Are they running away?

These are the powerful people behind Trump in the White House

The Republican is convinced that he is a real judge of character.

(Bild: APA/Getty Images via AFP/GETTY IMAGES/CARL COURT)

Having been in office for a month, US President Donald Trump is sweeping through US and world politics like a whirlwind. Is it all coming from him, what is leaking out of the Oval Office every day? Who are the people who have his back? And probably most importantly for Trump: are they loyal?

In his first term of office, which Trump stumbled into ill-prepared in 2017, the political novice had to contend with serious upheavals within his team and staff carousel from day one. Proven experts left when they experienced Trump's style of government first-hand. He had to dismiss others because they turned out to be either disloyal or incompetent - or both. Not a day went by without internal information being leaked to the media.

Trump has learned: after a good month in office, hardly any disturbances are leaking out of the White House this time - the right-wing populist machinery seems to be running like clockwork.

"We did a good job, but this time we're doing a much better job," Trump said during the election campaign. "Because now I know the people. I know the good ones and the bad ones, the weak ones and the strong ones, I know the dumb ones and the smart ones. I know them all." A selection of those who, according to Trump's classification, are good, strong or smart, occupy important positions and are considered irreplaceable for Trump:

I know the good ones and the bad ones, the weak ones and the strong ones, I know the dumb ones and the smart ones. I know them all.

US-Präsident Donald Trump über die Menschen

Bild: APA/Getty Images via AFP/GETTY IMAGES/Andrew Harnik

Stephen Miller
Not yet 40 years old, Stephen Miller, known as an absolute hardliner, is already a veteran in the White House, one of the few Trump advisors to have survived the entire first term. Miller used the years of Joe Biden's presidency to lay the foundations for Trump's new approach. Among other things, he co-wrote the controversial Project 2025 of the arch-conservative Heritage Foundation - which is often dubbed the blueprint for Trump's government program.

Miller officially holds the title of Deputy Chief of Staff in the White House - but his position of power is likely to be much greater than his title suggests. He is considered one of the president's closest confidants, wrote many of his speeches and is regarded as the intellectual root of Trump's policies.

 Steve Witkoff
Like Trump, who was a real estate magnate in New York for a long time, lawyer and entrepreneur Steve Witkoff joined the Trump camp as a political career changer. Officially, he is a negotiator for the Middle East and played a key role in bringing about the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

In the meantime, his portfolio has expanded - Witkoff is now also part of the team of key US negotiators when it comes to finding a peace solution for Ukraine. Trump generally thinks more highly of people who have successfully asserted themselves in business than, for example, career diplomats.

Pam Bondi
As Attorney General and Minister of Justice, 59-year-old Pam Bondi occupies an absolutely key position for Trump - she can and should keep all legal trouble off his back. The former Attorney General of Florida and Middle East lobbyist was part of the legal team that successfully represented Trump in his impeachment proceedings during his first term in office.

She is seen as extremely loyal. Here, too, Trump has learned from experience: Jeff Sessions, his first Attorney General, had to recuse himself in 2017 and was therefore unable to spare Trump the unpleasant Russia investigations that tied up a large part of his energies for a long time.

Elon Musk
Arguably the wealthiest man in the world, ElonMuskdoesn't really fit into Trump's scheme of things. Elon Musk's electric car company Tesla is more of a thorn in the side of oil and gas fan Trump. Nevertheless, the president gives the Zampano a free hand and regularly backs him up when Musk's overly blatant plans to decimate the state apparatus meet with harsh criticism. In the USA, bets are already being placed on how long the two alpha males can coexist.

Peter Navarro
The professor emeritus of economics is Trump's man for tariffs. Peter Navarro is considered an outsider among economists; his views on international trade run counter to doctrine. He is an avowed opponent of free trade agreements. Navarro wants to bring as much production back to the USA as possible and considers tariffs to be an effective means of achieving this goal.

Even in the Heritage Foundation's "Project 2025", which is already very conservative in itself, Navarro's position is not uncontroversial and is flanked by a more moderate position. However, the 75-year-old has enjoyed the president's trust on all trade issues since Trump's first term in office.

Navarro spent four months in prison last year. He had refused to hand over documents and testify before a House of Representatives investigative committee on the Capitol storm. Navarro was the first close Trump confidant to serve a prison sentence in this context.