White House Staff Reportedly Monitored Trump’s Trash Because ‘He Was Sometimes Throwing Out’ High-End Silverware

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

An excerpt from The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan’s upcoming book, published on Thursday by the Daily Mail, revealed that White House staff allegedly needed to monitor President Donald Trump’s trash after it was discovered that “he was sometimes throwing out” sterling silver utensils.

The snippet came from Swan and Haberman’s new book on the first 14 months of Trump’s first term, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump. According to them, staffers responsible for maintaining the president’s private quarters were dealing with a variety of unusual housekeeping challenges.

“A nighttime snacker, the President would frequently leave an array of empty potato chip bags, Starbucks wrappers, and ice cream cartons in the trash, or on the floor,” they wrote.

That habit reportedly prompted closer scrutiny of the trash after aides realized valuable White House items were disappearing along with the food waste.

“The staff had to begin monitoring the trash after it was discovered he was sometimes throwing out White House sterling silver utensils,” Haberman and Swan added.

Also in the Daily Mail exclusive, the pair describe his intense interest in redecorating his private living space — at times competing with First Lady Melania Trump — and recount concerns among staff over a carpeted bathroom that allegedly required frequent attention.

“Once, when staff gently reminded the President that he was taking things from the Center Hall his wife had personally selected, he made clear he didn’t care,” they wrote. “He seemed almost to be competing with her – determined to have the better room.”

The journalists added, “The President’s redecorating generated such a flurry of activity that staff often felt caught between the two Trumps, who were the only presidential couple to regularly use and maintain separate bedrooms since Richard and Pat Nixon.”

Of his required carpeted bathroom, Haberman and Swan detailed, “The portion nearest the shower would often be soaked through; the staff was never quite sure why, but they worried about mold growing underneath.”

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