Some folks close to White House taking note that POTUS event yesterday took place under new chief-of-staff Mark Meadows, ostensibly brought in to get the building under control, etc. Instead, the person he took aim at, Stephanie Grisham, now has more power as FLOTUS chief.
At a meeting with the new press secretary Kayleigh McEnany yesterday, Meadows was there - marking the first time he's interacted with some of the staff, a noted contrast to how Mulvaney approached the job when he first got it.
The message at the meeting, per two people familiar with what was said, was that they're all a team but also that changes to how the team functions are coming. As yesterday illustrated, the staff can change but the president is running the show.
The briefings have become essential to the president pulling himself out of a state when the economy began to tank, according to 3 people close to him. He began doing them when Mike Pence was getting attention. Kushner and Hope Hicks have been the big forces behind him doing it.
So many of the president's advisers know that he is just providing ad fodder for Priorities USA when he does those briefings, a form of therapy for him, they say. But they don't feel like they can do anything to stop them. And they know the tone is off during a pandemic.
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