The Chaos Presidency: A Warning Ignored
I won’t say I told you so, but I kind of did…
Let me tell you, this has been one of the most infuriating weeks of my life. And that’s really saying something, considering I worked in Trump’s 1.0 White House. Since Inauguration Day, pretty much everything I had predicted would happen if Donald Trump returned to power has happened, and even some fierce Trump critics have been taken by surprise at the speed and ferocity (I have the texts to prove it). Mind you, I’m not saying any of this to gloat, because, believe me, I’d much rather be wrong. I just want to explain it if you catch me banging my head against the nearest wall.
On Monday, MSNBC published an op-ed from me on what I expected to see from Trump immediately upon taking office. The thing is, I’m no seer. Yes, I worked with Trump, and so I have some special insight that others do not. But at the end of the day, as I wrote in the piece, Trump is not inscrutable. On the contrary, he’s an easy read. He tells you exactly what he’s going to do. Unfortunately, people just don’t listen, don’t care, or choose to ignore the obvious.
To me, his key priorities were always crystal clear: revenge, immigration overhaul, and a draconian dismantling of the federal government. Suffice to say, on those fronts, he’s delivering with chilling precision. Perhaps the people who voted for him because of egg prices are feeling let down. But as Trump himself says, lowering the price of eggs was never his top priority. Sorry, folks. Oh and by the way, if you’re on Medicare or Medicaid, your prescription costs are about to skyrocket. This is the reality Trump promised, and unfortunately, he’s keeping his word!
So let’s go down the list and see how he’s doing…
Political Warfare
This was always going to be the starting point, because for Trump, spite and profit come first, always. This presidency isn’t passive; it’s active, combative, and vengeful. The Justice Department is currently being primed as his personal tool of retribution, and he’ll target high-profile critics in ways large and small as he sees fit. So far:
He had 1,500 Jan. 6th perps released from prison with a full pardon—even those who committed violence against police officers.
He terminated the Secret Service detail that was assigned to his former national security adviser John Bolton due to threats from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, as well as Mike Pompeo and others.
He has threatened to withhold federal disaster aid for wildfire-ravaged Los Angeles, a blue city in a very blue state.
He revoked the security clearances of 51 former intelligence officials.
He suggested that Joe Biden should have “pardoned himself,” which may or may not mean anything, but is cryptic nevertheless.
His perceived enemies fear losing pensions, getting audited, and paying steep legal bills.
And just because he’s a vindictive weasel, a portrait of the former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, has been removed from the Pentagon.