On Nov. 8, the American people did the unthinkable and elected Republican Donald Trump to the highest office in the land. Riots and protests broke out against the result all across the 50 states and social media blew up in reaction at the prospect of a Trump presidency.
While those on the #trumptrain threw around their congratulations and the rest of the country took to the streets to protest, President-elect Trump took his first steps in assuming his new position: making cabinet selections. Many of his picks are confirmed, while some are educated guesses.
So far, Trump’s confirmed pickings to fill his cabinet and staff are:
- Reince Priebus for White House Chief of Staff
- Sen. Jeff Sessions for Attorney General
- Rep. Mike Pompeo for Director of the CIA
- Michael Flynn for National Security Adviser
- Kathleen Troia “K.T.” McFarland for Deputy National Security Adviser
- Stephen Bannon as Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor to the President
- South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley for U.N. Ambassador
- Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education
Out of the eight, Sessions, DeVos, Pompeo and Haley’s positions need to be confirmed with a senate hearing.
According to Trump’s aides, “assuring diversity — both in backgrounds and political philosophy — is a priority for Trump.” In his defense, he has chosen Haley and DeVos — women who have actively spoken out against him during his campaign — for important positions. Furthermore, Haley is Indian-American.
However, taking a look at the rest of Trump’s pickings and those who are possible selections for his cabinet or staff, an overwhelming majority of them are relatively old, white males. Among his appointees, Steve Bannon, Trump’s most controversial selection, stands out. The former head of Breitbart is constantly under national radar for his deep ties to the white nationalist movement. According to one of his colleagues, Julia Jones, Bannon occasionally spoke about genetic superiority and his support of limiting the right to vote to property owners.
“I said, ‘That would exclude a lot of African-Americans,’” Ms. Jones recalled. “He said, ‘Maybe that’s not such a bad thing.’ I said, ‘But what about Wendy?’” referring to Mr. Bannon’s executive assistant. “He said, ‘She’s different. She’s family.’”
This is unacceptable speech and a way of thinking that directly goes against the heart of American democracy. The Constitution isn’t something an individual or a group of people can claim to be theirs. The rights within the document, especially the right to vote, belongs to every single American citizen regardless of race, color, creed, religious or political affiliation, so on and so forth. Yes, Bannon has been a loyal dog since Trump announced his run for office, but he should not be giving important government jobs to friends and supporters just as a reward, especially for twisted people like Bannon.
That’s called the spoils system, and it’s highly “spoiled.”
Trump is essentially choosing people, or in his case, stamping out cookies based solely on friendships and loyalties, the shape of his cutter. This isn’t exactly weird or wrong — after all, he is the President-elect and has the right to appoint whomever he sees fit for his cabinet.
But again, Trump is the President-elect. He has to be smarter than this.
This is not to say individuals should be chosen based on the color of their skin or background. However, so many people from so many different racial and ethnic backgrounds live in the United States, and their needs will be best understood by people who have lived in those situations and identify with those diverse backgrounds.
Currently, Trump’s cabinet seems to lack a diversity of ideology and political position as well. If this ends up to be the final case, Trump honestly cannot expect progressives to work well with him and his top rung executives. Again, Trump has to be smart about who he chooses to surround himself with. That will be crucial in determining whether or not the next four years will be calm or hellish.
