Musings on 11/28: Multitasking While Cabinet Building

Co-Opting Competitors, Tormenting Turncoats, & Burnishing the Brand

This post is dedicated to the 17 year old who knows more about politics than most adults, Joshua Montgomery-Patt.

   The eyes of the political world are on President-Elect Donald Trump, as he goes through the process of making cabinet choices and appointments. Pundits and parties are busy watching the parade of visitors summoned by Trump, guessing who the candidates and picks will be, and commenting on the potential policy consequences of selecting this or that contender.

    But, as seems to be his pattern, he's multitasking. Several media outlets have reported that some of his VIP visitors are not under consideration for cabinet positions. So, what else is going on? The answer is that the President-Elect has three other goals to achieve through this process. They are:

1. rehabilitating his relationships with rivals and detractors
2. meeting out Trump-Justice to political turncoats and offenders
3. polishing the Trump brand to remove the scratches and scuffs acquired during the election

Let's consider each of these individually.

REHABBING

    To compliment his cabinet-pick-entree, Trump has added a side order of rehabilitating his relationships with his rivals. There are several reasons for this. First, it's consistent with his exhortation to the country to do the same. [While this may not seem worthy of commentary, consider the rarity with which the POTUS-Elect has exhibited this sort of integrity.] His public behavior suggests several hypotheses to me. One is that he's combining the narcissistic gratification that he gets from being magnanimous, with his recognition, albeit a very, very late one, of his obligation to engage in and model appropriate behavior. Trump may be able to pull this off with concerted effort. But, what he has shown of himself over the years does not bode well for this hypothesis also being a reflection of personality change.

    The second reason for going to relationship rehab is that the POTUS-Elect needs some of his former opponents and major detractors. For instance, Mr. Trump is currently interviewing (among others) two high profile former rivals, Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Governor Mitt Romney, for the position of Secretary of State. The third reason is that it keeps his rivals in check. Co-opting competitors by giving them cabinet or other significant posts decreases the potential for them to become challengers in 2020. Just meeting with them may also quiet what would otherwise be the ceaseless sounding of sirons by a few who are also media favs/whores.

TAKING REVENGE

    The second vested reason for Trump playing Meet the Candidates is revenge. Let us not forget that what can be gleaned from his public behavior are the personality ingredients for being a revenge seeker. He takes no responsibility, usually feels victimized, and is often angry. (See Musings on 05/31: The Real Donald Trump T-Shirt for an elaboration of this.) His past is full of examples.

A current look finds none other than sitting New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in his sights. Maybe it was having called the President-Elect a ridiculous, thin-skinned, naive, whiner and moaner, at different times during the primary; Maybe it was Christie's well known brash and aggressive style; Maybe it was that Trump wants more of a sycophant than Christie, who publicly criticized the President-Elect for the latter's comment's on 9/11, Muslims, the Kahns, and more; Or, maybe it was the effect of Christie having successfully prosecuted Charles Kushner, his son-in-law's father, a decade ago. Trump's son-in-law is Jared Kushner, who is intricately involved in Trump's transition team. The conflicts between Kushner and Christie, during Christie's tenure on the team, have been well publicized. Whatever the reason for it, Trump's vengeance came in the form of giving Christie a series of bones (for instance, allowing him to act as a surrogate, run the transition early on, and be interviewed for a cabinet position) without, in my opinion, any intention of ultimately giving him a position in the new government. Christie was dismissed from his transition job and finally seems to understand that he has nowhere to go in Trump-land.

    The jury is still out on whether Mitt Romney will get the same treatment. There is a good argument for it. Romney held a presser on March 3rd of this year, in which he said some particularly scathing things. To summarize, he called Trump a con-man, a phoney, a bully, a misogynist, and a show off, who engages in absurd third-grade theatrics. Because, in my opinion, the President-Elect sees Romney as a peer, a fellow billionaire if you will, he was especially injured by this. His work to rehabilitate the relationship has paid off, but the big payoff may not have happened yet.

POLISHING

    Even Donald Trump would admit that his public image took a beating during the primary and general elections. This, despite his shock and awe response to even the smallest of perceived slights, and his denials of the responses that earned him too much blowback. So what is the POTUS-Elect doing for all the world to see? He's being a magnanimous, gracious host, surrounding his guests with opulence. By all accounts, Trump is earnestly interested in, and deeply thoughtful about, what his guests/interviewees have to say. And, he's doing this day after day, with cameras rolling. 

    This is NOT just 'cleaning up good' in preparation for assuming the Presidency. Its burnishing the Trump brand for use after his term(s) end(s). You see, he's not involved in real estate in the ways he used to be. He stopped developing real estate about a decade ago, turning to licensing his name instead. In other words, he sells permission to use the Trump name on real estate that is owned by other parties (which tends to substantially increase its value). If his reputation is tarnished, the value of his name decreases. Clearly, he has significant financial interest in making sure the Trump name shows neither scuffs nor scratches.


As usual, nothing is simple with Donald Trump. But one thing's for sure. There's never a dull moment!