As President-elect Trump creates his new inner circle of Cabinet and agency officials, not all loyalists are included. Whether by their choice or his, Trump’s Italian American cohorts are out of the limelight.
Mike Pompeo, Trump’s former CIA Director and Secretary of State has found himself ideologically on the outs. Pompeo was the one who convinced Trump to assassinate Iranian terrorist General Qasam Suleimani, an act that crippled Iran’s terrorist network in the Middle East. But the killing upset many in Congress and some of Trump’s advisors. They have called Pompeo a “Trump whisperer” for his ability to persuade the deal-making president to take such risks.
Pompeo is a West Point graduate who led an armored unit in West Germany. He still has many friends in the military serving in the Middle East, and believed Soleimani had the blood of hundreds of US soldiers on his hands in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. It was also Pompeo who urged Trump to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and to drop out of Obama’s Iran nuclear agreement. And his views on Red China are as tough as they come. But maybe Pompeo’s worse sin is that he ran against Trump in the 2016 primaries and may have presidential ambitions in 2028 which would counter Trump’s ostensible successor Vice President J.D. Vance.
That same distancing may apply to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. A leader of immense managerial talents, DeSantis is also a former veteran (Navy Lt. Commander = Major in the Army) who is unafraid of confrontation, as he proved in locking horns with corporate giant Disney. Indeed, that was the opening battle against DEI and CRT, those WOKE agendas aimed to undermine traditional academia and meritocracy with race and gender requirements. DeSantis gave the man who pioneered the ‘cure’, Christopher Rufo, the state of Florida as the testing ground for Rufo’s successful antidote.
Despite these victories DeSantis lost points for running against Trump in the 2024 primaries. DeSantis will have to remain on the periphery of TrumpWorld as the new administration takes form. But his well-rounded credentials and can-do image as a strong family man with traditional values (many from his Italic heritage, which he vaguely acknowledges) make him another competitor in the race for Trump’s successor in 2028.
In short, the competitive Donald Trump has a distaste for similar people within his inner circle. His instinct tells him to ban potential rivals. Yet ideologically, Pompeo and DeSantis are America-Firsters as he.
Like Trump’s buddy Elon Musk, Chris Rufo is not a rival but on the same wavelength. Rufo may not make the inner circle but he is the specialist Trump needs to formally dismantle the WOKE agenda of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) as well as Critical Race Theory (CRT), that still has activists in many American cities, states, and universities. The general public is now seeing the deleterious effects of WOKE as incompetents and Utopians rise to power. On December 10th, Rufo published an Open Letter to Trump outlining what is needed to restore meritocracy. We’ll see if Trump adopts the Rufo method.
In Congress, the Trump Administration will have a Republican majority in both the House and Senate. Often seen together with the President-elect is Republican Whip, Senator John Barrasso, #2 leader of the Senate. Italian on both sides, Barrasso was born in Pennsylvania but settled in Wyoming which he now represents. A Board-certified Orthopedic Surgeon by trade, Barrasso is a kindred spirit of Pompeo and DeSantis, only Trump willingly keeps Barrasso closer, as he is not a potential rival.
Before closing, some mention must be made of Rudy Giuliani, a man who has spun out of even the outer circle into his own lonely orbit. He went overboard in questioning the 2020 election, eventually accusing two Georgia election workers by name of ballot manipulation. America’s Mayor got sued by those workers, losing the judgement to the tune of $148 million in damages. He is now undergoing a court ordered pauperization to pay that ludicrous sum. Guilty he is, but whose reputation is worth such a vast penalty? The court even wants him to surrender his grandfather’s pocket watch.
One may leave the Trump circle, but why to the poor house? -JLM
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