CC.NEWS Toronto, November 6, 2026
There always seems to be another story coming out of Donald Trump’s White House.
After the Republican election defeat, Susie Wiles — who helped Trump win office and served as White House chief of staff for a long stretch — has left that post, and Stephen Miller, a central figure among the hardliners, has taken over.
Trump, as usual, made sure to give her full marks in public: he thanked Wiles, praised her work as excellent and arranged for her to move into his political team.
As for why the change was made, the public explanation is a staffing adjustment. As for how responsibility for the election defeat will be shared, outsiders naturally have their own questions.
It brings to mind an old saying: killing the donkey once the grinding is done.
In fact, the White House has produced an even more telling story of late.
Karoline Leavitt, the young White House press secretary, has also left her post. She said publicly that she wanted more time to care for her two young children. She later went out of her way to deny that her departure was connected to the episode in which Trump secretly switched planes.
That flight episode did, however, create a controversy of its own.
In July 2026, during a visit to Turkey, Trump switched at short notice to another aircraft for the return trip because of a security threat. Some administration officials, White House staff and travelling reporters stayed on the originally scheduled plane.
The media then asked: if the president needed to move to another aircraft, why were the others travelling with him not properly informed? Should they not also have the right to know about the risks they faced?
Trump’s explanation was that the arrangement was made by the security services.
The president’s safety is important, of course, but should the safety of accompanying staff and reporters be taken equally seriously? That is the real question the episode leaves behind.
Look again at the staffing changes at the White House: when elections are won, team members are all heroes; when political pressure builds and blame is apportioned, the personnel keep changing.
Susie Wiles is gone, Leavitt is gone, and Stephen Miller has moved into a more important position.
Trump is still Trump: credit can be praised loudly, but someone always has to face the responsibility.
The chair at the White House has a new occupant, and the plane took a different route. Only one question has never changed: at the decisive moment, who gets protected, and who has to bear the consequences?
Once the grinding is done, where does the donkey go?
Perhaps the next round will bring a new answer.
