The first Trump term had one staple: A never-ending culture of infighting. There were different factions and different power centers in the Trump White House, and even though the personnel changed nearly constantly, the infighting never really stopped. And while Trump was known to cultivate such a culture on purpose, it often got in the way of governing priorities.
Now, according to a Washington Post story about the transition heading into Trump’s second term, things are looking much the same.
The transition, per the story, has been marked by “shouting matches, expulsions from meetings and name-calling, all between the public celebrations and rocket-ship photo ops.”
Using his forearm, he pushed Lutnick out of the way, according to two people familiar with the incident, which Lutnick later recounted to others. “I’m coming in,” Epshteyn retorted, according to one of the people. https://t.co/PquB7ruIBA
— Jonathan Martin (@jmart) November 23, 2024
Stay up-to-date with the latest news!
Subscribe and start recieving our daily emails.
Per the report, one faction is unofficially led by Donald Trump, Jr., who is aligned with Vice President-Elect J.D. Vance. Incoming White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles is the unofficial leader of another power center, while another is aligned with the America First Policy Institute. The different factions have argued about such topics as who to appoint for key positions.
In a new podcast for The New Republic, political scientist Julia Azari talks about how Trump is “overreading his mandate,” as demonstratd by his actions in the transition so far.
Trump Allies Rage at Each Other as Latest Pick Too Nutty Even for MAGAhttps://t.co/KzUDLrwkr5
— The New Republic (@newrepublic) November 25, 2024
“He’s selecting people for the administration that clearly aren’t meant to build a broad coalition and that clearly are going to come into conflict with each other,” Azari says in the interview. “That’s pretty typical mandate overreach, when presidents think that they have this public approval for whatever they’re doing or even a personal mandate that that becomes a recipe—especially for a second term overreach.”
Another example of that? The appointment of the controversial figure Sebastian Gorka, who briefly served in the first Trump Administration, to the role of deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism. Gorka has been accused of anti-Muslim bigotry.
“Almost universally, the entire team considers Gorka a clown,” a “person close to the national security transition team” told the Washington Post of Gorka’s appointment. “They are dreading working with him.”
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
