President Trump ordered his secretary of state to eat the salad served to him on a tour of Asia last year, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“Rex,” Trump allegedly said, “eat the salad.” The president reportedly worried about offending his Chinese hosts. The story recalls Trump’s father once overruling Ivana Trump’s order of fish to select a steak for her. It also apparently foreshadowed events on Tuesday, when Rex ate the salad.
Within the span of about a week, Donald Trump jettisoned perhaps his most influential advisor (Gary Cohn) and the man holding the most powerful position in his cabinet (Rex Tillerson). Is stability overrated?
Four cabinet secretaries under Bill Clinton lasted the duration of his eight-year administration. Does any cabinet secretary last four years of Donald Trump? Already, the initial secretaries of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, State, and Labor no longer preside over these departments. Journalists describe this as chaos. If so, Trump seems comfortable, perhaps strangely, in such an environment. He’s different.
Trump’s catchphrase as a reality television star seems more than a gimmick. He appears to like keeping underlings on their toes. Sometimes not showing loyalty inspires it. If firing someone on national television ranks as cold, doing so through Twitter feels iceberg-lettuce cold.
What cabinet member next eats the salad? Stay tuned.
