Top White House Advisor Credits Remarkable Calm to Heroic Commitment to Not Knowing Anything
WASHINGTON — In an exclusive interview conducted in his West Wing office, which contains no television, no newspaper subscriptions, and a desktop computer he describes as "more of a paperweight with a screensaver," senior presidential advisor Clifford Brant explained the governing philosophy that colleagues have quietly taken to calling, in admiring tones, "strategic bliss."
The approach is straightforward: Mr. Brant does not read the news. He does not check polling data. He does not review crisis briefings unless they are summarized on a single Post-it note, and even then he prefers the note to be optimistic in tone. He has, by his own account, been "functionally unaware" of four separate national emergencies since taking office, and he considers this a professional achievement.
"You cannot fix a problem," Mr. Brant said, leaning back in his chair with the serene expression of a man who has not read his emails since Thursday, "if you are emotionally destabilized by knowing what the problem is."
The Method, Explained
Mr. Brant, who holds the title of Deputy Assistant to the President for Strategic Operational Outlook, a role whose responsibilities remain somewhat unclear even to his direct supervisor, developed his philosophy over what he describes as "years of watching people read bad news and then having bad days as a direct result."
The solution, he concluded, was elegant in its simplicity: stop reading the bad news.
His morning routine, which he outlined in detail, begins with herbal tea, thirty minutes of what he calls "ambient optimism" (staring at a motivational poster he bought at an airport in 2017), and a deliberate avoidance of any briefing document thicker than a cocktail napkin. His staff has been instructed to summarize all incoming intelligence, economic data, and public sentiment research using only the words "progressing," "dynamic," and "promising."
"I have found," he said, "that most situations are progressing dynamically toward something promising, if you phrase them correctly."
Asked about a specific ongoing crisis — one that had dominated headlines for eleven consecutive days — Mr. Brant smiled in a way that suggested genuine unfamiliarity with the subject and said he had "heard some chatter" but preferred to let things "develop organically" before forming an opinion. He then offered this reporter a hard candy from a dish on his desk, which seemed to be his standard method of concluding questions he found inconvenient.
Colleagues React
Reaction within the administration has been mixed, in the sense that some people find Mr. Brant's approach innovative and others find it alarming, though both camps agree he seems unusually relaxed for someone in his position.
"He walked into a meeting last week where we were discussing a fairly significant diplomatic incident," said one senior official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they still have to attend meetings with Mr. Brant. "He listened for about four minutes, said 'sounds dynamic,' and left to get a smoothie. And honestly? He seemed fine. Better than fine. He seemed great."
A second official noted that Mr. Brant's approval ratings within the building — measured informally by how many people say hello to him in hallways — are among the highest of any senior advisor in recent memory. "He's just very pleasant," the official said. "He never seems stressed. He never catastrophizes. He also never appears to know what's happening, but in this building, that puts him in pretty good company."
Think Tank Weighs In
The Center for Proactive Governance Alternatives, a Washington-based research organization that has been described by one congressional staffer as "extremely well-funded for something nobody can quite explain," released a 212-page white paper this week examining what it calls "Optimized Informational Selectivity" — the formal academic name for what Mr. Brant has been doing instinctively for three years.
The report, which took fourteen months to produce and which the Center's communications director confirmed Mr. Brant has not read, concludes that senior officials who limit their intake of negative information report significantly higher job satisfaction, better sleep quality, and "markedly improved interpersonal warmth" compared to peers who remain fully briefed.
"The data is quite striking," said Dr. Pamela Osei, the report's lead author, in a phone interview. "Officials who know less tend to feel better. Whether they perform better is a separate question that we have flagged for a follow-up study, funding permitting."
The follow-up study is expected to take eighteen months. Dr. Osei said she was "optimistic" about its findings, though she acknowledged she had not yet read the preliminary data.
Polling Data He Will Not Be Reading
A survey conducted last month by a reputable polling firm found that 61% of Americans believe senior administration officials are not sufficiently informed about the issues affecting ordinary people. When this figure was relayed to Mr. Brant, he nodded thoughtfully.
"That's interesting," he said. "Who commissioned that?"
Told it was a standard public opinion poll, he nodded again and said he generally found polling "a bit of a distraction" from the work of "staying focused on forward momentum." He then straightened some papers on his desk that did not appear to need straightening and mentioned that the cafeteria was doing a very good soup today, if this reporter had time.
The Future of Not Knowing
Mr. Brant said he has begun informally mentoring three junior staffers in his approach, teaching them what he calls "the discipline of constructive unawareness." He is also, he mentioned almost as an aside, considering writing a book.
The working title, he said, is Calm in the Room: A Washington Insider's Guide to Governing Without the Distraction of Knowing What's Going On.
A publisher has reportedly expressed interest. Mr. Brant said he has not read their offer letter yet, but he is told it is "promising."