Trump's cabinet is one for the ages. It seems tailor-made for, as Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman said, "God-tier level trolling."
NBC's Chuck Todd had something of a similar thought. Todd wrote at NBC News that Trump seems to be leaning into the idea of revenge more than reform:
On some level, I accept the notion that one person’s revenge is another person’s “reform,” so I’m sure Trump could argue he’s appointing reformists. Then again, an arsonist who burns a building down isn’t going to be mistaken for a reformist architect. Perhaps the arsonist could make the case that he couldn’t share his vision if he didn’t first burn the existing place to the ground.
What will ultimately matter is whether these folks can govern like reformers or end up simply as conduits for Trump’s revenge. And it’s hard not to see all of this as more revenge than reform — from the creation of a list of generals to fire to the threat of purging the non-political federal workforce — it’s hard not to see this as anything other than a revenge Cabinet.
And politically, it just doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Todd is onto something. The leftist brain he's working with has landed on two important aspects of the cabinet. "Revenge" and "reform," but he can't quite seem to reach the conclusion that he should.
In this case, reform is revenge.
The Democrats cherish power more than anything. Through it, they can have influence and money unending, but more than that, they can scratch their authoritarian itch. The Democrats have proven they love nothing more than lording power over people, even if it's completely unnecessary to do so. The pandemic taught us that.
The worst thing Trump could do to them is to begin disassembling their systems of power, and making them watch while they can do nothing about it. Even worse, Trump will be doing it with the approval and enthusiasm of the people.
For years, the Democrats didn't have to worry about this kind of thing because Republicans were just as bad about allowing bureaucracy to grow. The system was safe and sound because Republicans were, for too long, just Democrat-lite.
But they finally pushed the people too far, and at the same time, Trump as well. They gave him the motivation for revenge, and now he knows where their weak spots are. Trump's cabinet is just as enthusiastic as he is, having been attacked personally in their own ways. They understand that the root of the problem was the system that allowed it.
If they can reform it, it can never go after anyone on unfair terms, including themselves. Should something happen and Democrats get power again, they'll have a much harder time wielding that power.
Trump will be effectively slamming the door on so many departments and regulations that they used to harm and abuse the people. With all this closing down of the government, the red tape and bureaucracy they used to enrich themselves will be snatched out of their hands. All the backdoor ways they made money will slowly dissolve.
That, in itself, is going to be the best revenge against the Democrats.
Real reform.
But this was always how it was going to end. You can only push the American people so far. Rebellion is part of the makeup of the American people. It's in our blood. It's literally written into our foundations. Too much authoritarianism and you were always going to get a huge pendulum swing to the other side. You don't screw over that many people without them turning on you and wanting to do some real damage to your base of operations.
So yes, this is revenge and it is reform, but it's not just Trump's. This is the American people's.
