Let’s just say it right from the get go: there has never been an Administration - from the top down, that is as unqualified and incompetent as Trump 2.0. This specifically applies to Trump’s cabinet in his second term.
Hegseth at Defense
Rubio at State (yes, despite his having been elected to the Senate, he is clearly both)
McMahon at Education
Duffy at Transportation
Rollins at Agriculture
Chavez-DeRemer at Labor
Kennedy Jr. at Health and Human Services
Previously, Bondi at Justice
Previously, Noem at Homeland Security
One of the truly amazing aspects of all of these people is that they have no interest in actually running/managing/operating their respective departments. They’ll leave those pesky responsibilities to anyone under them that who may want to deal with such tedious matters.
Obviously, they were nominated by Trump (and approved the Republican Senate - sadly, in some instances with significant Democratic support - because of their slavish North Korean-like willingness to lick the boots of the President).
But one of the underreported aspects of several of these people is that they are incredibly dumb. Starting with the President, who actually said, "They’re Democrats — dumb. You take the 'b' out - most people don’t know that dumb has a 'b', okay? - but the 'u' replaces the 'e', and you have a Democrat.".
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With that prelude, it’s time for former plumber and current Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin to enter the chat.
Let’s start with this:
What struck me was not that Mullin - as Scott Horton points out - believes that his job includes removing foreign world leaders from their posts (which is bad enough and on which our track record is not exactly… stellar).
No. What struck me was Mullin’s follow up answer to a question about whether the Vice President of Venezuela was legitimately elected. My translation of his answer: “I have no f*^king clue, and I’m not intellectually curious (i.e., smart) enough to find out”.
Lack of knowledge for one’s actions and lack of ability to understand one’s actions and their repercussions is not just ignoorant. It’s downright dangerous.
Then there’s this:
Of course, no matter how much Trump and his acolytes pound the podium, constitutionally, the federal government doesn’t have any say in running elections (unless congress decides to pass laws pursuant to Article I, Section 4, Clause 1 regarding such).
Finally, whoo boy (free NY Times link):
Trump’s Homeland Security Chief Threatens Election Officials With Prison Time
Markwayne Mullin reiterated the president’s false claims about voting security while escalating the administration’s legally questionable attempts to control state elections.
Side Note: the NY Times headline/subheadline is everything wrong with legacy media: 1) they could use less words by simply replacing the euphemism “false clams” with the more accurate word “lies”, and 2) they could use less words by simply replacing the euphemism “legally questionable” with the more accurate word “unconstitutional”.
Yes - part of Mullin’s gig is to defend Trump’s agenda at all costs. But this is also what happens when people who are actually stone cold dum(b). Dumb people cannot be expected to understand the complexities of governing/running the largest and most complex organization in human history
You know you’re in trouble when Joe the Plumber (remember him? May he rest in peace) is more articulate and smarter than our current Secretary of Homeland Security.
I Can Be a Plumber
