I ASK MYSELF 14/2019 Spotlight 25Fotos: mphillips007, jacoblund/iStock.com; privat
Too green
for the job?
Warum besetzt Trump Schlüsselpositionen
im Weißen Haus mit Mitarbeitern, die
offensichtlich zu jung und zu unerfahren
für diese Posten sind?ADVANCED USI ASK MYSELF
AMY ARGETSINGER
is an editor at
The Washington
Post, a leading
daily newspaper
in the US.n the three and a half years after she graduated from
college, Madeleine Westerhout worked as an office
assistant and a fitness instructor. And then she got a
job sitting alongside the most powerful man in the
world.
That may be what best explains how Westerhout
lost her position as President Trump’s personal sec-
retary — and is perhaps everything you need to know
about this chaotic White House.
In late August, Westerhout was part of the team
that traveled with Trump to his vacation spot in New
Jersey. One evening, she went out to dinner with
some of the journalists shadowing the president on
the trip, and apparently, many cocktails were enjoyed.
Such friendly, after-hour gatherings between staffers
and reporters are common, especially when traveling.
The understanding, though, is that they’re “off the
rec ord,” meaning that nothing can be repeated or re-
ported from their conversation. It seems Westerhout
was in a talkative mood that evening and divulged
some personal details about the Trump family that
must have caused the reporters to talk. Her indiscreet
whispers somehow got back to the White House, and
within several days, she was asked to resign.
The stories Westerhout reportedly shared were
unflattering. According to one account, she claimed
that Trump thinks his younger daughter, Tiffany, is
fat, and she apparently also dished details about his
eating habits — nothing that exciting for reporters
busy chasing more important scandals. It’s also not
clear how the White House found out about Wester-
hout’s indiscretion. Some Trump allies have suggest-
ed that it’s all the journalists’ fault, that one of them
must have unethically broken the terms of the “off-
the-record” agreement to rat out the young woman.
Ultimately, Westerhout is the one who passed on
information she wasn’t supposed to, which shouldattorney general
[E)t§:ni (dZen&rEl]
, Justizminister(in)
dish [dIS] N. Am. ifml.
, hier: auftischen
divulge [dəˈvʌldʒ]
, preisgeben
graduate [(grÄdZueɪt]
, einen (Hochschul)Abschluss
machen
prior [(praI&r]
, vorherig
rat out [rÄt (aUt] N. Am. ifml.
, verpetzen
resign [ri(zaIn]
, kündigen, zurücktretensecretary of state
[)sekrEteri Ev (steIt]
, Außenminister(in)
shadow sb. [(SÄdoU]
, jmdn. verfolgen
staffer [(stÄf&r] N. Am.
, Mitarbeiter(in)
term [t§:m]
, hier: Amtszeit
trustworthy [(trVst)w§:Di]
, vertrauenswürdig, zuverlässig
ultimately [(VltImEtli]
, letztendlich
unflattering [Vn(flÄt&rIN]
, wenig schmeichelhaft
whisper [(wIsp&r]
, hier: Getuscheldisqualify anyone from a job requiring confidentiali-
ty. But what on earth was she doing in such a sensitive
job at the age of 28 with so little prior experience?
Now nearly three years into office, President
Trump is on his third chief of staff, his sixth director
of communications, and his fourth national security
advisor. He traded in his attorney general, secretary
of state, and secretary of defense before he got half-
way through his term. At least five other cabinet
secretaries have been pushed out of their jobs over
one scandal or another. Chaos seems to be the only
consistent factor in this White House. As for Wes-
terhout’s next move — well, she may find it hard to
convince a future employer that she’s trustworthy
enough for an important job. But if she’s interested,
she’ll have no trouble winning a million-dollar deal
to write a book about life inside the White House —
and make a profit by sharing more of the secrets she
unwisely gave away for free.