by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
In my new quest to describe elements of the Trump era in simplistic terms, something that could easily be engraved on a small participation trophy, I turned from Trump himself, whom I cloaked in my new word, "enfeeblementia," and am today trying to reduce his administration (cabinet officers and agency heads) to a one-or-two-word descriptor. "Clowns" leaped to mind because many of his selections for important posts come from the field of entertainment, and "unserious" because so many seem to be unqualified or unfit for their jobs. In fact, it often feels as though thy were primarily selected just as a way of creating controversy.
According to an article in Newsweek a year ago this week and written by Peter Aitken, the magazine's weekend editor for politics, at that time Trump had appointed 23 former employees of Fox News to positions of prominence in his government or in the courts, with the latest appointee having been Judge Jeanine Pirro to be the interim US Attorney for the District of Columbia. She was confirmed to that post on a permanent basis three months later and now serves at the pleasure of the President - until he or his successor chooses to relieve her of the post.
In addition to Pirro, other bad apples that Trump picked from Fox News include Pete Hegseth as his Secretary of Defense, Pam Bondi as Attorney General, Sean Duffy as Transportation Secretary, Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence, Michael Waltz as the former National Security Adviser until he was relieved of that position and is now US Ambassador to the United Nations, General Keith Kellogg who became a special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, Mike Huckabee as Ambassador to Israel, Tom Homan as the US "Border Czar," and Don Jr's ex-fiancee Kimberly Guilfoyle as Ambassador to Greece. Trump also appointed Fox personalities Maria Bartiromo and Laura Ingraham to the Board of the Kennedy Center.
FBI Director Kash Patel was not a regular employee at Fox News, but he was a recurring presence on the network as a regular guest and commentator. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino was also a Fox News retread. He served as second in command at the FBI for the better part of a year before "voluntarily" returning to the private sector.
(Comedian Bill Mahr noted with regard to Trump's many Fox News hires that he had heard of "state run television" but this was "television run state."
A few other unserious people Trump has placed in important positions include television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services, and Billy Long, a Missouri auctioneer and former congressman, to head the Internal Revenue Service. Trump removed Long from the IRS less than two months after he assumed the job, and. then transferred him to a new position as Ambassador to Iceland.
Many would argue with plenty of good reason that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, as Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Elon Musk, as head of the Trump-created Department of Government Efficiency, were also unserious hires.
Donald Trump has found his comfort zone and immersed himself in it. He is sitting blissfully in the backseat of a self-driving clown car surrounded by shallow, unserious sycophants whose main function is to feed him praise. The presidency isn't a job to Donald Trump, it's wack-a-doodle reality television and he is the star. He's in it for the adoration.
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