Trump’s Inner Circle: Wolff Says the President Chooses Incompetence

Author Michael Wolff contends that former President Donald Trump deliberately fills senior positions with individuals who lack the expertise to challenge him. Wolff describes the pattern as a “binary” decision: either critics quit or are removed, creating an environment where subordinates view the president as “unqualified to hold this job.”

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The observations were made on the *Inside Trump’s Head* podcast, hosted by Joanna Coles. Wolff, who authored a long-time biography of Trump, linked the administration’s “overwhelming ineptitude” to the president’s self-perception and staffing strategy. He noted that Trump’s low approval ratings coincide with a series of “asinine mishaps,” which he attributes to the president’s reliance on “idiots” rather than qualified advisers.

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The comment was presented as a standard rebuttal to the author’s allegations.

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• “People have a very hard time... understanding the full sense of a man who is the President of the United States, who is—as he has said about so many other people—dumb as a brick himself,” — Michael Wolff, author

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• “Look at it this way—you’re in this job. You’re underqualified. You’re unqualified to hold this job. Everybody knows it,” — Michael Wolff, author

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