Suspended without pay Feb. 12 for threatening Politico reporter Tara Palmeri for exposing an affair with NBC and Axios reporter Alexi McCammond, 32-year-old Deputy White House Press Secretary T.J. Ducklo submitted his resignation today, having embarrassed the White House communication team led by 42-year-old Jenn Psaki. Ducklo told Palmeri “I will destroy you,” for daring to expose his relationship with McCammond. Ducklo joined the campaign of 78-year-old President Joe Biden in 2019, eventually getting the assignment as Deputy Press Secretary Jan. 15, 2021. Whatever happened with Ducklo, it’s clear that his chemotherapy treatment for Stage 4 lung cancer might have played a part in his erratic behavior. Threatening another reporter violated Biden’s promise to fire anyone on his staff that didn’t uphold the highest standards respecting all colleagues.
Ducklo showed what happens when job stresses combine with personal or medical problems to send an otherwise responsible professional to deviate from expected norms of conduct. Biden told this staff Jan. 21, the day after inauguration, that disrespectful conduct would not be tolerated. “If you ever work with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, I will fire you on the spot,” Biden told his staff. Ducklo was caught with his pants down fraternizing with another reporter, not the end of the world but showing at age 32 he’s not ready for primetime, especially with his medical issues. “No words can express my regret, my embarrassment and my disgust for my behavior,” Ducklo said is a prepared mea culpa, hoping to get beyond the crisis. But Psaki knew that Ducklo’s one-week suspension was not enough to satisfy Biden.
Ducko’s colleagues felt badly knowing he was battling cancer, while, at the same time, trying to work closely with Psaki, who, at age 42, looks a little over her head, despite getting easy press treatment. “I used language that no woman should ever have to hear from anyone, especially in a situation where she was just trying to do her job. It was language that was abhorrent, disrespectful and unacceptable,” Ducklo said. But his affair with Axios reporter McCammond could not have been the only thing he reacted to when Palmeri said she would report on it. Knowing today’s politically correct atmosphere, it’s interesting that Ducklo would say that “no woman” should have to hear his tirade. But what about male colleagues, obviously not as bountiful in the communication business but aren’t they entitled to respect too? Ducklo lacked the maturity to perform in his current job.
Former President Donald Trump found out the hard way when he put 32-year-old Hope Hicks in charge of his communication team during the 2020 reelection campaign. Hicks did an abysmal job of countering Democrats claims that Trump botched the Covid-19 crisis, leaving his him playing defense with the press that defined his campaign as a political disaster. Ducklo proved he was over his head when he lashed out at Palmeri knowing that he’d lose his job, probably his career, blowing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to serve as Biden’s Deputy Press Secretary. Psaki said Feb. 12 announcing Ducklo’s one-week suspension that his behavior “doesn’t meet our standards, it doesn’t meet the president’s standards, and it was important that we took a step to make that clear.” Psaki said Ducklo’s decision to resign his position occurred with the support of 59-year-old White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain.
Ducklo’s got some soul-searching to do to figure out exactly what went wrong that he self-destructed only three weeks on the job. Giving a mea culpa doesn’t explain what short-circuited for Ducklo, leading up to his intemperate outburst threatening Poltico reporter Tara Palmeri. Neither Ducklo nor Psaki offered any coherent explanation for the outburst that cost Ducklo his job, possibly his career. Most of the time when young professionals self-destruct it’s over drugs, inappropriate relationships, awkward Internet exchanges on social networks, exposing inappropriate sexual or racial comments. Ducklo’s remarks to Palmeri sound more like a Mafia boss, threatening another with, “I will destroy you.” In Ducklo’s case, it’s not clear he meant what he said literally, though the threat was clear. Ducklo could very well have been under the influence of prescription or non-prescription drugs.
Looking at the big picture, Klain had to get behind Ducklo’s termination, helping Psaki comply with Biden’s overarching personnel policy. Ducklo went down issuing a useless threat to a Politico reporter. Most young professionals —and even older ones—go down because of sexual harassment allegations, making the workplace uncomfortable for their colleagues. In Ducklo’s case a single outburst torpedoed his job with the Biden administration. Could very well have been the chemotherapy or stress related to his stage 4 lung cancer treatment. If Ducklo can show his boss that his chemotherapy treatments impacted his judgment just enough for an uncontrolled outburst, Psaki should take that into consideration when trying to do what’s right. Judging by his self-effacing mea culpa, it’s clear that he showed the kind of contrition needed to get a second chance, something also worthy of a compassionate president.
