I have written before about the dysfunctional bent of Trump’s inner circle, pitting advisor against advisor, such as Bannon against Priebus for his oh so precious ear. I have opined that this will have a detrimental effect on the incoming Trump administration, robbing them of focus, and pitting them against each other instead of pursuing a common, shared vision for the future, however detrimental that future may be to the rest of us. I have said that Trump prefers this, that close advisors fighting with each other makes them much less likely to conspire to try to influence and direct him in concert. But now Mein Furor is taking it to a whole new level.
Let’s face it, retired general Mike Flynn is a nutcase. He has no business interfering with high level security matters, much less counseling a sitting President of the United States about such matters. A simple look at his Twitter feed, and the things that he re-tweets will convince anyone that the man should be advising no one above a car wash manager on how much soap to add to the washing solution. The same thing goes for his whack job son, Mike Jr., whom the transition team errantly began requesting a security clearance for before giving him the heave-ho from the transition team. Unfortunately, the NSA job does not require Senate confirmation, there is no oversight, Trump just has to appoint him, as he has.
Now, retired Marine general James “Mad dog” Mattis is a different kettle of fish. He is highly decorated, and highly respected, even having the so far tacit support of some Democrats for his experience and expertise. It is highly likely that Mattis will get his waiver to serve as Secretary of Defense, even though Lawrence O’Donnell took great glee in talking about how the stumbling, fumbling GOP majority made the job of getting that waiver more difficult rather than less so by attaching it to the continuing resolution to fund the government rather than just debating it on its own merits. But there’s just one small problem in Camelot.
Flynn and Mattis are diametrically opposed on many fundamental military things! They are unlikely to be on the same page regarding many national security issues, but they are both going to be advising the President. Who the hell does the President listen to? After all, he appointed both of these guys to their posts, who does he ultimately listen to? Sadly, we have absolutely no idea which way that particular wind will blow.
This is not like an administration pitting the conservation department against the energy department for amusement and back room politics. This is national security we’re talking about here, the most important job we elect a President to pay the closest attention to, our personal and national safety and security. On the one hand, you have what appears to be a mentally unhinged retired general who retweets whatever conspiracy theory catches his eye, as opposed to a retired general who at least has his eye on the ball, who grasps and comprehends the problems that face this country as a nation going forward. But exactly who does President Trump (gag) actually listen to and take counsel from? Sadly, only time will tell, to the possible detriment of all of us. Especially considering Trump’s penchant for Breitbart and Infowars.
Thanks as always for reading, you are ALL the wind beneath my wings!