The election is over, with results far better than almost anyone could have anticipated.
But now the second war — arguably as important as winning the election — begins: the intra-party war to vanquish the neocons and Swamp creatures who are circling like sharks, waiting for any opportunity to procure positions of influence for themselves to counter Trump’s populist and anti-war instincts.
Related: Sen. Rand Paul Goes to War With Nikki Haley
The likes of Mike Pompeo, Nikki Haley, et al. are not going to fade away without a fight; they’ve got too much institutional backing for that. Hundreds of billions of “defense contractor” dollars hang in the balance, and you can be sure a hefty portion of that is going to be dedicated to installing industry plants inside the Trump administration and subverting any efforts to end forever wars.
Neocon and Koch associate Pompeo, whom Trump inexplicably appointed as Secretary of State in his first administration, has been attempting since before the election to slither his way back into a position of prominence via backroom dealing and public flattery.
Thankfully — and this speaks to the much superior quality of people Trump has surrounded himself with as an ad hoc advisory council this time — that doesn’t seem to be in the cards.
PJ Media’s Robert Spencer covered this story earlier.
Via The New York Times (emphasis added):
President-elect Donald J. Trump said on Saturday that he would not invite Nikki Haley, his former ambassador to the United Nations, or Mike Pompeo, his former secretary of state, to join his incoming administration.
Mr. Trump’s announcement on Truth Social, his social media platform, was an early indication of the decision-making process of the president-elect as he navigates the ideologic differences within the Republican Party.
Days after his election win over Vice President Kamala Harris, Mr. Trump’s team has already started his first formal transition meetings and ramped up the process for building his new cabinet.
By ruling out Mr. Pompeo and Ms. Haley, Mr. Trump was rejecting two Republicans who had backed U.S. support for Ukraine at a time when Mr. Trump and many of his allies have pushed to curtail American aid for allies and military involvement overseas.
“I will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley, or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to join the Trump Administration, which is currently in formation,” Mr. Trump said in the post. “I very much enjoyed and appreciated working with them previously, and would like to thank them for their service to our Country.”
BOOM.
The problem with the 45th and now 47th president — although it is a boon in some respects — is that he has no real ideology. He has ideas, which are correct more often than not, about what America needs politically, but these are not encompassed by a coherent and well-defined ideology, which opens him up to more manipulation by snakes like Nikki Haley than a hardcore ideologue might. He’s also notoriously susceptible to flattery.
So he needs people around him exerting the right kinds of influence and combatting the wrong kinds.
This announcement is the blessed fruit of Tucker Carlson, Alex Jones, Michael Flynn, and Tulsi Gabbard in Trump’s ears, dispensing the best possible advice both for him personally and for the country’s wealth and prosperity.
Related: Tucker: Mike Pompeo Should Be in Prison for Trying to Assassinate Julian Assange
Pompeo and Haley, in my view, probably deserve far worse for their lifetimes of public corruption and cronyism; a denial of a seat at the Trump table is the least of their comeuppance.
