A Picture of the Current White House

The New York Times gathered information on the mood in the current White House by talking to Its staff. Some of it is miscellaneous anecdotes -- critics would call it merely gossip -- but the stories paint a vivid picture of what we already suspected. Buried in the article was a tidbit I had missed before:

"[...] Mr. Bannon remains the president’s dominant adviser, despite Mr. Trump’s anger that he was not fully briefed on details of the executive order he signed giving his chief strategist a seat on the National Security Council, a greater source of frustration to the president than the fallout from the travel ban."

(Bolding, of course, is mine.) This is so alarming, I do not have words for it. Steve Bannon is clearly the power behind the plaster-and-spraypaint throne Trump built for himself. Watch him, News Media. More closely than even the pathetic, embarrassing president.

While most people were busy yelling about the travel ban (myself included), Trump quietly gave Steve Bannon more power:

Trump took steps Saturday to begin restructuring the White House National Security Council, adding the senior adviser to the principals committee, which includes the secretaries of state and defense. At the same time, Trump said his director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would attend only when “issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise are to be discussed."

...Which will be almost never, I'm sure.

ETA Feb. 11, 2017: According to The New York Times, Trump never actually read or was briefed on the content of this memorandum.