Trump Cabinet And Team Most Controversial And Incompetent America Has Seen From Any President!

After three months in office, Donald Trump has created a Cabinet and other Team members seen as the most controversial and incompetent of any in American history.

The people he selected have proved to be the most arrogant, nasty, meanspirited, and “in your face” of any Presidential Cabinet America has seen.

And the sense is clear that the potential for corruption, malfeasance, and grift is massive, more so than the first Trump term, and more than that of Richard Nixon.

Among those who are seen as fitting the description above include:

Thomas Homan, Border Czar, Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Stephen Miller, Homeland Security Adviser and Deputy Chief of Staff
Russell Vought, Director of Office of Management and Budget
Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense
Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Secretary of Health and Human Services
Pam Bondi, Attorney General
Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security
Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce
Kash Patel, FBI Director
Tulsi Gabbard, Director National Intelligence
Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary

By comparison, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is a “choir boy”, but even he has repudiated all of the views and principles of his political career, “selling his soul” to Donald Trump! 🙁

The concept of Trump and his Cabinet and other advisors following the rule of law, the Constitution, and the perpetuation of American democracy, tragically, does not exist! 🙁

The Incompetence And Disarray Of The Trump White House!

The administration of Donald Trump has demonstrated so often, in just three months, its incompetence and disarray.

It has fired thousands of workers and then rehired many of them, undermining the effectiveness and often the survival of many crucial government agencies.

It has made the blunder of forcing the deportation of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia to Venezuela, when it was an administrative error, but claim they will not bring him back despite federal court orders to do so.

They issue memorandums on various issues, and then admit that they mistakenly did so, and that they meant such memorandums to remain private within the administration.

And the Signal scandal, where military and intelligence information was shared over a nonsecure link with a journalist, is shocking, and no one is being held accountable!

The number of mistakes and confusion is rampant, and making the Trump Presidency one of total anarchy and chaos!

It is more clear than ever that Trump’s Cabinet and advisors are horribly incompetent and unqualified!

250th Anniversary Of American Revolution, And America Faces Existential Crisis Worse Than Civil War, Great Depression, And World War II! :(

Tomorrow, April 19, 1775, saw the first shots of the American Revolution!

This is the beginning of celebrations, which in less than 15 months, will be the celebration of the Declaration of Independence.

There is much to celebrate about the accomplishment of independence and the establishment of a democracy with a Constitution and Bill of Rights that made American a beacon for the world of what is possible when good intentions prevail!

But sadly, America faces an existential crisis, the greatest since the Civil War, the Great Depression, and World War II!

However, as tragic as those events were, America was fortunate to have two great Presidents, Abraham Lincoln and Frenklin D. Roosevelt, to follow the masterful statesmanship of George Washington to resolve these major moments of challenge to the rule of law.

But now, we have an existential crisis with the return to the Presidency of the most dangerous, unethical, and corrupt Chief Executive the nation has ever faced, and presenting massive challenge to the economic stability, the civil liberties, and the international role of America, which is being upended daily by Donald Trump, and his minions, his sycophants, who have no concern other than their own aggrandizement!

As a scholar and professor, who has just retired from the classroom, but will continue to give lectures to senior citizens and other adults, and also continue to express his views on this blog, the present and future are extremely alarming.

There is a sense of foreboding as to whether the American Republic and democracy will survive the onslaught against the basic principles enunciated 250 years ago, and reasserted 85-90 years later in the Civil War Era, and then again 70-80 years later in the Great Depression and World War II Era!

All good, decent people must be willing to speak out and challenge any attempt to stifle freedom and advocate support of totalitarian ideologies, as the present Administration is in the process of working to accomplish!

JD Vance, An Opportunist And Untrustworthy Heir Apparent To Presidency! :(

Vice President JD Vance, in his first three months as the 50th Vice President, has demonstrated that he is an opportunist who is untrustworthy.

Vance has stirred a lot of controversy with his statements and actions, making clear of his goal of being Donald Trump’s successor in the White House.

With Donald Trump’s often irrational and contradictory statements and policy changes, stirring a lot of chaos, the sense is that Vance might, at some point, succeed to the Oval Office during this term.

This is a man who has completely reversed himself from his views and thoughts about Donald Trump.

Vance has antagonized our traditional NATO allies with his anti Ukraine utterances, and his pro Russian and anti immigrant leanings make him clearly a man of no decency and compassion.

His nasty and aggressive interaction with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office was highly inappropriate!

Also, his uninvited trip to Greenland, and his aggressive stance toward Denmark, has made that nation and NATO very uneasy.

As the third youngest Vice President, after John C Breckinridge (1857-1861) and Richard Nixon (1953-1961), he is perceived as the likely MAGA Republican front runner in 2028.

The thought of Vance as the likely successor to Trump is a horror, and makes former Vice President Mike Pence look a lot better!

At least, Pence did the right thing in counting the Electoral Vote results at the time of the US Capitol Insurrection, while Vance has said he would not have accepted those results, which are meant to be ceremonial.

Imagining A Harry Truman-Donald Trump Meeting!

It has been 80 years since Harry Truman ascended to the Presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt on April 12, 1945.

Truman stood up for the accomplishments of FDR’s New Deal, most notably Social Security and labor rights.

Truman also faced the challenge and threat of the Soviet Union, and by utilizing the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and challenging successfully the Berlin Blockade of 1948-1949 with an Airlift, he upheld the promotion of democracy from the totalitarian threat of Joseph Stalin.

Truman was known for speaking his mind, and had the nickname “Give Them Hell Harry”, and could use salty language against those he saw as detrimental in their ideas and policies, including for example, Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin of the infamous “Red Scare” during Truman’s second term!

So try for a few minutes to think of what it would be like had Harry Truman had the opportunity to meet his “namesake”, meaning another future President whose last name had the first four letters shared—meaning Donald Trump!

The verbal confrontation and stern, glaring demeanor of Truman toward Trump would have been legion for the ages, as he would not be tolerant in any fashion of the personality, views, or actions of Donald Trump, which are diametrically opposite of Truman!

Truman would be very voluble and outspoken in the extreme and “give Trump hell”, as Truman did in his Presidential campaign of 1948.

And had, in theory, Truman had Trump as his opponent, he would have verbally “slaughtered” him nationwide, and put him back where he belongs, in obscurity as a totally failed President, who has been rated absolutely last in the American Political Science Association Poll that ranked Presidents in 2024!

Donald Trump’s War On Education And Foreign Students!

Donald Trump has declared open war on higher education, and all education, as well as foreign students, attempting to dictate curriculum, funding, and expulsion of foreign students.

As an educator and a proponent of freedom of speech and open discussion and debate, all decent people must resist Trump’s attempt to create a government controlled curriculum of what knowledge and ideas are to be promoted.

Foreign students are being victimized, despite the fact that they are a major strength of our university system nationwide, and the movement to expel students for their beliefs and thoughts is a fight that cannot be allowed to be lost!

And the idea of universities having federal funding cut at the whim of the White House and its lackeys in the Presidential Cabinet is outrageous! For instance with Harvard University, but also many other institutions nationwide, Trump is trying to promote mind control, a tactic of authoritarian regimes to control curriculum, and what can be taught to students.

American universities are the envy of the civilized world, and the battle to prevent “Trumpification” of higher education, and even education below the college level, must be fought for without pause!

Odd Combination Of 83 Year Old Bernie Sanders And 35 Year Old Alexandria Ocasio Cortez On Rallying Americans Against Donald Trump Abuses Of Power!

In the midst of the Trump First Hundred Days Of Chaos, Confusion, and Retribution, there are some leading Democrats who are not just staying silent, or just making statements.

Some are actively campaigning all over the nation against the horrors being perpetrated, and rallying everyday Americans to being activists in speaking out, marching, and demonstrating with strong commitment.

And the two most active political leaders doing so are indeed an “odd couple”—83 year old Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders,who caucuses with Democrats; and 35 year old New York City Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Imagine such a combination of two committed individuals who are, literally, 48 years apart in age!

Rapid Return Of Wrongly Deported Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia Should Be Expedited Promptly!

The arrest of Maryland resident Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a native of El Salvador, who has lived in the United States for the past 15 years, and his rapid deportation to the maximum security prison run by the dictator of El Salvador, all an administrative error, is an outrageous violation of human rights.

Garcia was identified as a Venezuela gang member wrongfully, and the concept of removing anyone to prison overseas without due process, a writ of habeus corpus–without charges, a court hearing, and ability to have a lawyer defend his rights in court—smacks of open Fascism, in the vein of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and other vicious dictators past and present. This is a threat to all Americans, whether citizens or migrants.

The Justice Department under Pam Bondi has been moving slowly on expediting this 29 years old family man’s return, despite the Supreme Court calling for the expediting of the return.

Tomorrow, Monday, April 14, the dictator of El Salvador is visiting the White House, and he should come with Mr. Garcia, to resolve the matter.

There is no excuse for any further delay, and every American should see this situation as a dire threat to all Americans, that if one person can be illegally deported without basic rights guaranteed to all residents in the nation, then all of us are unsafe!

And Garcia would have every right to speak his mind about his now month long incarceration and abuse he has suffered, as this violation of human rights is a danger sign to all Americans!

The Horrors Of Horrendous Voter Judgment That Takes Away Great US Senators! :(

America elects its office holders by judgments of those who vote, but sadly in historical terms, many decent, outstanding political leaders are defeated by successors who turn out to be true disasters and makes it hard to understand the public mentality.

Just a few examples in the past two generations:

1980—Senator Frank Church of Idaho (D)
Senator George McGovern of South Dakota (D)
Senator Birch Bayh of Indiana (D)
Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin (D)
Senator Jacob Javits of New York (R)
1984—Senator Charles Percy of Illinois (R)
1988—Senator Lowell Weicker of Connecticut (R)
2004—Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota (D)
2010—Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin (D)
2012– Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana (R)
2018—Senator Bill Nelson of Florida (D)
Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri (D)
2020—Senator Doug Jones of Alabama (D)
2024—Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio (D)
Senator Jon Tester of Montana (D)

Notice some outstanding Republicans (Javits, Percy, Weicker, Lugar) are included, while the rest are Democrats!

Examples of some “new” Senators elected who have been seen as terrible alternatives:

Dan Quayle to replace Birch Bayh
Alfonse D’Amato to replace Jacob Javits
Ron Johnson to replace Russ Feingold
Rick Scott to replace Bill Nelson
Josh Hawley to replace Claire McCaskill
Tommy Tuberville to replace Doug Jones

And an example of an “open” Senate seat where the “better’ candidate lost, and America has to deal with the outcome—Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan losing to JD Vance in 2022, now the 50th Vice President of the United States, a hearbeat away from the Presidency, and causing great dismay in many respects!

Trump Cancellation Of Federal Funding Of National History Day Contest A Step Too Far! :(

Donald Trump cannot go low enough, as now National History Day, a contest that involves hundreds of thousands of students in a competition for the best history project, conducted annually in June, is no longer being financially supported by the federal government

This is part of the gutting of the long operating National Endowment for the Humanities and National Endowment For The Arts, first initiated 60 years ago as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society!

It is clear that nothing is too low for the Trump Administration in the mad dash to cut spending through Elon Musk and the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and allow massive tax cuts fot the wealthy to go through to law!

The 119th Congress, with a slim Republican majority, is on the road to destruction of much of federal government programs, without any regard for the damage that is being wrought!