Summary
Donald Trump’s recent cabinet picks, including controversial figures like Matt Gaetz, Pete Hegseth, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., signal a deliberate effort to upend norms, bypass accountability, and impose a new reality on American governance.
By ignoring FBI background checks, exploiting legal loopholes, and sidelining Congress, Trump aims to consolidate power, destabilize democratic institutions, and govern unilaterally.
This strategy echoes authoritarian tactics, where truth and law are manipulated to serve power.
Critics warn of a growing “kakistocracy,” threatening U.S. governance and fostering public disorientation and disengagement.
It’s not so much about alignment of views as it is pure loyalty. He wants people who will unquestioningly follow foolish, immoral, or illegal orders. And the best way to do that is to pick people who are completely dependent on Trump himself.
Think of someone like Gaetz. He was likely about to be kicked out of the House. Or Tulsi Gabbard, someone with zero political future on either side of the aisle on her own. He’s not just looking for people he likes; he’s looking for weirdos and political wash-outs who have zero future prospects without him. If Gaetz is working for Trump, and Trump fires him, where exactly does Gaetz go from there? The pro-Trump folks will see him as a traitor. The anti-Trump folks will still see him as the sex pest he is. He ran for Congress right out of law school, so he can’t really just go back to practicing law.
Gaetz’s only real path forward in life is complete subservience to Trump. If he gets and stays in Trump’s good graces, he can be supported through the Trump regime, and then, if he leaves on good terms, he’ll remain popular among the MAGA-set going forward. At that point he can always get a high-paying consulting job at some Trump-friendly company.
Compare Gaetz to Trump’s previous AG, Bill Barr. Prior to Trump’s first term, Barr had a decades-long legal career in multiple presidential administrations and in indsutry. I’m sure he was already well off enough for quite a comfortable retirement prior to becoming Trump’s AG. If Trump had ever told him to do something that he absolutely would not do, he could simply retire to life as a private citizen quite contentedly.