Pattern of Retaliatory Attacks on Former Allies: Public Humiliation, Forced Departures, and Personal Vilification of Loyalists Who Dissented
Tier 3Ongoing2017-01-20 to 2026-04-09
Factual Summary
Donald Trump has engaged in a documented pattern of publicly attacking, demeaning, and seeking to destroy the reputations of former allies, appointees, and associates who fell out of favor, criticized him, or failed to demonstrate sufficient personal loyalty. This pattern spans both terms of his presidency and is documented through Trump's own public statements, social media posts, interviews, and the accounts of the individuals targeted.
Jeff Sessions served as one of Trump's earliest and most prominent political supporters, becoming the first sitting U.S. senator to endorse Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Trump appointed Sessions as Attorney General in January 2017. After Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation in March 2017, following Department of Justice ethics guidelines, Trump began a sustained campaign of public humiliation. Trump publicly called Sessions "weak," "beleaguered," and "disgraceful." In interviews, he said he would never have appointed Sessions had he known he would recuse himself. Trump tweeted that Sessions had "no courage" and had "failed" the country. On November 7, 2018, the day after the midterm elections, Trump forced Sessions to resign. Trump later stated: "Jeff Sessions was a disaster as attorney general. Should have never been attorney general, was not qualified. He's not mentally qualified to be attorney general." When Sessions ran for his former Senate seat in Alabama in 2020, Trump endorsed his opponent and Sessions lost the Republican primary.
Rex Tillerson, whom Trump appointed as Secretary of State in February 2017, was fired via tweet on March 13, 2018. After Tillerson was reported to have privately called Trump a "moron" in a July 2017 Pentagon meeting (a characterization Tillerson did not deny), Trump publicly responded by challenging Tillerson to an IQ test. After Tillerson's firing, Trump wrote: "Rex Tillerson, a man who is 'dumb as a rock' and totally ill prepared and ill equipped to be Secretary of State, made up a story (he got fired) that I was out-prepared by Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Hamburg, Germany."
John Bolton served as Trump's National Security Adviser from April 2018 to September 2019. After Bolton published a memoir critical of Trump in 2020, Trump called him "a disgruntled boring fool who only wanted to go to war. Never had a clue, was ostracized and happily dumped. What a dope!" Trump also attempted to block the publication of Bolton's book, with the Department of Justice filing a lawsuit alleging Bolton had disclosed classified information. A judge allowed the book's publication while criticizing Bolton's handling of the pre-publication review process.
Michael Cohen, Trump's personal attorney for over a decade, initially described his relationship with Trump in terms of deep personal loyalty. Trump praised Cohen publicly, calling him "a fine person with a wonderful family" and "a very talented lawyer." After Cohen pleaded guilty to federal charges and implicated Trump in campaign finance violations in August 2018, Trump attacked Cohen as "a Rat" and a liar. Trump wrote: "If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don't retain the services of Michael Cohen!"
William Barr served as Trump's Attorney General from February 2019 to December 2020. While in office, Barr was widely seen as one of Trump's most loyal cabinet members, intervening in the Roger Stone sentencing and issuing public statements that supported Trump's political narratives. After Barr stated in December 2020 that the DOJ had found no evidence of fraud sufficient to change the election outcome, Trump publicly attacked him. In 2022, after Barr testified before the January 6th Committee and published a book critical of Trump, Trump called Barr "weak and pathetic" and a "RINO." Barr himself stated that "someone who engaged in that kind of bullying about a process that is fundamental to our system and to our self-government shouldn't be anywhere near the Oval Office."
Additional former allies subjected to similar treatment include General James Mattis (Defense Secretary), General John Kelly (Chief of Staff), General Mark Milley (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs), Omarosa Manigault Newman (White House aide), Anthony Scaramucci (Communications Director), and numerous others. CNN compiled a list of 24 former Trump allies and aides who publicly turned against him, and the New York Times editorial board catalogued 91 former Trump officials who spoke out against a second term.
Primary Sources
1. Donald Trump, social media posts and public statements attacking Sessions, Tillerson, Bolton, Cohen, and Barr (archived by the Trump Twitter Archive and news organizations)
2. Jeff Sessions, resignation letter, November 7, 2018
3. Michael Cohen, plea allocution, United States v. Michael Cohen, No. 1:18-cr-00602 (S.D.N.Y.), August 21, 2018
4. William Barr, interview statements and January 6th Committee testimony, 2022
Corroborating Sources
1. CNN: "24 former Trump allies and aides who turned against him," October 3, 2023
2. BuzzFeed News: "Here's Trump Trashing 12 of His 'Best People' Who Then Spoke Out Against Him"
3. The Hill: "Trump's nastiest break-ups: A look at the president's most fiery feuds"
4. Fox News: "Trump denounces Barr over election in latest bitter break with a top aide"
5. New York Times editorial board: list of 91 former Trump officials who spoke out against a second term
Counterarguments and Context
Trump and his supporters argue that the individuals in question failed to perform their duties competently, that Sessions' recusal was unnecessary and harmful, that Tillerson was ineffective as Secretary of State, that Bolton was a warmonger who leaked classified information, that Cohen was a criminal who lied to obtain leniency, and that Barr failed to pursue legitimate concerns about election fraud. They contend that Trump's public criticism is a form of accountability and that any leader has the right to express dissatisfaction with subordinates. Some Trump allies argue that the individuals targeted were disloyal employees who sought to undermine the president's agenda from within. However, the pattern documented here extends across dozens of former allies from diverse backgrounds and political positions, all of whom were praised by Trump before falling out of favor. The consistency of the pattern, in which individuals are lauded while loyal and then attacked in personal, degrading terms when they dissent or depart, suggests that the attacks are driven by demands for personal fealty rather than by legitimate performance concerns. Many of the individuals attacked were prominent conservatives whom Trump himself selected for their positions. The use of the presidency to wage personal vendettas against former appointees represents a departure from the norms of presidential conduct.
Author's Note
This entry is classified as Tier 3 because the attacks are documented through Trump's own public statements, social media posts, and interviews, and the responses of the targeted individuals are on the record. The entry documents a behavioral pattern rather than a single incident. The volume and consistency of the evidence, spanning both terms and dozens of individuals, supports classification at this level.