Good Personnel Is Good Policy Is Good Politics
You can tell a man by the company he keeps.
—Saki, The Chronicles of Clovis14
During his first term, Donald Trump became the greatest president in modern history in spite of Bad Personnel who regularly sought to disrupt, delay, or deter his Populist Economic Nationalist and Tough on China policy agendas.
During his second term, the Boss must succeed because of Good Personnel. There should be nothing left to chance.
Here is just one possible game plan to ensure that Good Personnel will end in Good Politics, both during the 2024 election season and once Donald John Trump reclaims the White House.
The VEEP Sweepstakes
The Boss should start by choosing a MAGA-sympatico VP as early as possible. Two who should lead the list include former secretary of state Mike Pompeo and Florida governor Ron DeSantis.
Pompeo weighs in with a heavy foreign policy advantage and clearly understands the existential threat that Communist China poses. DeSantis has shown courage and intelligence under pandemic fire. Of the two, DeSantis clearly wins the popularity with voters contest, at least at this stage in the race.
In the VP discussion, there is also talk of South Dakota governor Kristi Noem. My guess is that she might be far better suited at this stage in her career for a high-ranking cabinet secretary position. With both Communist China and Russia on the revanchist move and both Iran and North Korea moving ever closer to a first strike nuclear capability on the United States, 2024 will no doubt be an election heavily weighted with foreign policy concerns. Like DeSantis, Noem simply does not yet have those foreign policy chops.
As for those who definitely should not be in the VEEP sweepstakes, the Boss has already and rightly ruled out Mike Pence—the et tu Brute traitor I memorialized in my In Trump Time book. At the top of the rest of this no-fly zone list, there is the ever-dangerous Lean and Hungry Look Nikki “Cassius” Haley along with Ted Cruz, who may be a good “conservative” in the narrow sense but simply does not have MAGA in his DNA.
Likewise on the definitely not list should be the rising star of Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin. While Youngkin may sound intriguing, one look at his globalist resume and ties to Wall Street offshoring predators like the Carlyle Group and McKinsey make Youngkin a non-starter.
In between the Big Yes possibilities and Certain Nos, we will also hear talk of candidates from the US Senate like Josh Hawley and Tom Cotton. Hawley likely took himself out of contention with his gratuitous, Mitch McConnell- and Karl Rove-coordinated hit on Missouri gubernatorial candidate Eric Greitens in March of 2022.15
Tom Cotton is as pure a China Hawk as they come and largely in tune with the Trump agenda. Here, Cotton’s one big slam directed at Trump was a sniper shot at the Trump-sponsored First Step legislation, which has led to the early release of thousands of criminals in Federal prisons.16
Cotton ridiculed First Step as “soft on crime,” but that attack may actually win Cotton points with the Boss since that legislation was a Made in Kushner fiasco—and the Boss knows it. Yet, I would far prefer Cotton as secretary of defense and designated Pentagon cleanser as he may lack the charisma and charm to campaign effectively as a vice president.
Last take: If DeSantis were to agree to the VP slot prior to the primary season, this single action would likely clear the entire Republican field. And by the way, Trump-DeSantis 2024 would likely be unstoppable.
DeSantis should see the wisdom of accepting such an offer from Trump as it would similarly clear the field for DeSantis in 2028 and usher in what would likely be the beginning of an eight-year run of DeSantis’s own as president through 2036.
Memo to Ron: patience is as patience does.
Establishing a Trump Shadow Cabinet
In the spirit of “the best surprises are no surprises,” and given the previous track record of less-than-stellar cabinet appointments as documented in this book, POTUS may also want to consider putting together an extensive deep bench “shadow cabinet.” This brain trust should consist of some of the top people the Boss intends to appoint as cabinet secretaries and agency heads.
Here, the process should begin by putting some of the “old gang” back together again—at least those in the Trump administration who served with distinction and loyalty and deserve a second turn, either in their old post or a new one.
Some Trump “old gang” choices might include:
•Former Trump national security advisor Robert O’Brien moving to secretary of state;
•The ever-loyal and wise Ben Carson as secretary of Health and Human Services where he should have gone to begin with;
•Bob Lighthizer moving from his post as US trade representative to secretary of commerce with Nazak Nikakhtar as DepSec;
•Bob’s old General Counsel Stephen Vaughn rising as the new USTR;
•Kash Patel coming out of the National Security Council shadows to serve as director of national intelligence;
•John Ratcliffe moving from DNI director to head the CIA;
•Ken Cuccinelli returning as head of Homeland Security and his co-pilot Mark Morgan once again leading Customs and Border Protection.
•Dan Brouillette in a second turn at Energy;
•Linda McMahon moving from the Small Business Administration to Housing and Urban Development;
•David Bernhardt in a second turn as secretary of interior; and
•Robert Wilkie returning at Veterans Affairs;
As for some “new gang” blood—with strong Trump loyalty ties—how about:
•Judge Jeanine Pirro at the Department of Justice as attorney general with my old staffer David Foley at the helm of the Office of Legal Counsel;
•Former Congressman Sean Duffy as secretary of transportation;
•A once falsely “me-too-ed” Andy Puzder finally as secretary of labor;
•Marcia Lee Kelly to run the Department of Education;
•Bill Gertz as another possibility for either DNI or CIA;
•Oracle CEO Safra Catz or Lara Trump as UN ambassador;
•Jim Fanell or Toshi Yoshihara as secretary of the navy; and
•Mike Pillsbury, Frank Gaffney, or Brian Kennedy as ambassador to China.
And for the health care and pandemic-related bureaucracies, how about:
•Doctor Robert Malone to run the National Institutes of Health;
•Dr. Harvey Risch as head of the FDA; and
•Either Dr. Steven Hatfill or Dr. Peter McCullough at the helm of the CDC?
This shadow cabinet could begin meeting regularly with the Boss at Mar-a-Lago and Bedminster to both critique Biden regime policies as well as to put forth initiatives to address the numerous crises this nation is facing.
As a “dominate the daily news cycle” bonus, these Trump shadow cabinet members could also begin appearing as Trump 2024 surrogates across the cable and broadcast news diaspora and out on the flyover country stump preaching the gospel of Trumpism. Of course, if any of these would-be cabinet secretaries were to stumble, Trump would be able to make a midcourse correction rather than be shackled with them once his second term begins.
A Rock Solid White House
Given the numerous Bad Personnel POTUS was saddled with within the White House itself, it would be equally useful to identify those who will likely serve in key senior staff positions.
Again, in the spirit of “getting the old gang back together again,” John McEntee must be at the head of the list to return as director of personnel or in a possible turn as chief of staff. There is no one I trust more than Johnny Mac to have the Boss’s back and pick the right Trump loyalists for the right jobs.
As first among “old gang” equals, there is also the Boss’s old Tweet Meister and close personal friend Dan Scavino. He should be put in charge of the whole press shop and be given full authority to run the place—with Andy Surabian (the Ed Rollins of his time) handling the director of strategic communications post.
And of course Steve Bannon should serve as chief strategist.
Without question, I would also put the Boss’s original “Body Man” during the 2016 campaign Keith Schiller back at the Boss’s right shoulder as part of the operations side of the White House. Keith is gruff, tough, and no-nonsense—just my kind of guy.
Other “old gang” stars who bleed true Trump red, white, and blue include Jim Schultz, Bill McGinley, and Catherine Keller. Each is perfectly qualified for the positions of either staff secretary or White House legal counsel while McGinley could slip easily into the role of director of political affairs as well.
In this “old gang” vein, Rick Dearborn should finally be given the chance to run Legislative Affairs—although his past close affiliation with Senator Jeff Sessions may be a bump in the road for a Boss who rightly thinks Sessions was one of his worst cabinet picks.
Of course, Tyler Goodspeed should be given back the reins of the Council of Economic Advisers—or perhaps take the coveted treasury secretary spot.
As for Stephen Miller, he should direct his considerable energies to running the Domestic Policy Council and immigration policy and gracefully bow out from any speechwriting duties. He did a heck of a job in that post for five long years, from the campaign to the end of the Boss’s first term. But this will be a new administration with new challenges, and the Boss will need a daily flood of fresh ideas.
As for “new gang” possibilities:
•Maria Bartiromo would make a heck of a press secretary;
•Dave Bossie must be chief of staff for operations;
•Dave’s frequent co-author Corey Lewandowski should always be at the Boss’s side as a senior counselor;
•Steve Cortes would be perfect as director of the National Economic Council;
•Jack Posobiec would be a brilliant young gun choice for national security advisor; and
•Martin Silverstein should be director of personnel if Johnny Mac moves to chief of staff—or at least get his long sought-after post as director of the US Agency for International Development.
As for yours truly, a Senate run by the Republican likes of Mitch McConnell, Mitt Romney, Chuck Grassley, Ben Sasse, and Lindsey Graham would never confirm me for any cabinet position—treasury would have been my choice.
In the White House, if I were chief of staff, I’d run it as a triumvirate with Bossie and Johnny Mac, while director of the National Economic Council would be a natural fit—as it would have been in the Boss’s first term.
By the way, if I had been director of the National Economic Council from day one and Gary Cohn and Larry Kudlow had never darkened the door of the NEC, Donald Trump would have won in a landslide.
That said, I’d be just as happy to just see POTUS once again behind the Resolute Desk, but this time flanked by competent people he and the nation can trust. As the Buddha has said, “Desire is suffering,” and the minute you want something in this life—especially anything in the Deep Swamp of Washington—somebody is going to have power over you.
A Bad Personnel Purge
Just as the Boss must surround himself with competent and loyal people, he would also be very well served by publicly cutting ties with all of the Bad Personnel he was associated with in his first term. Here, although this may stir up uncomfortable family issues, POTUS 47 must first and foremost signal a Jared Kushner-free administration.
Fortunately, Kushner has made the Boss’s job easy in this regard. Kushner has already disqualified himself from future White House employment by cashing in on his White House connections to fund his entrepreneurial ventures. Jared is now simply too beholden to foreign nationals to get a top-level security clearance.
That said, the Clown Prince will still no doubt try to worm his way back into the White House or as an ambassador or special envoy. Please pull a Nancy Reagan here, Boss, and just say no.
Even after you read this book, Boss, you will still have no idea just how much damage the Kushner Rasputin did to you and your agenda during his four years at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and that work of fiction Jared has published about his time in the White House is just self-serving manure to obscure such damage.
As for the rest of the not-so best, the Boss would likewise do well to purge forever all those on the Trump 2020 campaign who failed so miserably both to prosecute the campaign itself and seek remedies for a stolen election. Besides Kushner, those who should never darken the Trump 2024 campaign door include Brad Parscale, Bill Stepien, Justin Clark, and Alex Cannon.
Kindhearted though he is, POTUS may also want to avoid like the plague any rapprochement with any of those Bad Personnel who worked behind his back and did so much to harm his administration. As I fully document in this book, this far-too-lengthy roster includes scoundrels and fools ranging from Steve Mnuchin, Larry Kudlow, Gary Cohn, Derek Lyons, and Mick Mulvaney to Chris Liddell, Joe Hagin, H. R. McMaster, Rob Porter, and Mark Meadows.
Remember here, Boss: Both Kudlow and Mulvaney publicly abandoned you after January 6 while Meadows ignored your direction to assert executive privilege and failed to bring home the economic stimulus bacon. In the meantime, like Kushner, Mnuchin is cashing in all his chits from Wall Street to Beijing for selling your trade and tariff policies out to the Chinese Communists, European Union burghers, and other foreign governments.
And, Boss: How about establishing a Lindsey Graham-free zone at Mar-a-Lago, Bedminster, and all Trump golf courses. This poodle of a politician is pure Trump kryptonite who repeatedly failed in his duties to investigate the Russia Hoax—to the point of never EVER following through on his tough talk promises as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee to subpoena witnesses and hold hearings.
Even more to the point, Lindsey Graham’s instincts on key policy issues, including his penchant for amnesty for illegals and open borders, are anathema to the Trump Deplorables base. So please, Boss: no phone calls from Lindsey, no golf games, no visits to Mar-a-Lago, and no rally appearances for the not-so-great senator from the truly great state of South Carolina.
In this same out-with-the-scoundrels vein, you may want to put Liz Harrington or Susie Wiles in charge of immediately cleaning up the roster of what has been billed as your “think tank.”
This America First Policy Institute should have been the fountainhead of your Trump 2024 policy initiatives. Instead, it has turned out to be a gravy train employing all manner of mediocrity and Never-Trump grifters, including many like Larry Kudlow, Chad Wolf, and Cliff Sims who opposed your policies or did you damage during your first term.
Indeed, other than a few high caliber members like Keith Kellogg, David Bernhardt, and Andy Puzder, these grifters need to get off the Boss’s dole and be replaced by true Trumpers of the highest intellectual caliber.
Roll Heads at the RNC
Finally, there is the festering matter of a RINO-infested Republican National Committee. Here, one of the worst choices the Boss made after the 2020 election was to allow Ronna McDaniel to continue as RNC Chair.
McDaniel did an absolutely horrendous job during the 2020 election cycle. She both captained the titanic loss of the White House and Senate even as Pelosi consolidated her power in the House.
In the aftermath of that November 3 debacle—and with both Mitch McConnell and McDaniel’s uncle Mitt Romney cheering her on—Ronna Romney McDaniel also master-minded the stealth opposition of the RNC to legally contest the results of the 2020 election.
Yes, when Rudy Giuliani and Bernie Kerik desperately needed money, staff, and lawyers to fight the good fight to “stop the steal,” Ronna and the RNC were nowhere to be found. As Bannon loves to say, there are no conspiracies, but there are no coincidences.
So how about either the aforementioned Liz Harrington or Marcia Lee Kelly as RNC head? Harrington did yeoman’s work as a Trump surrogate at the RNC and is pure nails. Marcia Kelly was an absolute force at the White House, has served as director of operations for the RNC so she knows the terrain, and ably staffed the First Lady.
Replacing McDaniel with either of these dynamic Republican women would turn this critical cog in the 2024 Trump victory machine from a stuck in the mud vintage Ford Falcon into a Shelby Cobra.
So as the Boss does indeed love to say: Let’s Go!
Let’s go take the House and White House back under the banner of Trumpism and make some history!