David Petraeus, who’s still on probation, turns down Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser job

| 5:46 pm EST February 18, 2017
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Donald Trump famously and repeatedly promised during the election that he would hire only the “best people” for positions in his administration. Instead Trump has hired the worst people he could find, such as unstable and traitorous National Security Advisor Michael T. Flynn. Now that he’s already resigned in disgrace, Trump finds himself unable to replace him with good people, and it turns out even mediocre people and damaged people don’t want the job.

Michael Flynn was Donald Trump’s first choice for National Security Adviser, and evidenced by the fact that he was given the job. But when he resigned on Monday after just twenty-four days due to his role in the deepening Russia scandal, Trump tried to replace him with the man who was presumably his second choice, Vice-Admiral Robert Harward. He appeared to be qualified for the job, with and had no major scandals or red flags, which may be why he turned it down. Harward even went so far as to derisively refer to the Trump job as a “shit sandwich” in private.

That’s when Trump turned his attention to what appeared to have been his third choice, deeply troubled General David Petraeus. This is a guy who is still on probation after having been convicted of leaking classified information to his mistress, and who would have presumably had to get clearance from his probation officer to travel to Washington DC to interview for the job. One would think Petraeus, whose political career has been dead for years, would jump at the chance to resurrect himself – but no.

David Petraeus would have been an awkward choice, considering that he’d be replacing Flynn, who was fired for what he had been inappropriately discussing with the Russian ambassador. But even the damaged Petraeus has now taken his name out of the running, according to The Hill. The reason: he too had concerns about working in Donald Trump’s chaotic and bizarrely choreographed White House. It helps explain why nineteen people were fired or resigned from Trump’s White House this week alone.