At best, the pre-9/11 national security shake-up is a reminder of Trump’s inability to identify or retain quality people — never mind “the best people,” as he once promised — to fill the senior levels of government; at worst it’s another grim sign of Trump’s relentless drive to surround himself with aides whose signal qualifications are absolute loyalty and fealty rather than competence.
Trump famously likes to make exaggerated claims about himself and his administration, but records he actually has but rarely mentions involve turnover. According to data compiled by Kathryn Dunn Tenpas of the Brookings Institution, Trump has had more first-term Cabinet-level turnover than any predecessor going as far back as Ronald Reagan — and this for a president who hasn’t even completed his third year in office.
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Trump has even turned on those he once esteemed, even if they didn’t depart on the worst terms. Bannon went from being a top policy aide to “sloppy Steve” who had “lost his mind” after he was ousted in the wake of doing too many interviews taking credit for Trump’s win. (More recently, Trump has called him “one of my best pupils.” Was that at Trump University?) Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions was reportedly “mentally retarded” in Trump’s estimation. Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson went from being “one of the truly great business leaders” to “dumb as a rock” and “lazy as hell” after his departure. Manigault Newman went from a trusted staffer to “wacky” and a “lowlife” after her firing and then the release of her tell-all book. (By contrast, Trump still speaks warmly of Flynn.)
It all makes one wonder whose bright idea it was to hire these bozos in the first place.
