Donald Trump has made peace with several people who used to be his enemies. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Trump’s 2016 primary opponent, who he once referred to as “Little Marco,” has been nominated as Secretary of State. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is one of many CEOs who were formerly at odds with Trump who will be attending his inauguration.
However, there are several political figures, including Republicans and some who were appointed to high positions by Trump himself, whose opposition in the past Trump seems to find unforgivable.
In a Truth Social post on Monday night, Trump stated that his administration will not hire anyone associated with or recommended by a long list of his first-term enemies.
“In order to save time, money, and effort, it would be helpful if you would not send, or recommend to us, people who worked with, or are endorsed by, Americans for No Prosperity (headed by Charles Koch), “Dumb as a Rock” John Bolton, “Birdbrain” Nikki Haley, Mike Pence, disloyal Warmongers Dick Cheney, and his Psycho daughter, Liz, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, General(?) Mark Milley, James Mattis, Mark Yesper, or any of the other people suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, more commonly known as TDS.”
As of today, the incoming Trump Administration has hired over 1,000 people for The United States Government. They are outstanding in every way, and you will see the fruits of their labor over the coming years. We will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, and it will happen very quickly! In…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) January 16, 2025
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If Trump is disqualifying anyone who worked for any of those people, he’s cutting off a wide swath of Republican politics over the past 20 or so years.
Dick Cheney was the vice president of the United States. James Mattis was secretary of defense, as was “Mark Yesper” (he presumably was referring to Mark Esper.) Mark Milley was the chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff. Mitt Romney was the Republican nominee for president in 2012, and Paul Ryan was both his running mate and Speaker of the House. Nikki Haley was a governor and U.N. ambassador, while John Bolton was national security adviser.
Those people had large staffs who, if Trump keeps his word, will be disqualified from service in the next administration. And several of them — Mattis, Esper, Haley, and Bolton — were appointed to high positions by Trump in his first term.
Trump appears especially angry at Haley for running in the 2024 primaries; last January, he had threatened to “blacklist” Haley’s donors.
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
