By way of caveat, I am coming at this from the perspective of someone who took Trump at his word in 2016 that he intended to #DraintheSwamp — by which I took him to mean he would purge permanent Washington of the overfed, parasitical managerial class that exists now solely to promote its own interests, an overriding self-serving purpose that all bureaucracies devolve into on a long enough timeline — only to see him fill his cabinet with the likes of Mike Pompeo, Nikki Haley, John Bolton, etc.
You are free to disagree with any or all of this. Indeed, if you admire Mitt Romney and Dick Cheney and believe they stewarded the Grand Old Party to soaring new heights of glory before Trump crashed the party in 2026 and long for a return to “normalcy,” you probably will.
Related: Tucker: Mike Pompeo Should Be in Prison for Trying to Assassinate Julian Assange
This time, we were promised all campaign long, things are going to be different.
Trump learned a thing or two from his first session in office — having to climb an admittedly very steep learning curve in what amounted to a crash course in Swamp politicking. The snakes slithered into his ear, and he didn’t always make the wisest decisions in terms of appointments — mistakes that, in rare form, he basically copped to in his interview with Joe Rogan.
So how are things going post-election?
First, the good news.
Via Fox News (emphasis added):
President-elect Trump on Wednesday announced Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., as his pick for attorney general — an unexpected pick that took many, including fellow House Republicans, by surprise.
If confirmed, Gaetz will head up the Justice Department after Trump is sworn in for his second term in January.
Trump first announced his nomination in a post on Truth Social, saying Gaetz "has distinguished himself in Congress through his focus on achieving desperately needed reform at the Department of Justice."
Gaetz confirmed the nomination on the social media site X, adding, "It will be an honor to serve as President Trump’s Attorney General!"
In his statement on Truth Social, Trump praised Gaetz for his experience on the House Judiciary Committee, where he said Gaetz "played a key role" in "defeating the Russia, Russia Hoax," and exposing what Trump described as "alarming and systemic Government Corruption and Weaponization."
"He is a Champion for the Constitution and the Rule of Law," he added.
As far as nationally known politicians go, Matt Gaetz is among the best. He is one of the few of that elite club who refuses corporate PAC money, full-stop — which means he’s not beholden to special interests in the same way that his colleagues are, as reflected in his votes.
Then we have, as PJ Media’s Matt Margolis reported, Tulsi Gabbard nabbing the director of National Intelligence (DNI) position. Gabbard was one of the few principled Democrats willing to oppose their #Russiagate scam and all of their other diabolical machinations over the past decade, which she paid the price for politically. So good on her for her redemption arc.
Related: Tulsi Gabbard: 'Trump Indictment Undermines Democracy'
Incoming Border Czar Tom Homan hasn’t even taken office yet, and he’s already driven the Social Justice™ people into hysterics. I can only imagine the indignant tears that will flow once the mass deportations begin.
And begin they shall.
Via The New Republic (emphasis added):
Donald Trump’s pick for his administration’s “border czar” suggested that immigrants should “self-deport” ahead of the president-elect’s massive deportation scheme.
During an interview Monday with Tom Homan, Trump’s former director of Immigration Customs and Enforcement, Fox News’s Sean Hannity pitched the idea of a two- or three-month “grace period” for undocumented immigrants to self-deport.
“If you don’t self-report-deport, then you will never be given an opportunity at citizenship and when you leave, you will never be invited back, you will never be able to apply to come into the country,” said Hannity. “Sound like a good idea or no?”
“Criminals and gang members get no grace period,” Homan, the incoming border chief, said. “But, while we’re out prioritizing the public safety threats, and national security threats, if you want to self-deport, you should self-deport. Because, again, we know who you are, and we’re gonna come and find you.”
Here Homan is making a rambling mess out of AOC — a preview of things to come, hopefully.
America,
— TONY™ (@TONYxTWO) November 11, 2024
Watch your new Border Czar, Tom Homan, absolutely destroy AOC with nothing but facts 🔥🔥🔥
We are in good hands. pic.twitter.com/2t7qggNCfq
Related: Germany: Gang Rapes Hit Record High, Up to Half Committed by Migrants
It's not all roses, though.
On the decidedly negative side of the ledger, we have the notoriously malfunctioning Ken doll, Marco-Bot 3000, the fakest politician of them all, who never saw a war he didn’t want to send other people’s kids to die in for the sake of his “defense contractor” donor buddies, on his way to helm the State Department and, ostensibly, run U.S. foreign policy.
Via Associated Press (emphasis added):
Rubio rode the tea party wave in 2010 to rise to national prominence. He campaigned by saying then-President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress threatened the nation’s economy by supporting disastrous domestic spending, tax and health care policies.
As vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and a member of the Committee on Foreign Relations, Rubio now often discusses foreign military and economic threats, particularly China. He warns that China, Iran, North Korea and Russia are increasingly partnering against the United States.
“They all share one goal, and that is, they want to weaken America, weaken our alliances, weaken our standing and our capability and our will,”* he said in a speech last March.
*In other words, Rubio is indistinguishable in rhetoric or substance from any 2004-era neocon, which is what we’ll get from him as secretary of State.
Very poor move, Trump — one that I imagine he’ll come to regret.
