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DMZ America Podcast Ep 178: Are Trump’s Cabinet Picks the Worst Ever?

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Ted Rall

President-Elect Donald Trump has made headlines with an extraordinarily esoteric group of appointments to his cabinet and other top jobs in his incoming second administration. Controversial alleged sex criminal Matt Gaetz has been named Attorney General, the nations chief law-enforcement officer. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., widely if somewhat unfairly described as a skeptic of vaccinations, has been nominated to run the Department of Health and Human Services. The Defense Department will be run by a 44-year-old Fox weekend host, Pete Hegseth. Tulsi Gabbard will be Director of National Intelligence.

The DMZ America podcast’s Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) consider this cast of characters and handicap the odds of being able to get them through a standard Senate confirmation process. Always aware of history, Ted and Scott also ask the question: who are the worst Cabinet members in U.S. history and are Trump’s choices likely to join their ranks?

Keywords: Donald Trump, 2024 election results, 2024 election, 2024 campaign, cabinet, appointments, advisers, White House officials, drain the swamp, trump administration, Betsy DeVos, Tulsi Gabbard, Robert Kennedy Junior, Matt Gaetz, Pete Hegseth

DMZ America Podcast Ep 177: Interview with Ben Sargent

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Ted Rall

As President-Elect Donald Trump fills out his cabinet and key White House positions, including creating a new government-efficiency office for Elon Musk, the DMZ America podcast’s Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) are joined by their colleague, fellow political cartoonist Ben Sargent, formerly of the Austin American-Statesman and now at the Texas Observer.

Republicans are urging a peaceful easy feeling between Americans whether or not they voted for Trump, but is that possible with an ideologically far-right slate of top personnel? On the other hand, many in MAGA world seem disappointed that Trump’s appointees include long-time Washington “swamp creatures.” Whatever happened to draining the swamp?

If personnel is policy, what do these choices harken about Trump’s intended policies for his second term?

Ben Sargent is the Texas Observer‘s longtime cartoonist. He launched his career drawing editorial cartoons for the Austin American-Statesman in 1974. Sargent won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1982. He has also received awards from Women in Communications, Inc., Common Cause of Texas, and Cox Newspapers. He is the author of Texas Statehouse Blues and Big Brother Blues.

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Keywords: Donald Trump, 2024 election results, 2024 election, 2024 campaign, Democrats, cabinet, appointments, advisers, White House officials, drain the swamp, trump administration, Ben Sargent

Trump’s Cabinet, In General

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Ted Rall

Donald Trump has appointed a surprising number of generals to civilian cabinet positions, prompting fears that his administration will feel more like a military junta than a traditional government with civilians in charge.

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