As President Trump gets more used to the job, he is beginning to winnow out staff that he feels are not right for the job and bringing in others he is more comfortable with, in general, those who brought success to his presidential campaign.
The latest case in point is Mike Dubke, 47, President Trump’s communications director, who apparently offered his resignation on May 18. According to Mike Allen of Axios, Dubke said he would stay in his job through Trump’s trip overseas in order to restructure operation. Allen reported that Dubke, who joined Trump’s team in mid-February, never worked successfully with those members of Trump’s team from the campaign who stayed with Trump after he won the presidency.
Jason Miller, the Trump campaign’s senior communications adviser, was supposed to be the White House’s original communications director, but he left before Inauguration Day, saying he wanted to be with his family. That meant Sean Spicer initially served as press secretary and communications director, but that required too much time, so Dubke was hired. White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and Spicer were instrumental in hiring Dubke, which prompted criticism from some who felt he was more of an establishment GOP figure.
The Washington Post reported Dubke wrote an email to friends and associates on Tuesday morning reading: “It has been my great honor to serve President Trump and this administration. It has also been my distinct pleasure to work side-by-side, day-by-day with the staff of the communications and press departments.”
Dubke worked with White House press secretary Sean Spicer; his job entailed, among other things, the response to the firing of FBI Director James B. Comey. In late April, as the 100-day mark for the Administration approached, Dubke convened a conference of roughly 30 Trump staffers, speaking of how Trump needed a “rebranding,” according to Politico. One White House official reportedly said, “I think the president’s head would explode if he heard that.” Dubke also reportedly said that Trump had no coherent foreign policy, adding, “There is no Trump doctrine.”
Another White House official told Politico, “It rubbed people the wrong way because on the campaign we were pretty clear about what he wanted to do. He was elected on a vision of America First. America First is the Trump doctrine.”
After those leaks to Politico, Dubke told Politico, “It was a brainstorming session, and I really wish they had spoken up in the room so that we could have had an open and honest conversation. It is unproductive adjudicating internal discussions through the media.” He clarified his “rebranding” remark by saying, “There is not a need for a rebranding, but there is a need to brand the first 100 days. Because if we don’t do it, the media is going to do it. That’s what our job is.”
The rumored replacement for Dubke is David Urban, 53, a West Point graduate, who obtained a master’s degree in government administration from Penn, and a law degree from Temple. Urban was instrumental in Trump winning Pennsylvania in the general election.