I don’t have a hard time believing this.

A piece from Daniel Halper, of the Washington Free Beacon suggests that if Trump is having trouble, it’s because he has surrounded himself with people who don’t really like or respect him.

There may be some truth to it.

Said Halper:

My understanding, though, is that much of the staff is skeptical towards if not outright hostile to the president. And the consequences of the shared dislike have been devastating, among them a slew of leaks that has kept the administration on the defensive and unable to pursue the agenda of the president. Trump is hardly able to have a conversation or meeting at the White House that doesn’t somehow get retold to the press within days.  The more embarrassing the scoop, the better.

Shortly after his inauguration, the details of Trump’s tough phone conversation with the Australian prime minister were soon made public. And most recently, when the president reportedly told Russian officials information obtained via intelligences services, details of that privileged conversation were leaked almost immediately.

One anonymous former campaign official blamed the leaks on dissatisfaction. “Dissatisfied people leak, so clearly a lot of senior advisers are not happy,” the source told The Hill.

At some point, you also have to look at Trump and his behavior. How much of his trouble is self-inflicted?

Trump rumbled into office with the weight of a cult movement, where supposed “conservatives” and “Christians” adoringly cheered on his adultery, his misogyny, and his outright abuse and discourteous behavior towards everyone (except the Russians… let’s be honest).

As scandals arise, he sends out spokespeople, only to cut their legs out from under them with his tweets the very next day.

Earlier this week, the hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” suggested that Trump counselor, Kellyanne Conway didn’t like her boss, and if what Halper is suggesting is true, it lends a new credibility to Scarborough and Brzezinski’s claims.

By contrast, President Obama was surrounded by members of his staff who thought he could walk on water. President George W. Bush staffers believed their boss to be a decent and honorable person and a bold chief executive.

We absolutely know that part is true.

Obama was at least smart enough to surround himself with true believers.

George W. Bush was just a good guy, and continues to be pure class.

Trump? He’s spoiled, arrogant, abusive, impulsive, and likely not nearly as bright as his defenders would have us believe. Those who are around him are attracted by the office, not the man. Some may even be in it to get a close seat next to wealth.

All that won’t make them particularly loyal.

Then again, some have suggested that what seems like disloyalty, as far as leaking info from the White House, is actually an attempt to use media coverage to bring Trump under control, in order to have an administration that isn’t dictated by the tweetstorm of the day.

Bottom line: Until Trump is willing to make some changes in how he operates, he will likely continue to have these problems.