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

Trump’s claim ~ “I like conflict, I like having two people with different points of view, and I certainly have that” ~ is not justified. He has been extremely intolerant, ungracious and unforgiving of contrarian views within his administration.

The firing of Sally Yates, the acting Attorney General who questioned the legality of enforcing the travel ban on seven predominantly Muslim countries, as “unconstitutionally discriminatory”, was symptomatic of Trump’s temperamental and vindictive ways.

Even within the Republican Party, there are murmurs of discontent with Trump who has often clashed with the likes of the House Speaker, Paul Ryan and the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, who are urging a more reconciliatory and pacifist approach.

Trump’s hawkish agenda has escalated the military belligerence and tensions with North Korea, Iran and China without results, whereas, it is militarily overshadowed by the Syrian-Iranian-Russian combine in the Middle Eastern theatre.

Economically, Trump is riling his own traditional allies and strategic partners like the European Union, Canada and Mexico. As regards other concerns such as climate-change and societal ‘inclusivity’, the signs emanating from the White House signify disinterest and persistent disdain.

The fleeing doves and emerging hawks within the Washington DC establishment are further intensifying the obvious dangers of walking-the-talk of the inflammatory text, coming out of Trump’s Twitter handle.

Ebullience and relentless showmanship are inadequate compensation for diplomacy, statesmanship and leadership, especially when the office
can have the strongest military and economic impact on the world.

The writer IS Lt Gen PVSM, AVSM (Retd), Former Lt Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands & Puducherry