The president’s precipitous dissatisfaction with top-ranking officials, and his actions against them, reinforce that nothing is guaranteed with this administration.

Unpredictability is a hallmark of the Trump era as the president has abandoned key promises on which he vociferously campaigned and made sudden reversals on major policy issues in his first few months in office. Uncertainty also apparently has implications for the job security of high-profile public figures once thought to be allies of the new regime. Revelations this week about President Trump’s abrupt change in relations with two leading individuals reaffirmed that past praise from the president in public is no guarantor of future job safety.

The firing of FBI Director James Comey, the top American law enforcement agent, this week by President Trump was unexpected. Comey is infamous now for his announcement just before Election Day 2016 that Hillary Clinton used her personal email address and a private email server while in charge of the State Department. Many in the U.S. believe his belated disclosure is a major reason why we now refer to Trump as «Mr. President.» On last year’s campaign trail Comey was lauded by Trump for his «guts» and «courage» to speak out about ‘Crooked Hillary.’

However, a memo released after his sacking this week indicted the now former FBI chief for mishandling the Clinton emails investigation. U.S. media is skeptical and importantly pointed out that Comey had asked for more money for the Russia investigation, of which he was in charge, only days before being fired. The removal of the man tasked with investigating links between the president’s election campaign and Russia is a problem and suspect. Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal even told media that Trump's decision to fire the FBI director could lead to possible impeachment proceedings in Congress if clear answers are not forthcoming.

Another top official who has reportedly lost favor with President Trump is national security adviser Gen. H.R. McMaster. An exclusive report from Bloomberg this week quoted anonymous White House insiders who said that Trump has clashed with McMaster in front of his staff and screamed at the professional soldier on a phone call. Trump purportedly believed that his adviser had undermined a key policy initiative to have South Korea pay a fair share for its own defense. McMaster reportedly told officials in Seoul that demands for increased defense payments by U.S. allies is not actual policy, but rather rhetoric from the White House.

McMaster, who Trump credited with developing the strategy for firing cruise missiles into Syria in April, has also misread the president by lecturing him at times and not giving Trump a chance to ask questions during briefings, according to the story. As a consequence, McMaster is now given less face-time with the president and his requests to brief the boss before press interviews are declined. In a telling sign, the outgoing deputy national security advisor accompanied Trump to meet with Australia’s prime minister last week rather than himself. The White House has predictably denied any grievances, but it should be remembered that McMaster replaced Trump’s top pick for adviser, the now scandal-tainted Michael Flynn, who the president also once defended in public.

There are plenty of jokes in the States at present about how President Trump’s «You’re fired!» catchphrase from reality TV has resurfaced in Washington. Compared to the fate of James Comey, White House spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway and strategist Steve Bannon now appear lucky to have only suffered reduced media appearances and lowered profiles when they reportedly angered the president earlier this year. The president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner, may have the only safe jobs in this administration as they are family to the big boss and he will have to face them around the dinner table on holidays.