Here we go again. Only a few weeks after the US presidential election, and even before he has re-entered the White House, Donald Trump has whipped up another storm of criticism.
Not for the first time, the shrieks from Trump’s opponents are overblown. His selections are unconventional and worthy of debate, but certainly not outrageous or ‘degenerate’. Part of the reason voters elected Trump was to see him shake up Washington, and his cabinet picks are consistent with that aim. What really worries Democrats and other critics is that this time, Trump may be successful in disrupting the cosy establishment that has ruled DC for so long.
The main criticism levelled at Trump is that his selections are unqualified. For the most part, that is another way of saying that they are outside the political establishment – which is actually a plus in Trump’s and many voters’ eyes. Consider the military. Hegseth – a Fox News host and former Army National Guard officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan – may not have a career in politics behind him, but he could be the jolt that’s needed for the Department of Defense. The military currently faces a big recruitment shortfall, due in part to a new woke ethos that is turning off conservative men. From the Trump point of view, Hegseth – a culture warrior and favourite among veterans – is worth giving a shot.
Similarly, former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard may be an unconventional pick for head of national intelligence. She doesn’t have an intelligence background, but she has been a consistent critic of the national-security and foreign-policy establishment. After all the dishonest, dirty tricks coming from the intelligence community – think of the 51 spies who joined together to falsely claim the Hunter Biden laptop scandal was a product of Russian disinformation – Gabbard may be just the one to clean house. And how delicious will be her revenge. While Gabbard’s political enemies had reportedly placed her on the no-fly list, she will now be overseeing them.
Yes, Gabbard is an outsider, but the so-called adults in the room in Biden’s foreign-policy establishment have been failures. Consider Jake Sullivan, the alleged wunderkind who became national-security adviser, despite his lack of significant experience. He went on to mastermind the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. He also claimed, with brilliant foresight, that the ‘Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades’, just days before Hamas’s massacre in Israel on 7 October last year.
The Democrats are hardly in a position to adopt the high ground when you consider how many of Biden’s appointees were unqualified. Pete Buttigieg had zero qualifications for being named secretary of transportation, with his only prior experience of note being the mayor of a small town in Indiana. That showed once in office, as Buttigieg’s inept reign has included clueless responses to a supply-chain crisis and a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Then there was Rachel Levine, Biden’s assistant health secretary, who pushed to allow gender-reassignment surgeries on young people. Anyone who approved this zealous trans activist to serve in a senior government position should not be taken seriously.
It is Trump’s agenda that the majority of Americans now want to see play out. The Biden administration’s screw-ups have led many Americans to be open to giving Trump’s cabinet nominees a chance. Biden’s treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, oversaw high inflation. His homeland-security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, facilitated an open border. Voters are understandably willing to think that virtually anyone else could do better.
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Article URL : https://www.spiked-online.com/2024/11/19/why-theyre-terrified-of-trumps-cabinet-picks/