Over the weekend the contours of the coming Trump Administration began to be revealed and to the amazement of some President-Elect Trump is beginning to act like a typical politician. He appointed RNC Chairman Reince Priebus as his Chief of Staff and Steve Bannon as his Chief Strategist (whatever that means). The New York Times reports:
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump on Sunday chose Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee and a loyal campaign adviser, to be his White House chief of staff, turning to a Washington insider whose friendship with the House speaker, Paul D. Ryan, could help secure early legislative victories.
In selecting Mr. Priebus, Mr. Trump passed over Stephen K. Bannon, a right-wing media provocateur. But the president-elect named Mr. Bannon his senior counselor and chief West Wing strategist, signaling an embrace of the fringe ideology long advanced by Mr. Bannon and of a continuing disdain for the Republican establishment.
You don’t get more establishment than Reince Priebus so I disagree with the NYT’s assessment. Quite to the contrary I think that Mr. Trump is consolidating his base and like it or that “fringe ideology” is part of his base. It’s better that Mr. Bannon be named to a position without impact or visibility rather than the powerful Chief of Staff position.
Trump is also taking a little heat for naming lobbyists to his transition team in apparent contradiction of his pledge to “drain the swamp” in Washington. Again, I think that was a foregone conclusion. You’ve got to have some experienced people around and under our present system a large proportion of those with experience have become lobbyists. The test will be whether Trump can do anything to change the system rather than his acknowledging it exists. I’m not sanguine about it but who knows?
Hopefully Bannon isn’t going to be Trump’s Valerie Jarrett.
I think more likely this is a good cop/ bad cop strategy. As long as Paul Ryan is getting along with Trump he will get to work with Priebus but if he crosses him he’ll get Bannon.
There is talk that Bolton will get a prominent foreign policy position – god I hope not.
Trump will have to balance the establishment – which he will need – with the anti-establishment which was the key to his victory. Personally, I have my doubts.
Also I think Trump will be frequently distracted by scandals which will affect his ability to govern.
I don’t know much about Bannon and Priebus, but I do get the sense that they are being a bit characterized for the benefits of story and a bit of fake outrage from movement conservatives trying to push Trump in their direction.
Even as caricatures, I think these two make sense, and I suspect the agency heads is where we’re going to find places for people like Bolton, Christi, Giuliani, Gingrich, Cain, and maybe even Palin. The Dream Team.
PD- Not sure about Priebus, but think Bannon is actually worse than he is being characterized. At any rate, I suspect this is just another case of same sh@t, new bowl.
Steve
Oops, don’t forget that we want Christie for the Dept of Transportation. Carson would also be great for Agriculture. Lots of pyramids for grain storage.
Steve
Fortunately, “strategist” is a position without authority or impact. Does anyone seriously think that there will be any strategy that isn’t Trump’s?
There are many attacks on Bannon as promulgator of the “Alt Right”
ethno–nationalism which is seen as beyond the pale.
It is indeed no more extreme than Black Lives Matter ethnocentricism, nor of the kind of Zionist dual loyalty here that certain commentors
convey as if uncontroversial, while attacking those who are largely reacting to it.