By Eddie O'Sullivan
Since November 5, the Trump camp has been hunkered down at Mar-a-Lago deciding on their next cabinet. The figures selected have three common traits: a steadfast devotion to Trump, in some cases a lack of qualifications, and— most importantly— an appetite for revenge and a desire to weaponise State offices to pursue their goals. Fear has spread across moderate America over the nominees. In some cases, it seems a damning representation of what the GOP has become, exemplifying its departure from the ‘Country Club Republicans’ to those propagating hard-line populism. Concerns have been raised about most of Trump’s picks ranging from Linda McMahon in education to Mehmet Oz leading the CMS.
A major concern for the centre ground of American politics has been the total lack of integrity that seems to permeate each choice to the core. Trump’s team seem to have been willing to look beyond serious ongoing investigations in their selection of Matt Gaetz, and whilst he did eventually drop out of the running, his nomination suggests a complete detachment from morality which seems to run throughout the Trump team. His replacement (Pam Bondi) does not face allegations of rape and sexual assault like her predecessor but does have her own question marks around professional integrity. These stem from a donation she received in 2013 from one of Trump's charities after which her office dropped an investigation of fraud at Trump University—despite this, her camp maintains that she went to great effort to return the money. Nevertheless, whether this is the image you want for the top legal figure within America remains unlikely.
This idea of a lack of decency brings us to Pete Hegseth who appears devoid of morality from his relationship with women to his apparent far-right sympathies. Hegseth brandishes multiple tattoos associated with Crusading such as the phrase ‘Deus Vult’ across his Bicep which translates to ‘God wills it’— first chanted during the Crusade— and throughout his books, he espouses ideas of an American crusade against the ‘leftists’. Hegseth’s political affiliations were deemed a threat by the Biden camp which removed him from his position as a national guard because his views were viewed as ‘extremist.’ This seems to epitomise the divide that consumes modern America and sadly suggests that this presidency will only fuel that divide. But beyond Hegseth’s political views, his integrity has also been called into question by his own mother who branded him ‘an abuser of women’ in a private email after allegations of sexual assault emerged in 2017. This highlights Hegseth’s lack of integrity and the modern Republican Party’s departure from the politics of morality and Christian values that used to be a requirement and have now become an afterthought.
"This confounding trend of inexperience is epitomised by the appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary— his background is in environmental law and only qualification seems to be an appetite for conspiracy theories."
Aside from the questions of morality that dominate the debate around the Trump picks, there is an equally concerning narrative around certain individuals’ qualifications. Take Mehmet Oz for example, he is known for being a TV doctor and appearing in Oprah’s show ‘Ask Oprah’s All-Stars,’ but recent concerns have been raised by medical professionals around the advice he promoted. This controversy resulted in his being removed from the faculty at Columbia due to pressure from a group of 10 doctors who claimed he had ‘a disdain for science.’ This again raises questions about why the Trump camp has selected these nominees and whether a rational government would choose this figure to be ‘America’s doctor.’ In defence of Oz, he at least has a medical career as a cardiac surgeon; a level of qualification which seems to be a rarity within the Trump cabinet. This confounding trend of inexperience is epitomised by the appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary— his background is in environmental law and only qualification seems to be an appetite for conspiracy theories. Overall, it is clear that throughout the cabinet there appears to be an absence of legitimacy, morality and competency. This doesn’t even consider characters such as Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and McMahon, all of whom have made their name in fields independent of their positions in the cabinet.
Despite this, behind the scenes, the Trump camp does have an underlying foundation of traditional republican figures. This could range from figures such as Susie Wiles (who seems to lurk in the background but is a stalwart of the republican party and has the most senior position as Chief of Staff) to William McGinley the White House legal counsel. These two are largely moderate Republicans and juxtapose most of the Trump team. This creates a potential conflict between the two camps and where the power lies within Trump’s team— the MAGA-flag-bearing brigade or the more moderate principled presence? This matter will become clear as the term goes on but already cracks have begun to appear, with Musk taking to ‘X’ to endorse Lutnick for Treasury Secretary, but the Trump camp choosing the more moderate Scott Bessent. Musk has since deleted the tweet.
Overall, the presidency has yet to play out, but it will certainly be one of chaos, turmoil, and revenge. Trump himself has spoken of retribution, claiming on Dr Phill’s show that ‘revenge does take time and can be justified’, potentially foreshadowing a weaponised state to be used against his political opponents. This presidency seems to be no different from the last— only more extreme.
Image: FMT
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