If you think about it, putting Dr. Mehmet Oz, a paid shill for the health supplement industrial complex on TV and the internet, in charge of the health care of half of Americans makes perfect sense. No, it is not because he’s a surgeon. I’ll tell you why, it is because he’s a TV star with the backing of Oprah.
In his first campaign and first term as president, Donald Trump’s innovation was to make it impossible to focus on any one scandal or lie by constantly launching new ones. This worked for him until the final months of his presidency when he had to stick to one lie — that the election was going to be and, later, actually was stolen. As Trump’s lunacy was picked apart, even Fox News stars knew it was bogus, key players were able to find their balance and fight back.
Two moments in that brief rebellion that cost Trump the White House were then-Attorney General Bill Barr’s resignation rather than participate in a coup and then-Vice President Mike Pence’s decision, along with a majority in Congress that included dozens of Republicans, to stick by voters in certifying Joe Biden’s election.
I can’t read Trump’s mind, but the man is crafty and he learns from his defeats. Trump knows that if he gets pinned down on one topic, he needs other sources of distraction. You can see the outline of his solution in his choices for high government jobs. His team will be known as the Chaos Cabinet.
The scandals, the lies, conflicts of interest, foreign connections and the big mouths of Trump 2.0 are not flaws to be overcome — they’re new sources of confusion, chaos, falsehood and fraud to be harnessed to Trump’s authoritarian ends.
Pete Hegseth with his sexual assault allegation, support for war criminals and controversial tattoos will be unleashed on the Department of Defense. Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democrat with kind things to say about Russian and Syrian dictators will be director of national intelligence. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a former Democrat and certified screwball who has had odd ruins with a brain worm, a bear and a whale will run the Department of Health and Human Services.
They are more a cast of supporting actors meant to entertain than they are a cabinet meant to govern. Indeed, Trump insiders have an inkling that that is exactly what they are. Billionaire X owner Elon Musk, himself a cast member leading the soon-to-be-created Department of Government Efficiency, called attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz the “Judge Dredd America needs” at the Justice Department.
Each cast member will provide dramatic tension for a Washington, D.C., version of “The Apprentice.”
How far will Gaetz get in prosecuting Trump’s enemies before state prosecutors indict him for his relations with high school girls? Tune in to see if an alleged sex offender can serve as the nation’s top law enforcement officer from behind bars.
Can RFK Jr. resurrect nearly extinct polio by blaming autism on vaccines? Will Trump allow a conspiracy theorist to kill off one of science’s most amazing innovations? Tune in to see the latest “plandemic.”
How many agencies can Musk and loyal sidekick Vivek Ramaswamy eliminate before the public backlash is too much? Will Trump let him kill the beloved Department of Education or will the president step in to save the school lunch program?
Suddenly it makes sense that Trump wants to appoint these people through his recess appointment power, which puts them in place only temporarily for up to a year. He doesn’t need them for long, just for a season or two to juice the ratings and keep feeding the chaos.
This is what we’ve come to. We’re an entertainment republic ruled by Trump and the Chaos Cabinet.