A More Chaotic Transition Than the Last Time

Tara Palmeri: “The breakneck speed with which Donald Trump filled out his cabinet may have looked deliberate, but I’ve learned that the process was even more freewheeling, complicated, and downright nasty than it was during Trump’s first transition to the presidency. Back then, of course, Trump had few experienced hands around him, beyond his family (Jared and Ivanka) and a handful of operatives (Reince, Bannon, Kellyanne…). The defining battles of that era, over who was and wasn’t a ‘globalist,’ seem quaint in retrospect. Incredibly, despite the anonymous sniping in the press (much of it powered by background-quote back-channeling), Trump ultimately assembled a mostly standard-issue Republican cabinet, with appointees who wouldn’t have been out of place in a Bush White House.”

“For Trump’s second tour of duty, a decidedly more chaotic process has taken place—fueled by the triumvirate of Susie Wiles, Elon Musk, and Donald Trump Jr. in his ear, with supporting characters like Boris Epshteyn and Howard Lutnick running up and down the sidelines.”