Trump Wants His Cabinet To Serve His Ego, Not The Nation
In commenting on his decision to remove Secretary of State Rex Tillerson from his position last week, President Donald Trump explained to reporters at the White House, “We were not really thinking the same. Really, it was a different mindset, a different thinking.”
That different way of thinking had been apparent from the start of Tillerson’s stint at State, visible not only in the secretary’s disagreement with Trump on how best to handle North Korea, but also in the pettier matters that have come to define this pitiful presidency. Tillerson, a former Eagle Scout, reportedly objected to Trump’s gross politicization of his visit to the Boy Scout Jamboree over the summer. And he found the president’s ability to command basic facts so unimpressive that he reportedly referred to Trump as a moron in front of other administration officials.
While the coming negotiations with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un provided a useful cover for Trump’s hasty actions, Tillerson’s exit really owed to his failure to fall in line with the president, something Trump assured reporters would not be a problem with his new appointee to State, Mike Pompeo. “We’re always on the same wavelength,” Trump said of Pompeo.
Perhaps anticipating more criticism of the continually revolving door that is the White House these days, Trump defended his move. “I’m really at a point where we’re getting very close to having the Cabinet and other things I want,” Trump explained, as if the West Wing’s constant turnover was some refining process of personnel rather than a crisis of presidential leadership.
On Thursday, Trump continued his staffing shuffle, naming John Bolton as his new national security adviser in place of H.R. McMaster. Trump’s selection of Bolton, the warmongering U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under George W. Bush, is a chilling prospect for those who hoped Trump’s saber-rattling with North Korea might be tempered by cooler heads inside the White House. Bolton is an aggressive hawk who is certain to cheerlead Trump’s worst impulses.
All of these moves undercut Trump’s businessman boasts that he would bring only the “best people” to Washington, of course. But they also make plain that the real business of this administration is to serve Trump’s ego rather than the nation. In cutting out dissenters or even strong counterweights in his administration for the steady stream of sycophants and, let’s not forget, fawning family members he has gathered around him, Trump has ensured his White House will never be mistaken for Abraham Lincoln’s “team of rivals.” Instead, Trump is assembling a cabal of cronies.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-young-trump-cabinet_us_5ab51bbbe4b0decad0497fca
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