The first Trump term was notable for countless terrible appointments Trump made. This was true in terms of both politics and policy. On the political end, Trump appointed people who routinely sought to undermine him politically. Many of Trump’s own appointees would go on to campaign against Trump in 2020 and 2024. Trump’s more clueless followers assured us that this was all, somehow, 4-D chess. Of course, it wasn’t. The 4-D chess trope has always been, as the kids say, “copium.”
On the policy end, Trump’s appointments were even worse. Neocon warmongers like Nikki Haley, John Bolton, and Mike Pompeo—and countless lesser neocon junior bureaucrats—held prominent positions in the administration. Moreover, with their key positions in many federal departments, these advocates of the warfare state were able to protect members of the military who blatantly attempted to undermine the administration and promote war with Russia. The despicable militarist Alexander Vindman comes to mind.
Now, Trump appears to be back to his old habits. Publicly, the administration has said it won’t make the same mistakes again, but incoming evidence suggests the opposite. Already, Trump has appointed Elise Stefanik as UN Ambassador and Michael Waltz as National Security Advisor.
Yet again, of course, we hear from the gullible wing of the Trump base that it’s all 4-D chess.
Sure.
Waltz is an acolyte of Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, and in this video, Waltz praises Trump for his support of all the usual neocon talking points such as “breaking Iran,” “standing with Israel,” and “making China pay.” Waltz sings the praises of “standing with our allies,” which, presumably includes the Saudis who played Trump like a fiddle on his 2017 trip to Riyadh. Waltz is right about the State of Israel, of course. The Trump White House, was always Israeli-occupied territory. So much for “America First.”
Waltz has repeatedly called for escalation in Ukraine. In other words, he stands for the exact opposite of what Trump told his base throughout most of the campaign.
Stefanik’s career can be defined by her many years of work as a deep-state operative pushing pro-Israel NGOs and serving quintessential conservative establishment politicians like George W. Bush and Paul Ryan. As a reward for her service to the Foreign Policy Blob, Stefanik was immediately appointed to important committees on defense policy within months of arriving in Congress. She presents no danger whatsoever to the status quo in Washington.
It should surprise no one that both Stefanik and Waltz are also enemies of privacy and property rights:
The latest news on Trump appointments is that he plans to nominate Marco Rubio as Secretary of State. Perhaps Dick Cheney was unavailable. Rubio in the top tier of Washington Blob politicians who always and everywhere push for the continuation of global military intervention. Or, as Rand Paul put it “I see Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio as being the same person.”
“I see Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio as being the same person” — @RandPaul, the best Senator
pic.twitter.com/MGjZjvzRee— Liam McCollum (@MLiamMcCollum) November 12, 2024
Is this the best Trump has to offer? So far, Trump has offered nothing for Tulsi Gabbard, who is qualified for a foreign policy role, and who campaigned hard for Trump. If she ends up with only a minor position in the administration, it will be emblematic of an administration that is rapidly revealing that Trump never had any intention of fundamentally changing how the American Empire functions.
On the other hand, Ben Shapiro is very happy:
Well...somebody is happy... https://t.co/0mWFX16ojQ
— Daniel McAdams (@DanielLMcAdams) November 12, 2024
