With the news of Hope Hicks’ impending departure from White House service, media outlets have drawn attention to the fact that very few of Trump’s closest loyalists remain.
One of the more defensible claims that he made while campaigning was the argument that although he was not particularly experienced at governing, he would hire “the best people”. Many administrations have done so, and several presidents have been notable for their work at assembling teams of brilliant thinkers to tackle pressing problems.
Critics noted that Trump considered himself to be the smartest person in any room, and that his track record in hiring was not encouraging.
His appointees, from racist Keebler elf Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III to Neil (Right to work=Responsibility to freeze to death) Gorsuch to Rex (love them rubles) Tillerson, and all the agency heads who have previously sued or made statements about eliminating the agencies they now lead, have proven the critics right.
But it’s been the gross nepotism of the past year that has more prominently captured the spotlight, along with the outright corruption of Administration figures like Michael Flynn, or the public meltdowns of Sean Spicer and Anthony Scaramucci. Or Steve Bannon. Or the Rob Porter thing. Or the impending departure of General McMaster.
And so, somehow over the course of the past year, I missed this little nugget, or, if I saw it, it failed to capture my attention. Maybe you missed it too.
Hat tip to John Oliver for bringing it back around, for those of you who wonder at the mastermind “managing” the pr*sident’s social media output, it is none other than his former caddy, Dan Scavino.
His caddy.
His. Caddy.*
One wonders, learning that Trump has visited his golf courses 100 times times in his first 408 days, whether Scavino still carries the clubs. We’d probably all be better off if he took a 9-iron to Trump’s phone.
*There’s nothing wrong with being a caddy. And Scavino has done some other things since he first met Trump at age 16. But he’s where he is, not because of his skills, political or otherwise, but because of his loyalty. All the best people, indeed.
For those not familiar with with the “classic” golf film “Tin Cup”, the title of this post refers to this scene: