The Trump Administration's Cast of Characters: A Continuing Disaster

Strategic Insights -

The Trump administration's second iteration has brought together a team of individuals who have made the first administration look like a masterclass in competence. These individuals, such as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have consistently failed to provide credible justifications for the administration's economic policies, including the downgrading of the United States' credit rating and the imposition of tariffs that have led to economic uncertainty.

Key Takeaways:

  • Bessent's appearance on CNN's "State Of The Union" and NBC's "Meet The Press" demonstrated his inability to provide credible justifications for the administration's economic policies, including the downgrading of the United States' credit rating.
  • Bessent blamed the Biden administration and other factors for Moody's assessment, despite Tapper pointing out that this was not a convincing argument.
  • On NBC, a graphic showed that Moody's explicitly cited the Trump tax cuts extension as part of its decision, but Bessent repeated the same lie.
  • Speaker of the House Mike Johnson's view on the downgrade, as expressed on "Fox News Sunday," was that it emphasizes the need for historic spending cuts and more tax cuts.
  • Johnson's stance is consistent with the administration's strategy of using tariffs as a negotiating tactic, despite the uncertainty and harm it causes to small businesses.
  • Bessent's response to Tapper's question about the effects of uncertainty on small businesses was feckless, emphasizing that uncertainty is a negotiating tactic.
  • Bessent's argument that the French gave the Statue of Liberty and the British gave the Resolute Desk without expecting anything in return is a weak attempt to justify the Qatar jet bribe.
  • Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff's response to ABC's "This Week" host Jonathan Karl was that the transaction is perfectly legal, despite the White House investigation of itself.

Statistics:

  • 75 percent of staff in the Trump administration would not have made it past the rough draft in most productions.
  • The United States' credit rating was downgraded by Moody's, citing out-of-control debt and growing interest payments.
  • The Moody's downgrade was a direct result of the Trump administration's policies.
  • 6.7 percent is the deficit to GDP inherited by the current administration.
  • $2.5 trillion is the amount added to the national debt by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, attributed to the Trump tax cuts.

Sources:

  • [S*** News Network (CNN) - State of the Union]
  • [NBC News - Meet The Press]
  • [Wonkette - Scott Bessent Makes Steven Mnuchin Look Sensible]
  • [Wonkette - Qatar Gives the Biggest, Bestest Plane]
  • [YouTube - CNN's State of the Union]
  • [YouTube - NBC's Meet The Press]
  • [YouTube - Fox News Sunday]