• dhork@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Yeah, but he had to appoint cabinet officials that actually had a clue back then. Jeff Sessions wouldn’t round up political opponents on shaky charges. Not even Bill Barr would do that.

      But future AG Vince McMahon? Future CIA Director Tucker Carlson? You bet they would.

    • Furbag@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      The first time around, Trump didn’t really understand what kind of powers or authority the head of executive holds. He believed getting elected would make him a dictator, so he was unconcerned with who was being selected for his cabinet and inner circle, the people who actually hold the keys to power. In his mind, he could just issue an executive order and it would be carried out exactly as he desired. Needless to say, there were several people in the Republican establishment that refused to go along with Trump’s insane whims. I’m sure beyond a doubt that Trump at some point in time attempted to make good on his campaign promise to throw Hillary Clinton in jail, but somebody along the chain realized that they would burn too much political capital on a political stunt like that and either talked him out of it or simply did not comply.

      This time? He knows that he needs to pack his cabinet with sycophants who will do whatever he wants. He cannot risk another Jeff Sessions, James Comey, Rod Rosenstein, or John Kelly standing in his way - in other words, he cannot nominate people who havedeveloped their entire careers in government positions who would not be willing to set it all on fire for Trump. He needs political outsiders who are fanatic Trump worshipers with nothing to lose. People with no experience on how government actually works and who care little for consequences or are actively ignorant of the laws they may be instructed to break.

      • GladiusB@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        The first time around, Trump didn’t really understand what kind of powers or authority the head of executive holds. He believed getting elected would make him a dictator, so he was unconcerned with who was being selected for his cabinet and inner circle, the people who actually hold the keys to power.

        That has to be the nicest way of calling someone an idiot. My 9 year old understands that group projects take a group.

    • Natanael@slrpnk.net
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      8 months ago

      The first time there was still plenty of officials and old school politicians in place who wouldn’t let him do whatever he wanted.

      That will not be the case if he wins again. They have plans and preparations this time to purge the government of anybody who isn’t a blind loyalist, with presidential orders making almost everybody with any administrative power into political appointments so he can have them replaced.

      When Hitler first got arrested people thought he wasn’t a threat. But when he got released he knew who to target, and then he was let back into power by people who thought they could control him…