• by Philip Rosenstein , Staff Writer, November 14, 2016

In the six days since November 8, we have been offered a glimpse of a Donald Trump administration. Some key positions have been finalized, but Trump’s character and tone as president-elect has, in some cases, varied significantly from candidate Trump.

Trump’s two most consequential inner circle hires so far, Breitbart's Steve Bannon as chief strategist and senior counselor to the president, and the RNC's Reince Priebus as chief of staff, are telling.

They offer some insight into how Trump will conduct himself as president of the United States.

With Bannon and Priebus, there looks to be a two-faced approach to a Trump presidency -- suggesting that Trump has yet to decide how he will approach the task. Priebus, chairman of the RNC, is largely considered an establishment figure, a comfortable intermediary between Republicans in Congress and the White House.

Bannon, however, as noted by Red, White & Blog, is deeply anti-establishment. He has touted his desire to dismantle the Washington status quo. “I want to bring everything crashing down and destroy all of today’s establishment,” Bannon allegedly told a Daily Beast reporter.

As former executive director of Breitbart, the alt-right haven for white nationalists and anti-Semites, Bannon’s approach as strategist and counselor will likely aim to help Trump retain the support in many nationalist and xenophobic communities nationwide.

White nationalists have already been “giddy” with Trump’s choice of Bannon, some likening his new position in the White House to “minister of propaganda.”

We are likely to experience a new type of press operations out of the West Wing -- considering Trump’s approach to the media during this campaign and Bannon’s deep relationship with many outside normalized media circles. How it will play out, in press credentials to briefings and access to the president is unknown.

The wild card here is Trump himself. On "60 Minutes" Sunday evening, Trump appeared to waver on a number of signature policy prescriptions, most notably on building a wall and the Affordable Care Act.

What is most troubling: Trump doesn't seem to know how he will comport himself in the Oval Office. He has no experience in government and scant time to master the myriad issues he will confront January 20.

Washington Republicans, one can assume, are praying Trump eases into the position and takes his queues from Priebus and the RNC. The alt-right and his more anti-establishment supporters hope Bannon works his magic to refashion the White House in a nationalist and anti-establishment vein.