Trump Packs His Clown Car

His appointments are about trolling and loyalty

Donald Trump is filling up his clown car. In a series of startling choices, he has appointed wholly unqualified individuals to some of the most critical roles in government. Never has a president-elect made such strange and dangerous selections.

Trump’s most bizarre move has to be appointing Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida as attorney general of the United States. As the nation’s top law enforcement officer, Gaetz will—pending Senate approval—wield the power to initiate or abandon investigations and prosecutions. He will also oversee the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, setting priorities that will undoubtedly reflect the incoming president’s political agenda.

At age 42, Gaetz has no prosecutorial experience. He has been publicly accused of having sex with a minor and, for reasons only he can explain, opposed a Florida law banning so-called revenge porn. The Gaetz I knew when we served in Congress together was a frivolous, hyper-partisan figure uninterested in the real work of governance, fairness, or the truth. In other words, he may be the least qualified person ever nominated for attorney general. Yet he’s open to the idea of abolishing the FBI entirely—a prospect Trump might seriously consider.

Gaetz was chosen for his loyalty. Trump knows he can count on him to weaponize the Department of Justice against political opponents and media critics. This same loyalty likely explains Trump’s decision to appoint Fox News host Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense. Hegseth’s only relevant experience is his service in the Army National Guard. Does this qualify him to oversee a force of 2.8 million personnel operating in over 100 countries? You tell me.

And then there’s Trump’s choice for director of national intelligence: former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii. Like Hegseth, Gabbard is an Army National Guard veteran—though she has no background in intelligence. In Congress, Gabbard was a gadfly and flamethrower, much like Gaetz. She even had the audacity to run for president in 2020, winning a grand total of two delegates.

As a politician, Gabbard has been erratic and extreme. Once a Democrat, she is now an unabashed Trumpist. She supported Bernie Sanders’ socialist presidential campaign before pivoting to Trump. For years, she’s been a favorite guest on Russian television, a track record that likely endeared her to Trump, given his admiration for Vladimir Putin.

Trump’s pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services is even more unsettling: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Over the past year, Kennedy has careened from running for president as a Democrat to becoming an independent and then endorsing Trump. With a long history of environmental activism, Kennedy might have been a reasonable choice for head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Instead, Trump wants him to oversee HHS—a decision that seems destined for disaster.

Kennedy is a notorious purveyor of conspiracy theories. He has promoted the long-debunked claim that vaccines cause autism. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he falsely accused Dr. Anthony Fauci and Bill Gates of profiting from vaccine development. He also espoused bizarre and unfounded claims about Jewish and Chinese immunity to the virus. And let’s not forget his belief in the conspiracy theory that jet contrails are evidence of chemical dumping on the public. Now imagine Kennedy in charge of agencies responsible for medical research, vaccine programs, and drug approvals.

Trump’s appointments reveal two motivations. First, he seems to be trolling the nation, deliberately provoking outrage. Second, he knows these appointees—Gaetz, Gabbard, Hegseth, Kennedy, and others—will prioritize his agenda over expert, independent advice. They will not act as freethinking leaders but as loyal lackeys.

The potential damage from these appointments is staggering. National security crises? Pentagon failures? Absolutely possible. Could Kennedy’s mismanagement cripple vaccine programs, leading to outbreaks of measles and whooping cough? Without a doubt. In the short term, Americans will suffer unnecessarily. In the long term, perhaps this overreach will teach the country a valuable lesson: Clowns may be entertaining, but they should never be put in charge of anything.