Donald Trump has managed to plunge the United States into a state of confusion on both the domestic and international fronts. In Venezuela, the quick “victory” is rapidly losing its allure. In Minneapolis, the shooting of a citizen by ICE agents has added to the perception that the administration simply makes up its narrative without a concern for truth.

This is perhaps a reflection of the divisions within the White House staff. Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem have engaged in bombast and misstatement. The situation in Minneapolis was made infinitely worse by Noem’s premature announcement that the victim, Renee Nicole Good, was a “terrorist.” Turned out she was a highly regarded poet and the mother of three children. Noem did not help herself with her dress-up play replete with a large cowboy hat. Miller simply announced that Trump wanted to swallow the Western Hemisphere.

As for the president, he is not so much the last word as the prompter of a dangling conversation. He seems more interested in giving himself an off-ramp than in stating a policy. On Venezuela, he has gone off several tangents: one minute it is to “take the oil,” the other to reassert a revised version of the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. Trump has been reluctant to assert human rights as a motive, which in the case of Nicolas Maduro may have been the most effective argument.

Granted, it is an argument Trump dislikes, given the sordid hypocrisy that usually accompanies such an explanation. However, foolish consistency can sometimes get in the way of success. Maduro was widely disliked in the region for his incompetence and brutal ways. Given the damage he inflicted on Venezuela, it is tempting to speculate that he was a “U.S. asset.” Trump’s assertion that oil was his chief motive taints any Venezuelan leader, friendly or otherwise.

Moreover, Trump’s White House leaves an impression that there are too many cooks in the kitchen. One minute it is a Miller, the next a Noem; one never knows who speaks for whom. The President has encouraged this; sometimes it works, but at present it only creates an atmosphere of chaos, as if no one is in charge. Usually, a few banal words of explanation or promising to clarify a situation suffice. But this administration loves to double down, and that could lead to major problems.

Especially in Minneapolis, Renee Nicole Good’s case is far different than Heather Heyer’s in 2017 in Charlottesville. Heyer was killed by a far-right demonstrator; Good was killed by a representative of the US government.

Film and eyewitness accounts dispute Noem’s explanation of the incident. As well, ICE refused the offer of a private doctor to help Good and forced the EMS to laboriously slog through the snow. This threatens to turn the tragedy into a full-blown political event like the one sparked by George Floyd.

Indeed, ICE resembles the fugitive slave hunters in the 1850’s. They are bulls who bring their own China closet with them–unprepared for the hazards of the city, they appear more disruptive than helpful.Often, it’s the small events that turn the tables on authority.

Trump should start to reevaluate his staff and the advice he receives.