Former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell says the Trump administration has demonstrated the political battle is not between Republicans and Democrats, but between Washington, D.C., and the rest of the U.S.
Grenell made his comments Monday night during an interview on the Fox News show “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
"The fact of the matter is we have a real problem in Washington, D.C., because it’s a system that is no longer really Republicans and Democrats pushing against each other to create a good policy,” he said. “It’s no longer a fight between Republicans and Democrats. It’s a fight between Washington and the rest of America.
"What we have is a system in Washington where people get jobs if you're there, if you know someone and you work your way up, and it’s like musical chairs from one agency to another. There is no outside thought, there's no outside perspective.
“When someone like Donald Trump comes in and says: ‘Why are we doing it this way?’ They attack him because he’s breaking the system. He doesn’t play by their rules.”
Grenell, who said he witnessed that during his time as the DNI, added: "I saw that by entering the intelligence world, and senators from the Democratic Party saying, 'You have no experience, what are you doing — why should you be there?'"
Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe of Texas was recently confirmed as director of national intelligence by the Senate and replaced Grenell.