CHECKING IT TWICE

Trump Wrote ‘Naughty and Nice’ Lists of Staff to Find White House Leakers

Axios reports story behind president’s “enemies list.”

Donald Trump wrote “naughty and nice” lists to help him find out which members of White House staff were leaking to the press, Axios reports. Cliff Sims, a former White House communications aide who reportedly won Trump’s trust, says the president summoned him into a private study in the White House to help him get to the bottom of the constant leaks that were plaguing the administration in 2017. In his new book, Team of Vipers: My 500 Extraordinary Days in the Trump White House, Sims writes: “‘Give me their names,’ [Trump] said, his eyes narrowing. ‘I want these people out of here. I’m going to take care of this. We’re going to get rid of all the snakes, even the bottom-­feeders.’” Sims goes on to say Trump wrote two lists on a “stiff card” with one list of people he could trust and another of people he wanted to let go. There were roughly 10 people on what became known as his “Enemies List,” but most of the targets kept their jobs.