Trump Redux: The Death of Democracy, or Overblown Hyperbole?

[Trollheart]

Name: John Ratcliffe
Age: 59
Position: Director CIA
Previous Experience: Former Director of National Intelligence; Member of the House of Representatives (look in future I'm just putting Member of the House, ok? I keep misspelling Rrpe - Reperse - that word and it's a pain in the arse); Mayor of Heath, Texas; State Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas
Historic Interest: First appointee I've come across who seems to at least have the required experience.
Trump says: "[he]has always been a warrior for Truth and Honesty with the American public".


Down to replace the former DNI, Ratcliffe had to withdraw due to bad publicity and the belief he would "politicise intelligence", but Trump tried again and this time succeeded in nominating, and appointing him as the Director. Once in the post, it seems he did exactly as had been feared, punishing officials under him who did not fall into line with his view, making claims that contradicted the intelligence community, and basically being a Trump suck-up who thinks the truth is negotiable and fluid. Which, considering what El Jaffa sorry Jefe, no I was right the first time said about him above, is ironic.

His claims that he "personally managed dozens of international and domestic terrorism investigations involving some of the nation's most sensitive security matters" and "put terrorists in prison"  have no basis in reality and there is no proof he was ever involved in prosecuting any terrorism-related cases; he bigged himself up about how many illegal aliens he had arrested in a single day (300 became less than 45)  and was about bitching and whining about putting Hilary in jail, never mind the lack of evidence of any crime. He also asserted, weirdly, that any alleged interference in Trump's 2016 election would have helped her more than him! It must be nice/terrifying to live in this alternate world Republicans spend so much of their time in.

He even managed to perform quite an unbelievable spin, turning a (possibly Republican-initiated) email threat to "vote for Trump or we will come after you" in 2020 into an attack by Democrats that would "harm President Trump"! Work that one out. No, I won't wait: time is running out for me. I don't have that long. He's a Chinaphobe, supports the deportation of illegal immigrants, and opposes net neutrality. What? Oh, look it up: I've dozens of these bozos to research, and that fat bastard is appointing more every hour it seems. Like trying to empty the fucking ocean with a teaspoon. With holes in it.

[Trollheart]

Well, I can't figure these appointments out.


I've just added the "Trump says" category to the profiles, as I think it's important to know what, if anything, is or was going through what we may kindly and generously refer to as the Big Orange's brain when he made these appointments. I've back-edited them in on all the other profiles.

I also intend to feature reaction, if possible from both sides but primarily either from Republicans and/or those already involved in the specific department as to what they think. I believe that may give us a slightly more balanced view (if anything about these appoinments/rewards for obedience can be characterised as balanced) as to what the general feeling is. That will take time, so I'll add them in as I get them. Taking a short break for now: there's only so many smug, smarmy, arrogant cunts you can look at before you need a cup of tea and a lie down.

[SGR]

You best not delay too much Trolls, Trump's picks are rollin' in!

https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1857170020427595797

https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1857198805919138235

[DJChameleon]

I'm intrigued and concerned. Who organised the "moving" of these migrants to New York? Did Texas just decide, yiz're goin' and that's it and yes this shotgun is loaded why do you ask? Did NY have to agree, or did they all just turn up on their doorstep one fine morning? Probably sounds stupid what I'm asking, but I'm just trying to understand it.

Greg Abbott the governor of Texas decided to do this move to stick it to NYC because back in 2016 NYC declared itself a sanctuary city which only meant that they weren't going to willingly work with ICE(Immigration Customs Enforcement). NY didn't have a chance to agree but they weren't going to turn them away which I agree with they shouldn't.

I know there are big cities in Texas mate, we learn geography in Europe.

I'd imagine there is a shit load of construction in NY also. As well as the gig work and shit like that.

So would you say you want immigrants then, just not where you live?

I'm fine with immigrants being where I live I don't mind it at all. If I could personally welcome them into my own house I would. You aren't going to catch me in some gotcha moment. I know what you are doing JJ.

I also realize that NYC is running out of resources and space to take in immigrants because so many have been sent there over the course of a year and a half. There were companies that benefitted from taking them in but realistically if NYC isn't getting funds federally to help and the federal government isn't working with NYC to give the asylum seekers working permits so they can contribute to the system that's an issue. I've personally talked to some of the migrants because three busses were sent up to my city and I stood outside the hotel they were arriving at to welcome them as opposed to the xenophobic assholes that were cursing and honking their horns as they passed by the hotel. These migrants want to work. They come from countries where they were doctors, lawyers, accountants and they hate that they aren't allowed to work here in the states even if they weren't able to work as their old profession.

[jimmy jazz]

I wasn't asking if you'd treat them negatively personally. But when you say your area is overcrowded and you've took in your fair share, sounds a bit NIMBY.

[Trollheart]

You best not delay too much Trolls, Trump's picks are rollin' in!

https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1857170020427595797

https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1857198805919138235

Oh fuck tell me about it. Every time I check the BBC webpage there's another trud dropped in the toilet! But hey, it's not like I have a time limit or am working to any sort of deadline here. Nothing happens till January, and while I obviously want to write a lot more and hope this thread will certainly be more than "this asshole fits this job", I do want to make it as comprehensive as possible, so I'm working on it. But it's exhausting and it depresses you after a while.

Looking now, I see, um, 20 appointments, and I've done so far 8. So that leaves... let's see.. maths was never my strong suit, as I said... um... oh wow. 308! No, no that can't be right. Let's see... carry the one, divide by six, adjust for inflation... 1,200! No damn it! Well, whatever it is, it's a lot, and I know it's getting more all the time. I'll be doing this all day tomorrow no doubt.

As someone on another forum said, tuck Frump!

[Trollheart]

Name: Taylor Budowich
Age: 27
Position: Deputy Chief of Staff
Previous Experience: Executive director of the Tea Party Express, a Republican PAC; founder of MAGA Inc., another one; spokesman for Trump in the previous administration
Historic Interest:
Trump says: Don't know
He/she says: "Today, in what can only be described as a bogus and deeply troubling effort to use the power of government to 'get' Trump, I fulfilled a legal obligation to testify in front a federal grand jury and I answered every question honestly. America has become a sick and broken nation—a decline led by Joe Biden and power hungry Democrats. I will not be intimidated by this weaponization of government. For me, the need to unite our nation and make America great again has never been more clear than it is today.That starts with re-electing President Donald J. Trump, a purpose I will not be deterred from pursuing."
(The above comes from 2023, as Budowich went in to testify in the "classified documents" case)
Others say: Nobody seems to care.

So far, definitely the youngest member of Trump's cabinet I've read about. Another fanatical follower of the Big O, he fiercely defended his master's accusation of stoking the flames that led to the January 6 insurrection riots, and was involved in at least three major PACs - Maga Inc., Tea Party Express and Save America. There's not much current information on him, but I do find it curious that one of the few sources quotes on his profile that he  graduated from "a reputable university". I mean, why not name the university? Sounds a bit odd. That's all I got.

[Trollheart]

Name: James Blair
Age: Unknown
Position: Deputy Chief of Staff (wait, what?)
Previous Experience: Involved with the RNC; one of Trump's campaign directors
Historic Interest:
Trump says: "Dan [Scavino], Stephen [Miller], James, and Taylor [Budowich] were 'best in class' advisors on my winning campaign, and I know they will honorably serve the American people in the White House. They will continue to work hard to Make America Great Again in their respective new roles."
He/she says: Can't find any quotes
Others say: Nobody cares

Right, let's sort this out. I don't know if this is normally done in presidential cabinets (but since when did Trump respect or follow precedent?) but it looks as if the role of Deputy Chief of Staff is being split between no less than four people. SGR or DJ or someone can let me know if this is normal: I don't think it is, but I may be wrong. So Budowich, featured above, will be in charge of communications and personnel, while this fucker will be looking after legislative, political and public affairs. Right.

Blair was the "genius" behind one of Trump's big campaign questions to voters, "are you better off now than you were four years ago?" He also seems to have come up with the slogan "Trump can fix it", which, if American voters knew anything about the original usage of that phrase, would perhaps not have gone down as well as it did. It looks like he was also involved with the RNC, the Republican National Committee.

[Trollheart]

Name: Dan Scavino
Age: 48
Position: Deputy Chief of Staff (another one)
Previous Experience: Deputy Chief of Staff; Director of Social Media
Historic Interest: Longest-serving member of the Trump administration
Trump says: As above - seems the four of them being squashed into one post (not literally, unfortunately) means their boss lumps them all together in his comments. Aw.
He/she says: Probably "Jawohl, mein fuhrer!"
Others say: Who?

Well, I guess if you're going to give a top-level job to someone, you have to make sure they have the credentials and experience so that... sorry, sorry. Just slipped through that dimensional rift that's just outside my bedroom door again, into a world of sanity and logic. Now, where was I? Oh yeah. In Trumpworld, you appoint people based on how much they supported you and how far their tongue was up your arse. This guy's entire political career spans a staggering ten years (!) almost. Prior to being selected by Trump he was working for Coca Cola (always) and then ran the Big Orange's Winchester Golf Club, so good training for a post in the White House. Well, given how long the former president spent in his first administration on the green, maybe.

At least, as head of Trump's Social Media team, he was able to present a fair and unbiased picture of the president's opp - ah, sorry. I just can't keep a straight face. One of the original, I think, disseminators of misinformation, disinformation and outright lies, he used Twitter and Facebook to twist and corrupt anything he could in order to make his boss look good, or his boss's enemies look bad. He was held in contempt after his refusal to answer a subpoena to appear in court and testify in the January 6 investigation.

[DJChameleon]

Biden currently has three deputy Chiefs of Staff. It's normal to have a few of them with duties split up between them.

[Trollheart]

Name: Stephen Miller
Age: 39
Position: Deputy Chief of... well, you know by now how it goes. Also Homeland Security advisor
Previous Experience: Communications Director for Senator Jeff Sessions; press secretary for two House Representatives; speechwriter in the Trump administration
Historic Interest: Possibly the most right-wing, nationalist, white supremacist, xenophobic member of Trump's cabinet. And as you can imagine, that's really saying something.
Trump says: See above
He/she says: [the judiciary has] "taken far too much power and become, in many cases, a supreme branch of government ... Our opponents, the media and the whole world will soon see as we begin to take further actions, that the powers of the president to protect our country are very substantial and will not be questioned." (2017, in response to the blocking of Trump's proposed travel ban)

 "The president is a political genius... who took down the Bush dynasty, who took down the Clinton dynasty, who took down the entire media complex".  (2018)

Others say: [Miller]"seemed to assume that if you were in disagreement with him, there was something malevolent or stupid about your thinking—incredibly intolerant."  - former senior vice president of Duke University, John Burness

"I have watched with dismay and increasing horror as my nephew, an educated man who is well aware of his heritage, has become the architect of immigration policies that repudiate the very foundation of our family's life in this country." David S. Glosser, Miller;s uncle, in 2018

[his attitude shows] "an absurd lack of appreciation for the separation of powers" [set forth in the Constitution] - Cornell Law School Professor Jen David Ohlinn, 2017


Now I don't want to be cruel (yes I do) but doesn't he look like another famous propagandist popular in the 20th century? Just put him in a Nazi uniform, thundering the question "Do you want total war?" and I think it would be hard to tell them apart. This ignorant cunt was apparently on the same page as Tom "I hate immigrants" Homan, another of the architects of the heinous procedure of separating immigrant children from their parents, and he also suppressed a report that showed that in fact immigrants had a net positive impact on the German sorry I mean US economy. Reminds me of the Nazis hiding the report that showed that, contrary to what they wanted the people to believe, there were more Jews serving in the front lines in World War II than expected.

An avid conspiracy theorist and white supremacist, he forced the resignation of the previous Secretary of Homeland Security, convincing der fuhrer that she was not tough enough on immigrants, and spread lies about the 2020 election having been stolen. He drafted much of the legislation that prevented or restricted entry for Muslims into the USA during Trump's time, and was instrumental in having FBI Director James Comey fired.

His own uncle called Miller a hypocrite, pointing out that the family were themselves of migrant stock, having come to the USA from Belarus. Miller also advised his boss not to endorse masking up in the face, literally, of Covid-19, and therefore must bear some, indeed much of the blame for the one million Americans who died basically ignoring the virus. He also had the crazy - and expensive - idea of using the US Army to seal the border with Mexico. This was shot down. Sorry. He was also behind the attempt to send "alternate electors" to Congress, in the hopes of overturning Biden's election win in 2020. As speechwriter, he wrote and prepared "that speech", the one Trump gave on January 6 which resulted in a mob descending on the Capitol building in what was nothing less than an attempt at insurrection and the overthrow of democracy.

[Trollheart]

Name: William McGinley
Age: Unknown
Position: White House Counsel
Previous Experience: Deputy General Counsel to the RNC; Cabinet Secretary
Historic Interest:
Trump says: "Bill is a smart and tenacious lawyer who will help me advance our America First agenda while fighting for election integrity and against the weaponization of law enforcement."
He/she says: Dunno, but probably something carefully written to protect him from any kind of legal action, or giving a straight answer
Others say: Just what we need: another poxy lawyer!

Ah what can you say about lawyers? They're all fucking boring and the same. Can't find much out about McGinley, and much of the reason for this is, I think, because when I input his name Google helpfully asks me if I mean McKinley? No, I do NOT want to read about the former US fucking president, Google you cunt! So there are few entries on him, but that may also be due to the fact that there isn't all that much very interesting to read about him.

Like I said: fucking lawyers.

[Trollheart]

Name: Steve Witkoff
Age: 67
Position: Special Envoy to the Middle East
Previous Experience: Fuck all
Historic Interest:
Trump says: "Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud."
He/she says:
Others say: "These appointments are all Palestinians should need to understand what is coming their way," - Nour Odeh, Palestinian political analyst

Jesus Christ processing a third recount in Georgia! If I can't find much to write about a lawyer, there's even less to tell you about this guy, who has literally NO political experience, is a real-estate developer and golf buddy of Trump, and that, my friends, is fucking it! What qualifies him to be any sort of an ambassador, least of all to one of the most volatile regions on the planet? Ya got me there, son.

[Trollheart]

Name: Mike Huckabee
Age: 69
Position: Ambassador to Israel
Previous Experience: Governor of Arkansas;
Historic Interest:
Trump says: "Mike will bring peace to the Middle East"
He/she says: "I won't make the policy; I will carry out the policy of the president."

"There is no such thing as a West Bank. There's no such thing as a settlement — they are communities, they're neighborhoods, they're cities. There's no such thing as an occupation."

"There's really no such thing as a Palestinian"

"My experience dealing every day with real people who were genuinely affected by policies created by government gave me a deep understanding of the fragility of the human spirit and vulnerability of so many families who struggled from week to week. I was in the ICU at 2 a.m. with families faced with the decision to disconnect a respirator on their loved one; I counseled fifteen-year-old pregnant girls who were afraid to tell their parents about their condition; I spent hours hearing the grief of women who had been physically and emotionally clobbered by an abusive husband; I saw the anguish in the faces of an elderly couple when their declining health forced them to sell their home, give up their independence, and move into a long-term-care facility; I listened to countless young couples pour out their souls as they struggled to get their marriages into survival mode when confronted with overextended debt ..." (1980s)

"The doors to my office were spitefully nailed shut from the inside, office furniture and equipment were removed, and the budget spent down to almost nothing prior to our arriving. After fifty-nine days of public outcry, the doors were finally opened for me to occupy the actual office I had been elected to hold two months earlier." (On his election as Governor of Arkansas)

 "I will not participate in any program that has racist overtones. I've spent a lifetime fighting [against] racism and anti-Semitism." (1994, about the Southern Poverty Law Center)


"I hope we answer the alarm clock and take this nation back for Christ." (1998)

 "I would love to know more. What I know is troubling enough. And one thing that I do know is his having grown up in Kenya, his view of the Brits, for example, is very different than the average American." (2011, of Obama)

[it would] "most certainly" [be a good day for America if Roe v. Wade were reversed by the Supreme Court] (2008)

"This [gay marriage] is not just a political issue. It is a biblical issue. And as a biblical issue—unless I get a new version of the scriptures, it's really not my place to say, OK, I'm just going to evolve[.] ... It's like asking someone who's Jewish to start serving bacon-wrapped shrimp in their deli. We don't want to do that—I mean, we're not going to do that. Or like asking a Muslim to serve up something that is offensive to him, or to have dogs in his backyard[.] ... We're so sensitive to make sure we don't offend certain religions, but then we act like Christians can't have the convictions that they've had for 2,000 years." (2007)

"it's unfortunate we glorify and glamorize the idea of out-of-wedlock children." (2011, about Natalie Portman)

"Democrats want to insult the women of America by making them believe that they are helpless without Uncle Sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control, they cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of the government." (2014 - "Uncle Sugar" doesn't refer to the British business mogul but instead is a reference to the welfare state)

"I think that students also should be given exposure to the theories not only of evolution but to the basis of those who believe in creationism." (2004)

"I almost wish that there would be a simultaneous telecast and all Americans would be forced, at gunpoint, to listen to every [Christian revisionist author] David Barton message." (2011)

 "We ask why there is violence in our schools, but we have systematically removed God from our schools. Should we be so surprised that schools would become a place of carnage?" (2012, after Sandy Hook)

"Fire the ones who refuse to hear not only our hearts, but God's heart." (2014)

"Michael, the Dred Scott decision of 1857 still remains to this day the law of the land which says that black people aren't fully human. Does anybody still follow the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision?"[ (2015)

"Right now, we spend about 3.9 percent of our GDP on defense, compared with about six percent in 1986, under President Ronald Reagan. We need to return to that six percent level."[ (2007)


Others say:  "His convictions shape his character and his character will shape his policies. His whole life has been shaped by moral absolutes." Televangelist James Robinson, 1997

"The mask is off," [Mr. Huckabee's appointment] "is further proof that 'pro-Israel' for Trump is totally disconnected from Jewish values, safety or self-determination." - J Street, pro-Israel liberal group

[I look forward to working with Mr. Huckabee on]"the unquestionable historical belonging of the whole land of Israel to the people of Israel." - Bezalel Smotrich, Israeli finance minister

"Huckabee has approached his state's troubles with energy and innovation" [and is] "a mature, consensus-building conservative who earns praise from fellow Evangelicals and, occasionally, liberal Democrats." Time Magazine, 2005

And who better to appoint as your ambassador to what is all but now a terror state than a man who believes that "there is no such thing as a Palestinian"? Read it: it's quoted above. I suppose at least this arsewipe has some political experience, having been governor of Bill Clinton's beloved Arkansas, but I do find it odd that he's a Baptist minister and yet holds such pro-Jewish views. I'm no expert on religion, but aren't Baptists fiercely Christian, and aren't Christians taught to hate, or at best mistrust Jews? Another example, I suppose, of the dichotomies within American politics, particularly the forthcoming administration.

Palestinians won't be looking forward to his visits, and any slim chance there might have been of raising some actual condemnation for the war crimes and crimes against humanity that Israel has been perpetrating pretty much unopposed for over a year now has vanished, both with Trump's ascendancy and the appointment of Huckabee, another Israeli apologist, and NO I AM NOT BEING FUCKING ANTI-SEMITIST! I'm just reporting the facts as they are. Speaking of facts, during his time as governor of Arkansas, Huckabee turned down a staggering 92% of appeals for clemency from prisoners, more executions took place in his tenure but he pardoned or commuted the sentences over over 1,000 prisoners, twice as many as the last three governors combined.

Yes but from what I read, and admittedly it's a long account and I'm tired and may have missed some points, Huckabee paroled a rapist who had been given a life sentence for raping a young girl. The fact that she was distantly related to Bill Clinton, and Huckabee a committed Republican, may have factored into that decision, though of course I can't say for sure. He opposes all the usual things - same-sex marriages, abortion, immigration, Obamacare etc. He also has a problem with unmarried women having children, as you can see from his quotes above.

[Trollheart]

Name: Elise Stefanik
Age: 40
Position: UN Ambassador
Previous Experience: Chair of the House Republican Conference; Member of the House
Historic Interest:
Trump says: "I am honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter."
She says: "I am truly honored to earn President Trump's nomination to serve in his Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. During my conversation with President Trump, I shared how deeply humbled I am to accept his nomination and that I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the United States Senate."

"President Trump is the leader that [Republican voters] look to." (2021)

[Trump is the]"strongest supporter of any president when it comes to standing up for the Constitution."(2021)

"More than 140,000 votes came from underage, deceased, and otherwise unauthorized voters" [n Fulton County, Georgia] (2021)

[Nancy Pelosi was] "aware of potential security threats to the Capitol and she failed to act." (2021)

[Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement ]"harms the ongoing effort to fight climate change, while also isolating us from our allies".(2017)
Others say: Can't find any reaction.

You can see a pattern emerging here, as if nobody expected such a thing to happen: most, if not all, of Trump's appointees are essentially swearing allegiance not only to him (and, possibly though not for certain, the American Constitution) but to Israel as well. Another who supports them, Stefanik has already backpedalled on two important views she held, that of pushing for NATO membership for Ukraine, which she had once described as "vital for stability in the region" and the characterisation of Putin's attacks against them as being genocide. Each of these new posts is being filled either with foaming-at-the-mouth radical Trump followers who will only get worse, or ones who are prepared to ditch all their principles (yeah I suppose Republicans can have principles. After all, they're human too, aren't they? Aren't they?) in order to fall into line with what their new boss wants.

Stefanik has already taken college professors to task over their refusal to "root out anti-Semitism" in their schools, resulting in the resignation of three of them, and received the Zionist Order of America's highest award, the Defender of Israel for her work. She also, rather weirdly and of course without a shred of evidence, tried to blame Nancy Pelosi for the January 6 attack on the Capitol. She naturally supported the view that the 2020 election was rigged and stolen, and of of her heroes is Maggie Thatcher, god help us.

There's no point in my repeating the usual: she was against vaccine/mask mandates, is against abortion, supported the baseless claims about the election being stolen yadda yadda yadda. I don't think you're going to find one of these appointees who doesn't hold the same views. So what else can I tell you about her? As you can see from the quotes above, she actually went against Trump when he withdrew America from the Paris Agreement, but also advanced the idea of expunging her beloved president's two impeachments from the record - so a bit of revisionist history in the making there - and co-sponsored a bill which would require employees to undergo genetic testing by their employers or risk huge fines. Wait, what? Sounds like a certain country in Europe popular during the 1930s! Genetic fucking testing? Look it up: I'm not joking. I only wish I were. I'm not sure if the bill passed; it doesn't say.

At least she likes kids, sponsoring the Championing Healthy Kids Act, and though she opposed Trump on the Executive Order banning travel to the US from Muslim countries, she hedged on the idea of separating immigrant children from their families, neither approving nor condemning it, but later picking the splinters out of her arse after having sat on the fence too long about it. She changed her mind about supporting DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, also called Dreamers) and voted against it in 2021 at the behest of her new master, and the next year accused the Biden administration of prioritising the supply of infant formula to the children of immigrants over American citizens. So only Some Children Left Behind, eh Elise? Right, that's enough time spent on this woman. I have other hatemongers to write about, sadly. A seemingly never-ending stream of them. I need a shower.