I have long puzzled over how DJT, especially having spent so much time in the rarified air of New York real estate, didn’t understand the need for a “hatchet man”, or as Eisenhower so indelicately phrased it, “a butcher”. Couldn’t decide if his ego convinced him that he was capable of preforming the job himself or if he felt that his personality and charm would win his adversaries over thus assuring their loyalty and honesty. Clearly that did not prove to be the case.
Perhaps he underestimated the deceitful and treacherous nature of the hydra that governmental bureaucracy represents.
Whatever the ultimate reason, as President Trump, he placed his trust, confidence and ultimately his agenda in the hands of people who were anything but trustworthy.
As Col. Macgregor pointed out, President Trump made totally unwarranted assumptions about high ranking military officers which led to an almost endless barrage of mischief. As an aside, having served in the US Army, I have never seen so many “officers” violate the chain of command without any kind of reprisals!
I found Vindman, I didn’t use his rank on purpose, particularly contemptible.
The point is, a great many things that could have been accomplished were not because of misplaced loyalty.
Had Trump appointed a team of “butchers” given the authority and the resources to clean out the vipers nest, perhaps Mitch Mconnel, Mitt Romney, and especially all of the Military officers who betrayed the President, would be retired or in prison.
Should Donald Trump win in 2024, I sincerely hope that his approach will be considerably different, for his sake and for the sake of the country.
I am still amazed with everything thrown at Trump, including two impeachments, he has survived so far, and got done, what he got done.
Tactically the opposition won. They got Biden into office, by hook and by crook. I am still in shock by everything that was done to MAKE SURE that Trump would not get a 2nd term. Both by Democrats and establishment Republicans, it has been VERY Eye Opening.
100% agree. It has been agonizing to see the insidious and treacherous actions committed by rabid leftists, but in particular by those supposedly “conservative republicans”! I have reserved a special place of contempt and loathing for Mitt Romney, John McCain and Adam Schiff. Despicable.
Trumps incredible gift is provoking his opponents to over react and tear off their masks to show their true, partisan, woke, and corrupt selves.
I had no idea it was this bad.
There is a trust / credibility of institutions and people before Trump was President, and after.
My theory on vaccines is Trump is picking his fights, and focusing on the election fraud and the mid terms.
Note the Tech Oligarchs, media, and Democrats are still terrified of Trump and are still censoring him, and on a witch-hunt to destroy him by any means possible.
I don't expect to change any opinions, but I consider President Trump gifted and experienced in these matters, having dealt with personnel and management all his life. Far be it from me to second-guess him. More in my domain, arts and letters, I am amazed at what he does with tweets. He has the gift of manipulating words and people as a result in an indirect way. As with Brer Rabbit and the briar patch, he gets his enemies to do his bidding. I don't see him as being a narcissist. He is worse. He sets his own high standards and assumes he can work miracles. Above all, he works with what is available at the moment. I further view him as a rare gift given to us and it would be a shame if we do not take advantage. Others may work out and even bring additional advantages, but I wouldn't want to take a chance.
Thanks for this article. While I was never fully trusting of anything government related, these past few years have destroyed my trust in all things related to the government and the media that supports the narrative. Even with all my distrust, I find it not just shocking, but frightening that direct orders were not followed.
I used to consider myself a Republican and I supported the Republican party with my money and my voice. I am still registered as a Republican, but I will never give to the party again. I will directly support candidates that walk the walk.
I also like DeSantis. What are your thoughts on Tulsi Gabbard?
Gabbard appears to be a very electable candidate--and I presume that's what she is. She's an attractive woman who presents well. She has a somewhat deep, well modulated voice, doesn't get flustered, argues her positions intelligently and with passion, but without losing control, and projects sincerity. Many of her defense related positions are sensible and resonate with the public.
She also may belong to a cult--you'll find differing opinions on that. She has been known to be politically flexible on social issue--currently she's sounding more normals friendly than she has in the past, although that doesn't seem to extend to pro-life (which she was in the past). She favors full drug legalization, a tough issue in some ways but I believe we should hold a hard line.
She's a politician and because of her attractive personal presentation can get away with the slipperiness she objectively exhibits--probably better than most politicians. She appears to be trying to remake herself as a populist, currently. I'm not saying she doesn't instinctively have principles, but those instincts take second place.
To paraphrase Lincoln, we can't spare Trump. He fights. I would further suggest that it is all too easy to criticize him but like Diogenes he had the task of looking in Washington for an honest man. Lacking people of integrity he had to make do with what was available,, and his successes in spite of all the opposition testify to that. Should he decide to come back, and given the lack of support he gets even from his supporters I wouldn't blame him if he opts out, I would not expect him to radically change his ways but to continue in a pragmatic manner to affront difficulties as they present themselves. I do not know if the vaccines did more harm than good, and in any case they were maybe a necessary evil, and he never made them mandatory.
Also, I expect he will be surrounded by much better people going forward. There were good signs of that toward the end of his term (eg. Mark Meadows as chief of staff).
He fights? Yes and no. He talks a good line, but part of fighting when you're president is to fire people before they can do great harm. Look at his succession of chiefs of staff. Was there truly no one else available? Gotta look outside the Beltway maybe. I admit it was truly difficult, but ...
I believe this is an honest assessment. I liked Trump. A lot. Voted for him twice and put a lot of my hope into his presidency. After he “lost” the election it destroyed a lot of the optimistic part of me. That is slowly coming back as I am a naturally optimistic person. But it has made me wiser i.e. more mistrustful, which in these days is not necessarily a bad thing. I pretty much trust NO politician anymore. De Santis included.
I do ask myself if Trump has learned anything from his experience. I hope he is asking himself that. His continuing rah-rah over operation warp speed is concerning. Can he see the forest for the trees? If he can’t or won’t acknowledge the harm of “his” vaccines, I could never in good conscience vote for him again, no matter that everything else he says I might still like.
Thank you for sharing this. It was quite thought provoking.
I agree. I loved that Trump turned over the D.C. card table and that he actually delivered and/or attempted to deliver on major campaign promises. In the end, however, the last two years have proved to me that he is not the right person to carry the America First flag. He has retained his two most toxic, dim-witted 'advisors' (Stepien and Clark). He is such a ego-driven guy that despite being booed at his own rallies for boasting about the vaccines, he has relapsed into touting them again... even as the butcher's bill starts to add up. Certainly enough has been said for years about how Trump was simply a bad judge of character and how he gave his saboteurs far too many chances to hurt him before stanching the bleeding. Maybe he is just too nice a man? If so, how in the world did he succeed in the NYC commercial real estate shark tank if he didn't have better instincts?
If he runs again, I will vote for him--any voter who has failed to learn the lessons of the last 15 months can only be either a hopeless idiot, anti-American, or both. I would prefer that he not run. I don't think DeSantis is a saint, but he sure as heck speaks intelligently, knows the issues, has smart people around him, and can parry with the press better than any other Republican pol on the current scene. Like you, I don't necessarily trust him but I don't see anyone who comes close to being able to take the America First mantle.
Extremely important that you posted and highlighted this, Mark. We have to do the hard work of processing and understanding Trump's 4 years and the shortcomings of his presidency. It's one thing to elect him in 2016 w the hope he will drain the swamp, but it's very different to talk about 2024 after he demonstrated such disastrous personnel decisions.
I have often wrote that Trump's biggest mistake wasn't firing- or reassiging to empty rooms and no staff in bumf***, North Dakota- the top 4 levels of every single department of the Executive Branch. Firing and reassigning until an actual political supporter was at the top of the remaining bureaucracy.
bum***, North Dakota? Why pick on the fine people of North Dakota, Yancey? This is a pretty solid Red State and a vital producer of oil, grains, corn, etc. There are far worse places in the USA you could send them. I'm thinking Lake Woebegone, MN where everyone is average and dull and they all vote blue. Put them amongst their kind. ;o)
It should be much easier to fire civil service. Anyone who touches policy production and execution needs to have no doubt that they work for the president.
Amen to that! A big part of that would be getting rid of the Senior Executive Service. Like we needed an embedded professional managerial class that is purported to be 9 times harder to fire than a regular government employee. 🙄 Carter created it to provide “continuity” across different administrations. Really solidified regulatory capture and led to things like Obama holdovers who worked diligently to destroy Trump’s presidency from the inside.
Obama could. Trump couldn't. If anybody ever deserved firing it was Comey, and he served directly under the President. It was a scandal for months, and I'm surprised Trump wasn't impeached. The replacement wasn't much better. I assume Trump was limited to someone in line for the job. Why bother?
I have long puzzled over how DJT, especially having spent so much time in the rarified air of New York real estate, didn’t understand the need for a “hatchet man”, or as Eisenhower so indelicately phrased it, “a butcher”. Couldn’t decide if his ego convinced him that he was capable of preforming the job himself or if he felt that his personality and charm would win his adversaries over thus assuring their loyalty and honesty. Clearly that did not prove to be the case.
Perhaps he underestimated the deceitful and treacherous nature of the hydra that governmental bureaucracy represents.
Whatever the ultimate reason, as President Trump, he placed his trust, confidence and ultimately his agenda in the hands of people who were anything but trustworthy.
As Col. Macgregor pointed out, President Trump made totally unwarranted assumptions about high ranking military officers which led to an almost endless barrage of mischief. As an aside, having served in the US Army, I have never seen so many “officers” violate the chain of command without any kind of reprisals!
I found Vindman, I didn’t use his rank on purpose, particularly contemptible.
The point is, a great many things that could have been accomplished were not because of misplaced loyalty.
Had Trump appointed a team of “butchers” given the authority and the resources to clean out the vipers nest, perhaps Mitch Mconnel, Mitt Romney, and especially all of the Military officers who betrayed the President, would be retired or in prison.
Should Donald Trump win in 2024, I sincerely hope that his approach will be considerably different, for his sake and for the sake of the country.
I am still amazed with everything thrown at Trump, including two impeachments, he has survived so far, and got done, what he got done.
Tactically the opposition won. They got Biden into office, by hook and by crook. I am still in shock by everything that was done to MAKE SURE that Trump would not get a 2nd term. Both by Democrats and establishment Republicans, it has been VERY Eye Opening.
100% agree. It has been agonizing to see the insidious and treacherous actions committed by rabid leftists, but in particular by those supposedly “conservative republicans”! I have reserved a special place of contempt and loathing for Mitt Romney, John McCain and Adam Schiff. Despicable.
Trumps incredible gift is provoking his opponents to over react and tear off their masks to show their true, partisan, woke, and corrupt selves.
I had no idea it was this bad.
There is a trust / credibility of institutions and people before Trump was President, and after.
My theory on vaccines is Trump is picking his fights, and focusing on the election fraud and the mid terms.
Note the Tech Oligarchs, media, and Democrats are still terrified of Trump and are still censoring him, and on a witch-hunt to destroy him by any means possible.
I don't expect to change any opinions, but I consider President Trump gifted and experienced in these matters, having dealt with personnel and management all his life. Far be it from me to second-guess him. More in my domain, arts and letters, I am amazed at what he does with tweets. He has the gift of manipulating words and people as a result in an indirect way. As with Brer Rabbit and the briar patch, he gets his enemies to do his bidding. I don't see him as being a narcissist. He is worse. He sets his own high standards and assumes he can work miracles. Above all, he works with what is available at the moment. I further view him as a rare gift given to us and it would be a shame if we do not take advantage. Others may work out and even bring additional advantages, but I wouldn't want to take a chance.
Trump as nice guy. Don't let that nugget get out or there will be a lot of exploding heads.
In fact it's not news--even though it runs counter to his public persona on TV. I heard early on and repeatedly that Trump hates to fire anyone.
I was being sarcastic - just comparing that to how he was portrayed by "certain" media outlets during his presidency.
Thanks for this article. While I was never fully trusting of anything government related, these past few years have destroyed my trust in all things related to the government and the media that supports the narrative. Even with all my distrust, I find it not just shocking, but frightening that direct orders were not followed.
I used to consider myself a Republican and I supported the Republican party with my money and my voice. I am still registered as a Republican, but I will never give to the party again. I will directly support candidates that walk the walk.
I also like DeSantis. What are your thoughts on Tulsi Gabbard?
Gabbard appears to be a very electable candidate--and I presume that's what she is. She's an attractive woman who presents well. She has a somewhat deep, well modulated voice, doesn't get flustered, argues her positions intelligently and with passion, but without losing control, and projects sincerity. Many of her defense related positions are sensible and resonate with the public.
She also may belong to a cult--you'll find differing opinions on that. She has been known to be politically flexible on social issue--currently she's sounding more normals friendly than she has in the past, although that doesn't seem to extend to pro-life (which she was in the past). She favors full drug legalization, a tough issue in some ways but I believe we should hold a hard line.
She's a politician and because of her attractive personal presentation can get away with the slipperiness she objectively exhibits--probably better than most politicians. She appears to be trying to remake herself as a populist, currently. I'm not saying she doesn't instinctively have principles, but those instincts take second place.
Still, she does have all the right enemies. Any American politician accused of being a shill for Assad and Putin must be worth something.
What a nice and round about way of saying that she's a player.
not sure if I've told you before, but I sure do appreciate you and your writing
Thanks.
To paraphrase Lincoln, we can't spare Trump. He fights. I would further suggest that it is all too easy to criticize him but like Diogenes he had the task of looking in Washington for an honest man. Lacking people of integrity he had to make do with what was available,, and his successes in spite of all the opposition testify to that. Should he decide to come back, and given the lack of support he gets even from his supporters I wouldn't blame him if he opts out, I would not expect him to radically change his ways but to continue in a pragmatic manner to affront difficulties as they present themselves. I do not know if the vaccines did more harm than good, and in any case they were maybe a necessary evil, and he never made them mandatory.
Also, I expect he will be surrounded by much better people going forward. There were good signs of that toward the end of his term (eg. Mark Meadows as chief of staff).
He fights? Yes and no. He talks a good line, but part of fighting when you're president is to fire people before they can do great harm. Look at his succession of chiefs of staff. Was there truly no one else available? Gotta look outside the Beltway maybe. I admit it was truly difficult, but ...
True that. Perhaps Meadows seemed an excellent choice only in comparison to the disastrous chiefs of staff before him.
Lincoln couldn't fire everyone he wanted, and that was in the middle of a war. There are factions....
I believe this is an honest assessment. I liked Trump. A lot. Voted for him twice and put a lot of my hope into his presidency. After he “lost” the election it destroyed a lot of the optimistic part of me. That is slowly coming back as I am a naturally optimistic person. But it has made me wiser i.e. more mistrustful, which in these days is not necessarily a bad thing. I pretty much trust NO politician anymore. De Santis included.
I do ask myself if Trump has learned anything from his experience. I hope he is asking himself that. His continuing rah-rah over operation warp speed is concerning. Can he see the forest for the trees? If he can’t or won’t acknowledge the harm of “his” vaccines, I could never in good conscience vote for him again, no matter that everything else he says I might still like.
Thank you for sharing this. It was quite thought provoking.
I agree. I loved that Trump turned over the D.C. card table and that he actually delivered and/or attempted to deliver on major campaign promises. In the end, however, the last two years have proved to me that he is not the right person to carry the America First flag. He has retained his two most toxic, dim-witted 'advisors' (Stepien and Clark). He is such a ego-driven guy that despite being booed at his own rallies for boasting about the vaccines, he has relapsed into touting them again... even as the butcher's bill starts to add up. Certainly enough has been said for years about how Trump was simply a bad judge of character and how he gave his saboteurs far too many chances to hurt him before stanching the bleeding. Maybe he is just too nice a man? If so, how in the world did he succeed in the NYC commercial real estate shark tank if he didn't have better instincts?
If he runs again, I will vote for him--any voter who has failed to learn the lessons of the last 15 months can only be either a hopeless idiot, anti-American, or both. I would prefer that he not run. I don't think DeSantis is a saint, but he sure as heck speaks intelligently, knows the issues, has smart people around him, and can parry with the press better than any other Republican pol on the current scene. Like you, I don't necessarily trust him but I don't see anyone who comes close to being able to take the America First mantle.
I think DeSantis would be a very good butcher in words and in deed.
I'm with ya.
Extremely important that you posted and highlighted this, Mark. We have to do the hard work of processing and understanding Trump's 4 years and the shortcomings of his presidency. It's one thing to elect him in 2016 w the hope he will drain the swamp, but it's very different to talk about 2024 after he demonstrated such disastrous personnel decisions.
I have often wrote that Trump's biggest mistake wasn't firing- or reassiging to empty rooms and no staff in bumf***, North Dakota- the top 4 levels of every single department of the Executive Branch. Firing and reassigning until an actual political supporter was at the top of the remaining bureaucracy.
bum***, North Dakota? Why pick on the fine people of North Dakota, Yancey? This is a pretty solid Red State and a vital producer of oil, grains, corn, etc. There are far worse places in the USA you could send them. I'm thinking Lake Woebegone, MN where everyone is average and dull and they all vote blue. Put them amongst their kind. ;o)
It should be much easier to fire civil service. Anyone who touches policy production and execution needs to have no doubt that they work for the president.
Amen to that! A big part of that would be getting rid of the Senior Executive Service. Like we needed an embedded professional managerial class that is purported to be 9 times harder to fire than a regular government employee. 🙄 Carter created it to provide “continuity” across different administrations. Really solidified regulatory capture and led to things like Obama holdovers who worked diligently to destroy Trump’s presidency from the inside.
Jimmy left quite the legacy, can't think of any good in said legacy.
I thought the SES was easier to fire. Am I wrong?
You're right. Trump coulda and shoulda fired top people.
Obama could. Trump couldn't. If anybody ever deserved firing it was Comey, and he served directly under the President. It was a scandal for months, and I'm surprised Trump wasn't impeached. The replacement wasn't much better. I assume Trump was limited to someone in line for the job. Why bother?