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"If you're dumb, surround yourself with smart people. And if you're smart, surround yourself with smart people who disagree with you."
This is not the first (or last) instinct in the world of Donald J. Trump.
John Dickerson wrote in his thoughtful book, The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency:
“Donald Trump repeatedly promised he would hire "the best people." He did not. That is not my opinion; it is President Trump's, which he expresses frequently. Trump has said that his first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, was "dumb as a rock" and "lazy as hell." His attorney general, Jeff Sessions, was "scared stiff and Missing in Action," "didn't have a clue," and "should be ashamed of himself." Trump described one of his assistants, Omarosa Manigault Newman, as "wacky," "deranged," "vicious, but not smart," a "crazed, crying lowlife," and finally a "dog." After lasting only eleven days as communications director, Anthony Scaramucci "was quickly terminated 'from' a position that he was totally incapable of handling" and was called "very much out of control." An anonymous adviser to the president was called "a drunk/drugged-up loser." Chief strategist Steve Bannon was "sloppy," a "leaker," and "dumped like a dog by almost everyone." His longtime lawyer Michael Cohen was "TERRIBLE," "hostile," "a convicted liar & fraudster," and a "failed lawyer." The president was "Never a big fan!" of his White House counsel Don McGahn and "not even a little bit happy" with Jerome Powell, his selection to head the Federal Reserve, whom he called an "enemy." His third national security advisor, John Bolton, was mocked as a "tough guy [who] got us into Iraq." When the president was irritated with his former chief of staff, John Kelly, the president's press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, declared that Kelly "was totally unequipped to handle the genius of our great president."
First Time Around
A number of former staff members have clearly stated their opinion about the former president's return to the White House:
Mike Pence (former Vice President)
“I cannot endorse President Trump’s continuing assertion that I should have set aside my oath to support and defend the Constitution and acted in a way that would have overturned the election in January of 2021."
John Kelly (retired Marine general, former White House chief of staff)
“What can I add that has not already been said?... A person that thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured as POWs are all ‘suckers’ because ‘there is nothing in it for them.’ A person that did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees because ‘it doesn’t look good for me.’ A person who demonstrated open contempt for a Gold Star family – for all Gold Star families – on TV during the 2016 campaign, and rants that our most precious heroes who gave their lives in America’s defense are ‘losers’ and wouldn’t visit their graves in France.
“A person who is not truthful regarding his position on the protection of unborn life, on women, on minorities, on evangelical Christians, on Jews, on working men and women... A person that has no idea what America stands for and has no idea what America is all about. A person who cavalierly suggests that a selfless warrior who has served his country for 40 years in peacetime and war should lose his life for treason – in expectation that someone will take action. A person who admires autocrats and murderous dictators. A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law.
“There is nothing more that can be said... God help us.”
Mark Esper (former Secretary of Defense)
"In my view, any elected leader needs to meet some basic criteria: they need to be able to put country over self, they need to have a certain amount of integrity and principle, they need to be able to reach across the aisle and bring people together and unite the country. Look, Donald Trump doesn’t meet those marks for me."
Mark Milley (former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff)
“He is the most dangerous person ever. I had suspicions when I talked to you about his mental decline and so forth, but now I realize he’s a total fascist. He is now the most dangerous person to this country... A fascist to the core.”
John Bolton (former U.S. National Security Advisor)
"Trump is unfit to be president... If his first four years were bad, a second four will be worse... Trump really cares only about retribution for himself, and it will consume much of a second term."
In fact, the list of the Republicans who oppose Donald Trump is pretty extensive.
Second Time Around
I hesitate to speculate on who Mr. Trump will pick to be on his cabinet and in his administration - but I would not be surprised to see:
- Jeffrey Clark - who played a key role in Trump administration's attempts to use the Department of Justice to keep the former president in office
- Stephen Miller - the chief architect of the Muslim travel ban and family separation policy during the former president's first administration... and was exposed to have white nationalist leanings
- Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. - political candidate and environmental lawyer whose love for espousing conspiracy theories (vaccines cause autism, COVID targeting minorities, HIV not connected to AIDS, chemicals in the water causing transgenderism, etc.)
- Ken Paxton - current Attorney General of Texas... who was impeached by the Texas state House of Representatives in 2023 for alleged inappropriate favors done for donors, interference in federal investigations and retaliation against whistleblowers. He is also awaiting a much delayed trial on state securities fraud.
- Elon Musk - current owner of X/Twitter... and promoter of numerous conspiracy theories through his own X account, including some anti-Semitic posts. There are serious questions about his workplace ethics, particularly in the issues of sexual relationships with direct reports, drug use, and toxic work environments.
“Donald Trump believes he will be immune for anything he does once he’s in office. He will not respect the rulings of our courts, and people have to realize our courts can’t enforce their own rulings. So if a president refuses to carry out his obligation to do so, then we are no longer a nation of laws. The people that stopped him from his worst desires last time around won’t serve again."
Important reminder: I am not attempting to defend the Biden administration or the Harris candidacy. I am simply pointing out that Donald Trump quickly gets rid of people who tell him the truth and is drawn to those who simply do his bidding - and that behavior does not deserve and will not receive my support.
The first post in this series focuses on tariff policy - at this point, Mr. Trump's belief that tariffs are a "magic wand" that can cure all sorts of problems - child care, grocery prices, bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S., etc. They're not.
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