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The future 47th president of the United States, Donald Trump, might be able to steer a yacht, a canoe or a raft. But the heavy and in many ways unwieldy, technology-laden cruiser called the United States of America requires a staff of skilled managers. It’s no coincidence that Trump immediately began filling out his team.
Second in command became his running mate in the electoral marathon: J.D. Vance, an Ohio senator, former Marine, war correspondent, lawyer, and venture capitalist. According to the Indian publication Asianet Newsable, this impeccable associate of the new old president (see also «J.D. Vance — A Clone of Trump. Only More Trumpian») «will go down in history as the third-youngest vice president in the United States».
According to preliminary indications, a defector from the Democratic camp, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — who bears the same surname as his uncle, who was shot in 1963 — may receive the position of overseer of the health care system. The pharmaceutical mafia sees a threat in his calls to put an end to the aggressive promotion of not only antidepressants, but also opioid painkillers, from which 100,000 Americans die each year.
The companies that make these drugs fear that the Trump administration will deprive them of billions in profits if it restricts or even bans gender reassignment surgeries and the sale of «puberty blockers» for teenagers.
As sinister as it may sound, Big Pharma will have serious motives to physically eliminate John Kennedy’s nephew. There are signs that lobbyists have been thrown into the fray to try to derail the candidacy of the new star of the Kennedy clan and to get their people into the Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The champion of the high-tech intellectual fight club, Elon Musk, may head a commission on auditing and reforming federal agencies, focusing on identifying fraud and, accordingly, swindlers who have latched onto budget funds, as well as aiming to improve the efficiency of managerial decision-making and execution.
On the second day after Trump announced his revanchist triumph in Palm Beach and left the stage dancing to the Village People’s song «Y.M.C.A.», the first appointment followed.
Susan Wiles became the White House Chief of Staff, whose merits Trump praised as follows: «Susie Wiles just helped me win one of the greatest political victories in American history. She was also part of my successful 2016 and 2020 campaigns». Susan is no newcomer to Washington’s corridors of power. In her veteran track record is work in the team of Ronald Reagan, who left office in 1989.
«Supporters [of Trump] hope», notes Reuters, «that she will bring order and discipline that were often lacking during Trump’s first term, when he regularly changed White House chiefs of staff».
Robert O’Brien, Trump’s fourth and last national security adviser during his first term, is vying for the key role of US secretary of state. He has a reputation as a die-hard hawk, confirmed by his unequivocal support for continuing the war against Russia on the Ukrainian front, as well as his demand to ban the Chinese-owned social network TikTok.
The chances of Bill Hagerty, a senator from Tennessee, who has managed to establish smooth relations with all factions within the Republican Party, which will facilitate his confirmation in the Senate, are also high. He has diplomatic experience, having served as U.S. ambassador to Japan. He is the complete opposite of Robert O’Brien in his views: in early 2024, he voted against a large military aid package for Ukrainian militants.
The third card in this deck is Marco Rubio, a U.S. senator from Florida who ran as a Republican presidential candidate in the 2016 election. His portfolio includes experience in analyzing and making decisions on foreign policy issues related to U.S. relations with Latin American countries.
An equally important strategist who charts the course of foreign policy is the National Security Advisor. In this capacity, the history of international relations has seen such colorful and sometimes controversial figures as Henry Kissinger and Zbigniew Brzezinski. Among the candidates currently under consideration is Richard Grenell. He proposed the creation of an «autonomous zone» in the eastern regions of Ukraine, which infuriated the Kiev junta. He has many entrenched enemies on Capitol Hill, but the position does not require Senate confirmation — an executive order from the president will suffice.
Another candidate is Elbridge Colby, a highly educated graduate of two universities-Harvard and Yale (friends call him Bridge). He is the grandson of legendary CIA chief William Colby, who headed the clandestine service from 1973 to 1976 and died under mysterious circumstances.
Elbridge Colby developed the National Defense Strategy, emphasizing that the vital interests of the U.S. are concentrated in the Pacific region, with the main existential adversary being China, not Russia at all. «When in March [2024] Ron DeSantis (governor of Florida) called Russia’s war with Ukraine a mere ‘territorial dispute’ and advocated paying more attention to the Chinese threat, Colby could be forgiven for doing a victory dance», said Jacob Heilbrunn, editor-in-chief of The National Interest.
Elbridge Colby is hardly the most persistent Sinophobe in the Republican camp. Competition on the anti-China track may come from potential Secretary of Defense Mike Waltz, who sits in the House of Representatives from Florida.
In September 2023, Waltz lashed out at the U.S. president on Fox News for his support of the leaders of the Kiev protectorate, declaring that Biden «has driven us into a stalemate and at the same time refuses to present to Congress and the American people a concrete strategy about how long we will be involved in all of this, what our interests are, and how we will achieve our goals». Not a dove, but not a blinkered hawk.
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«Trump’s team», comments political scientist Malek Dudakov, «understands that it has to act very quickly. While the Democrats haven’t had time to regroup, and the Deep State hasn’t prepared to put spokes in the wheels of the administration». For this reason, Donald Trump, or rather his associates, are hastily forming the core management team of the future US administration.
The retinue will not only «play the king», but will also largely determine the priorities of Trump’s administration. For example, if the choice of U.S. Secretary of State comes down to figures like Robert O’Brien and Bill Hagerty, one can predict the ratio of hawkish to dovish positions in the conduct of foreign policy over the next four years.