Transcript of Trump's press conference on 2/16/1017

Well, I mean, c'mon: Of COURSE they don't like him. Specifically, he started their relationship by shouting his disdain for them to the entire world...continually tweet-challenging their competence and integrity...setting up an unprecedented adversarial relationship...declining their briefings.

More generally, of COURSE there are plenty of people in the intelligence community who haven't liked one president or the other. Which is absolutely fine. [My husband is a national security expert. Hasn't mattered at all how he's felt about any of the five presidents in office; he still does his job, sometimes despite them.]

But the job includes not demonstrating dislike for the executive or the executive branch, so if you've seen evidence of obvious dislike, that's not good.

A former CIA deputy director was on the radio today saying pretty much the same things:

-The overwhelming majority ("99.995%") of intelligence officers are career employees. The CIA has only three political appointees; the NSA has one; the DIA has none. 
-Because of this, it defies reason to contend that Obama and Clinton supporters within the intelligence community are plotting against President Trump. There is no palace intrigue, no Brutus.
-There is always a transition period when the very few political employees from the former administration are still on the job.
-All the intelligence agencies like to "show off" for a new president - show him how skilled they are and demonstrate what they can DO for him. Make themselves valuable. Protect their brand (and their budget). It doesn't help them at all to demonstrate personal animus or be uncooperative. 
-Every single president has struggled with leaks. 

But now, just a few hours later, I read a Fox News story about a "cabal of Obama lieutenants" within the intelligence community who are actively working against Mr. Trump.

A cabal. Oy. They're pushing all the right buttons to encourage this "Obama's shadow government" nonsense.