'Like a baby': Ex-Trump adviser lifts the lid on how White House staff 'used' the president

WASHINGTON, DC: An ex-Trump administration aide who worked in a federal department revealed a major detail, suggesting that people working close to the president have been misleading him and using him.

Ex-adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, Calley Means, claimed that the White House staff treat President Donald Trump “like a baby.”

Ex-insider questioned over tobacco donations and FDA policy

In an interview on Sunday, November 8, on CBS’s ‘Face the Nation’, Calley Means talked about the Trump administration’s favorable FDA policies for the tobacco industry and what role HHS played.

When host Margaret Brennan pressed him about allegations that Trump pushed the FDA to adopt more favorable policies for big tobacco companies after they donated millions to a Trump-backed super PAC ahead of the midterm elections, Means said the president had been influenced by his staff.

Brennan then referred to a report by The New York Times that tobacco lobbyists had met Trump over lunch at his Florida golf course and pushed him to support their interests. She also asked whether Trump had called Kennedy during the lunch.

Means said he did not know whether the call had taken place. He added that he did not believe the issue was a priority for Trump.

“Again, I do not think fruit-flavored vapes or gas station h****n is any percentage of what President Trump is thinking about or wants to do,” he said.

Calley Means accuses Susie Wiles of corruption

Responding to the allegations, Means suggested that sensitive information may have been leaked by former White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. He then described how staff members would allegedly use brief meetings with Trump to push their own priorities.

Maybe that’s leaked by Susie, I don’t know,” Means said. “What I saw a lot is that they would set up a quick meeting with President Trump. They would flag something for him. ‘Oh, this is an important issue.’ He’d say something. And then they would jam it down ... saying it’s a presidential priority for their priorities. I don’t think President Trump ran as a primary purpose to help these industries.”

Means called Wiles “corrupt” on Joe Rogan’s podcast on Friday.

Means says aides treated Trump 'like a baby'

Brennan pointed out that the FDA had tried to crack down on flavored vapes in Trump’s first term, yet the same issues had surfaced again in his second, and asked Means whether he was certain the president did not support the policies.

Means put the blame squarely on the White House staff — accusing them of setting Trump up to adopt pro-big tobacco policies.

“I am sure that the president realizes that he has a generational coalition with Secretary Kennedy,” Means said. “He respects Secretary Kennedy. He wants to go hard on the issue of improving health for children. I think he had severe, poor advice from people I think who treated him like a baby in many respects — and used him.”

“The president’s staff treat him like a baby?” Brennan asked.

“Of course!” Means replied. “They would, they would block access and information to him all the time. I would be not surprised at all, you know, if they had very short conversations on these issues where the president’s extremely busy.”

“Or he’s not interested,” Brennan said.

"And they used that," Means said. "It was all like, 'the president wants this.'"

Means said the White House now has "a chief of staff now that wants to exorcise this culture," referring to Stephen Miller.