President-elect Donald Trump might not care that he’s assembling a Cabinet that’s chock-full of people with little-to-no relevant experience, many of whom are accused of sexual assault and have well-known drinking problems. But Americans sure do.
In fact, according to a survey from YouGov, which was fielded in late November, the majority of Americans surveyed said that they view allegations of sexual assault (62%), domestic violence (61%), and a history of substance abuse (51%) as disqualifying to serve in a presidential Cabinet position. American adults also suggested that they didn’t want Cabinet picks who had links to extremist groups (70%), allegations of links to hostile foreign governments (66%), and past criminal convictions (61%).
These numbers might not dissuade Trump, however, who is actively rolling out new names for those who he wants to fill out his administration. Several of Trump’s picks are embroiled in controversy. And it’s possible that Trump is hoping that Americans will turn a blind eye to these lower-level Cabinet members.
After all, Trump himself was held liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll and that wasn’t enough to stop Americans from electing him again. The fact that he’s also a convicted felon wasn’t enough to stop him from almost winning the popular vote, either.
Matt Gaetz
Whether Americans—or the senators who have the power to block some of these nominations—will go as easy on Trump’s band of misfits is somewhat up in the air. Already, former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name for consideration for attorney general following allegations that he had sex with teenagers at drug-fueled parties and then bragged about those encounters with his House colleagues.
And let’s not forget there was also the lengthy, reportedly incriminating report the House Ethics Committee was set to release on his conduct. (For what it’s worth, according to YouGov, Americans overwhelmingly think allegations of having sex with a minor is disqualifying, too.)
But other nominees who have similarly damning allegations leveled against them—whether it be sexual misconduct allegations or alleged drinking problems—are still in the running for a Cabinet spot, despite Americans’ wariness toward this. Notably, though, the survey found a slight gender gap when it came to whether “allegations of sexual assault” were enough to disquality someone from joining Trump’s Cabinet: 66% of women said that it was compared to just 58% of men.
Of course, if public opinion were enough to sway those that tow the party line then former Fox News host Pete Hegseth wouldn’t still be in the running to serve as secretary of defense. Aside from being completely unqualified for the role (he has no experience running anything larger than a small nonprofit), Hegseth was accused of sexually assaulting a California woman in 2017, and a police report was filed. Beyond that, a former colleague of his from Fox News accused Hegseth of getting “handsy” while drunk and claimed that he groped “her bottom at a Manhattan bar,” according to NPR.
Pete Hegseth
In trying times like this, one might expect that if anyone would stand up for Hegseth, it’d be his family. Not so much. Amid Hegseth’s contentious divorce in 2018, his own mom criticized his lack of character and routine mistreatment of women.
His mom has since said that she wrote this out of anger and is currently on an unfortunate apology tour on Hegseth’s behalf. As of Wednesday, she was making calls to senators—especially the “female” ones—presumably to get them to understand that her son isn’t that icky of a dude.
A mother’s love—or something like that.
But the allegations of sexual assault and general grossness extend well beyond Gaetz and Hegseth. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick to run the Department of Health and Human Services, also stands accused of sexually assaulting his family’s part-time babysitter. What’s worse, the woman, Eliza Cooney, said that Kennedy apologized via text, though Kennedy insisted that he had no memory of the incident.
Then there’s Linda McMahon, Trump’s pick to ruin—er, run—the Department of Education. McMahon is named in a lawsuit brought forth by five men who worked as WWE “ring boys” in the 1980s and ’90s. They allege that McMahon and her husband, Vince McMahon, from whom she is now separated, knowingly allowed another employee to use his position to sexually exploit young children. The McMahons have denied any wrongdoing.
Besides the host of demons in many of these appointees’ closets, there’s also just the simple fact that many of them are wildly unqualified for the roles they’re about to fill. But nevermind that. At least in Trump’s eyes, a fealty to him might be enough, even if Americans are begging for something more.
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