Donald Trump has no desire to be « presidential »; he demonstrated this during his four years at the helm of the United States, and he is doing so again with his series of cabinet appointments.
The criteria sought for key positions are, according to his team, loyalty and competence. One criterion is clear: Trump is looking for loyal secretaries. As for competence, that’s another story. Here are a few examples:
Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary. Hegseth served as a major in the Army National Guard and has operational deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. By that standard, I’m just as « qualified » as he is—or nearly, since I haven’t been to Iraq—to lead an army of nearly 3 million members and a budget nearing a trillion dollars annually. Seriously. By comparison, the current Secretary of Defense is a former 4-star general. And the few secretaries who didn’t have direct military experience in the past were former CEOs of multinational companies. Hegseth, on the other hand, is a Fox News host, but only on weekends, when viewership is lowest. Trump chose him because he looks good on TV and appears tough. Hegseth has already alienated about 20% of his future workforce by stating that women shouldn’t be in combat roles. Many Defense Secretaries have failed in the past; good luck, Pete.
Matt Gaetz as Attorney General: The guy does have a law degree and practiced in a small firm for a few years, but his most notable experience with the law comes from being under investigation for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a minor. As a politician, Gaetz has never sought to implement significant policies but has instead tried to make a name for himself as a troublemaker and staunch defender of Trump’s misdeeds. Gaetz is a loudmouth, Trump’s mouthpiece, and is deeply disliked by members of his own party. He has no stature and is, to put it bluntly, a first-rate jerk.
Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence: Gabbard has praised Russia’s expansionist policies, an existential threat to the stability of the West. Shortly after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, she wrote in a social media post: « This war and this suffering could easily have been avoided if the Biden/NATO administration had simply recognized Russia’s legitimate concerns about Ukraine’s NATO membership. » Legitimate concerns?? Putin invaded a sovereign country, a Western ally, with utter disdain for international law. And if we don’t stop him, he’ll turn to the Baltics next. Trump will push a policy of appeasement, just like our leaders did in the 1930s in front of Hitler, with all the disastrous consequences that followed.
Hegseth, Gaetz, and Gabbard are loyal, indeed, but they have no competence for the positions they’ve been assigned, and they are especially extremists in their views. I hope they will run into strong institutions, with educated people who care about principles and the standing of the United States of America.
In 2016, Trump sought to surround himself with competent people to help him navigate the corridors of power, but he quickly realized that his secretaries were not going to obey him blindly. He learned his lessons. This time, he is appointing extremists who will do everything to put his most extravagant ideas into action.
Nearly 2,000 years ago, Emperor Caligula tried to appoint his horse as consul. Since then, historians have mocked him, claiming he had completely lost his mind, but I believe he knew what he was doing. By appointing his horse as consul, Caligula wanted to show that the work of other consuls was meaningless, because only his decisions mattered. Trump is doing the same: discrediting institutions and potential counter-powers by surrounding them with clowns who lack stature and genius.
