Trump's Real Agenda: Family First
Nepotism, Loyalty, and Second-Tier Appointments in Trump 2.0
Donald Trump has long made abject loyalty his top priority, dating back to his days as a semi-paranoid, notoriously self-promoting real estate developer in New York City. To ensure he was always in control, he hired family members first. His brother Robert, his first wife Ivana, and his three eldest children — Don Jr., Ivanka, and Eric — all held top jobs in the Trump Organization. Their qualifications? Negligible. But it worked out because they did exactly what they were told.
During his first term as president, Trump brought this same nepotism to the White House by naming Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, as special advisers. However, the couple has made it clear they won’t be available for “Trump 2.0.” As a result, Trump is now turning to second-tier family members to serve in government.
In a move that proves qualifications and integrity are irrelevant, Trump has nominated Jared’s father, Charles Kushner, to be ambassador to France. Charles Kushner is infamous for serving time in federal prison after being convicted of more than a dozen crimes, including tax evasion, illegal campaign donations, and witness tampering. (The tampering scheme involved hiring a sex worker to seduce his brother-in-law.) Trump pardoned Kushner in 2020, officially wiping his criminal slate clean, but the internet never forgets. The French government and its people are undoubtedly aware of the new ambassador’s past. They also know that aside from occasionally consuming a croissant, Kushner has no apparent qualifications for the position. By appointing him, Trump has managed to insult both the French government and the French people.
Equally unqualified is Kimberly Guilfoyle, who was — technically speaking — engaged to Trump’s eldest son, Don Jr. Trump recently named her ambassador to Greece. Once a Democrat married to California’s current governor, Gavin Newsom, Guilfoyle is perhaps best known for the over-the-top speech she delivered when Trump accepted his party’s nomination in 2020. In a dramatic performance worthy of Eva Perón, she repeated Trump’s lies, smearing Joe Biden as a “socialist” who wants “to destroy this country.” She concluded with outstretched arms, shouting, “The best is yet to come!”
With those remarks, Guilfoyle fully committed herself to the cause of Trumpism. By becoming Don Jr.’s fiancée, she also aligned herself with the family. That status, however, has grown shaky, as Junior has recently been seen with another woman in Palm Beach. Still, for now, Guilfoyle remains in Trump’s inner circle. Thus, despite once deriding the Greeks as “freeloaders,” she’s headed to Athens.
Next in line is Massad Boulos, Tiffany Trump’s father-in-law, a truck salesman who has been named one of Trump’s advisers on Middle Eastern and Arab affairs. Born in Lebanon, Boulos has spent the last two decades doing business in Nigeria. Like Guilfoyle and Kushner, he has no discernible qualifications for the role he’s been asked to fill. Yet, like Trump, he has shown a willingness to mislead. When recently asked about his business, Boulos claimed it was worth billions. According to The New York Times, the actual value is closer to $900,000. Hardly the international “dealmaker” Trump described. But then again, what does the truth matter when it comes to the Trump family?
Rounding out Trump’s nepotism parade is Lara Trump, Eric’s wife, who previously served about eight months as co-chair of the Republican National Committee. She left the role shortly after Trump nominated Florida Senator Marco Rubio to be Secretary of State. Trump quickly began pressuring Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to appoint Lara to finish out Rubio’s Senate term.
With the soon-to-be president pushing for a favor — one that conveniently involves handing his daughter-in-law a seat in the world’s most important legislative body — DeSantis may feel he has no choice. Lara would gain a position she doesn’t deserve, while Trump would secure a guaranteed “yes” vote every time the roll is called.
In the meantime, it wouldn’t be surprising if Trump continued searching the family tree for other appointees. Could his son Barron, a college freshman, become assistant secretary of something or deputy commissioner of something else? Does he have a girlfriend who needs a job?
Stay tuned.
Of course that's what's happening...do you think the Bloated Yam cares one drop about his country? He ran to avoid prison. He did. Now he'll let his caporegimes run the nation, pay their tribute to the Don, and spend his days at Mar-A-Lago, alternating between playing golf and exacting vengeance on his enemies, real and imaginary.
I can’t wait to see this mountain of incompetence come tumbling down. I hope I get to see this abomination of an administration pay the piper in terms of lost elections for years to come!