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One conclusion I have drawn from the actions of the Trump administration since its inception on Jan. 20: This is the gang that can’t shoot straight.
The Department of Government Efficiency, run by an out-of-touch multibillionaire with no concept of the challenges facing everyday Americans, flails around ham-handedly chopping vital jobs as well as some that are probably inessential. Elon Musk jokes without empathy that he will make mistakes as he “moves fast and breaks things,” such as firing the people responsible for protecting our nuclear weapons and those fighting to respond to an Ebola outbreak in Africa.
DOGE has also made other lame (and dangerous) moves, cutting essential intelligence personnel and those responsible for the safety of air flight. It has recklessly slashed the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, an organization that was probably bloated but is now cut to the bone. It remains to be seen if our valued veterans will be deprived of badly needed services.
The administration has decreed that people needing help with Social Security may no longer access assistance by phone but must either go online or appear in person at a now-understaffed Social Security office—the two things that very elderly people on Social Security are least likely to be able to achieve.
In its rush to erase all things DEI, the administration flagged for removal all references to the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima—because its name included the word “gay”.
You just can’t make this stuff up.
The president picks fights with our allies and cozies up to dictators. He imposes tariffs that will hurt rather than help our economy. He inexplicably wants to annex Canada. He thinks we can just go out and grab Greenland and the Panama Canal, or bully someone into giving them to us.
This leads to consternation on the part of our allies but also resolve. In Greenland, protestors wear MAGA-looking hats that say, “Make America Go Away.” When the vice president and his wife arrived uninvited to attend various events in Greenland, they were rebuffed and were able to visit only the U.S.-manned Space Force Base, distant from any population center and surrounded by a high fence. He arrived wearing a parka but with no hat or gloves in -5 degree weather. “No one told me,” he said,
to gales of laughter from
the troops.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin plays Trump like a Stradivarius. Most recently, Putin has commissioned a portrait of the U.S. president, understanding the value of playing to his ego (not that this level of understanding requires a highly developed intellect).
And then there’s the Signal chat fiasco. I mean, how many things were wrong with that? Using an unsecured app to discuss specific intended military strikes, including exactly when the bombs would fall, in advance; inviting a journalist to the chat; some participants using personal and therefore unsecure phones; one participant possibly participating from Russia, where no communication is safe; then denying these details in the face of clear evidence (Pete Hegseth) or, incredibly, pleading no recollection (Tulsi Gabbard, John Ratcliffe). Personal e-mails, phone numbers and passwords for Michael Waltz, Gabbard and Hegseth were discovered online.
This was so bad that even some Congressional Republicans were critical. The president was upset, too, but apparently only about the leak.
Then we learned that Waltz and his staff use Gmail for official business. And this guy is the national security adviser.
The good news is, it’s a fun time to watch late-night comedians. There’s so much material.•
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Daniels is a retired partner of Krieg DeVault LLP, a former U.S. Attorney and assistant U.S. attorney general and former president of the Sagamore Institute. Send comments to [email protected].
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