Mocking His Ear Size Trump Called Secret Service Director ‘Dumbo’

BY Chris Walker April 9, 2019

Adding to the theory some have suggested that the White House is perhaps a hostile work environment, reports out this week have indicated that President Donald Trump frequently mocked the outgoing director of the Secret Service for the size of his ears.

WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 10: (L-R) Kevin McAleenan of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Michael Fisher, chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, Randolph Alles, of the Customs and Border Protection’s Office and James Dinkins, of Homeland Security Investigations at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, participte in a Senate Homeland ecurity hearing on Capitol Hill, April 10, 2013 in Washington, DC. The committee is hearing testimony on border security as some are calling for an overhaul of immigration laws that would allow millions of undocumented immigrants to remain permanently in the U.S. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Randolph “Tex” Alles received the nickname of “Dumbo” from the president, according to sources from inside the administration, The Independent reported. The name refers to a Disney cartoon elephant with oversized ears.

After two years in the position, Trump had reportedly lost confidence in Alles’s ability to serve as director of the Secret Service, according to sources. The president believed Alles had lost respect among agents tasked to serve under him, although others within the agency have vouched that Alles was well-liked.

Trump mocked the man, a retired Marine major general, who he just ousted as head of the Secret Service.

NYT reports Trump made fun of Randolph Alles's looks, calling him Dumbo because of his ears, two officials said.https://t.co/cpGTfiztPu

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 8, 2019

Alles’s was told 10 days prior to his announced departure to develop a plan for his leaving the White House — even before a security breach at Mar-a-Lago involving a Chinese woman with malware devices was discovered. The Secret Service, in an official statement, blamed security staff at the club for the breach, the New York Times reported.

Alles is a former Marine general who was the first person in more than a century from outside the agency to serve as director of the Secret Service, Mediaite reported. He will be replaced by James M. Murray, a career member of the agency.

His announced firing, although planned well in advance, came one day after the forced resignation of Department of Homeland Security Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen, whose own ouster came about as part of a purge of officials who the administration sees as standing in the way of Trump’s immigration policies. The purge is reportedly being led by White House adviser Stephen Miller, a far-right hardliner on the issue.

More departures are expected. Included on the potential chopping block, per previous reporting from HillReporter.com, are Lee Francis Cissna, the director of the office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, as well as John Mitnick, the general counsel of DHS.

Trump has a history of using derisive nicknames, both in public and in private, toward those whom he doesn’t like. Ordinarily, those nicknames are directed toward political foes, such as Democratic lawmakers who stand against his policies in Congress.