The Trump White House has placed a senior administration official on leave after he was secretly recorded unloading on President Donald Trump in an undercover sting operation orchestrated by conservative activist James O\u2019Keefe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Benjamin Ellisten, a senior budget analyst and funding manager working within the administration, was caught on hidden camera calling Trump a \u201cmadman\u201d who is \u201cf*cking it up for everybody\u201d during a conversation with an undercover journalist tied to O\u2019Keefe\u2019s operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The footage, which quickly exploded across conservative media and social platforms, appears to show Ellisten venting frustration over Trump\u2019s leadership style, foreign policy decisions, and the administration\u2019s internal operations \u2014 comments that ultimately cost him his White House role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A White House official confirmed to The Daily Caller<\/a> that Ellisten has since been placed on administrative leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe has no direct access to the President or Senior Staff, and does not work on the White House campus,\u201d the official told the outlet. \u201cSuch views expressed by the individual are not reflective of patriots who admirably serve in the Administration.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n According to O\u2019Keefe\u2019s reporting, Ellisten had been employed by the White House since 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the undercover conversation, Ellisten repeatedly blasted the president in strikingly personal terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe\u2019s a madman,\u201d Ellisten said. \u201cLiterally. He\u2019s invincible. Nothing can stop him, and that\u2019s dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n At another point, he reportedly suggested Trump needed to be removed from office altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe\u2019s a mess,\u201d Ellisten told the undercover journalist. \u201cThey gotta get rid of him.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Ellisten also took aim at Trump\u2019s decision-making process, portraying the president as impulsive and reckless despite acknowledging that Trump does not drink alcohol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe way his decisions are so erratic, you would think he drinks,\u201d Ellisten said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t drink. And that\u2019s what makes it so dangerous, that someone could be of sound mind and body, totally coherent, could just be so reckless in their decision-making. That\u2019s scary.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The secretly recorded remarks are likely to further inflame concerns inside the administration about loyalty leaks and internal resistance from career staffers and lower-level political appointees \u2014 an issue Trump has railed against since his first term, when anonymous officials and bureaucratic infighting routinely made headlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ellisten also appeared to accuse the administration of profiting off geopolitical turmoil, floating speculation about insider trading tied to tensions in the Middle East and rising oil prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe president knows that he affects how people react to the stock market,\u201d Ellisten said. \u201cSo one of the things that looks like it\u2019s going on, and going on a lot, is insider trading. Like, for instance, with the war going on in Iran, the price of oil is expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n No evidence was presented to support the allegation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The sting operation also snagged comments from Maxim Lott, a White House special assistant focused on domestic policy, who described the administration\u2019s internal operations as \u201cchaotic\u201d and \u201cuncontrolled.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe decision-making processes are a little bit chaotic,\u201d Lott said<\/a> in the footage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think it\u2019s just the overall tone that, like, you know, the government right now is a little bit uncontrolled,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s not gonna fix itself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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