Lessons Learned?

Trump seems to have selected Trump loyalists for his cabinet. Many are Israel first people. There's plenty of China and Iran war mongers in the group as well. No doubt we'll have to wait and see, first if they make it through the senate after McConnell installed Thune as a poison pill, and secondly if they live up to their claims of challenging the system. Did Trump learn from his first term of disastrous appointments?

US President-elect Donald Trump has moved quickly to form his proposed new administration. His team is better prepared to take power than it was in 2016 – when neither the candidate himself nor the vast majority of his supporters believed he could win. It’s too early to draw far-reaching conclusions, but in general, the composition of the preferred government reflects the ideological and political coalition that has gathered around the president-elect. From the outside, it may look motley, but so far it is all in line with Trump’s views. Contrary to the perception actively propagated by Trump’s opponents, he is not an unpredictable and inconsistent eccentric. More precisely, we should separate his character and mannerisms, which are flighty, from his overall worldview. The latter has not changed, not only in the years since Trump entered big politics, but more generally in his public life since the 1980s.

I'm reserving judgement, but he does seem better prepared than he was in 2016.

The Great ‘Splainin’ Cometh

So now Mr. Trump has picked a cabinet that scares the blob to death — for good reason. They are aiming to systematically disarm and disassemble the blob. They are a team of serious and intelligent warriors and they mean business, in particular Gaetz, Gabbard, Kennedy, Ratcliffe, and Homan, with Elon and Vivek riding shotgun. (A new FBI Director has not yet been named.) You must wonder how the blob is planning to defend itself, for it surely will resist.

No doubt "the deep state" will do everything possible to retain their power.

Deep State Plot to SABOTAGE Trump Presidency REVEALED | ‘TREASON?!’

Mike Benz’s Warning (36 min)
No doubt the blob will be difficult to bring under control.

TPTB have been after Trump since he was first elected starting with the Russiagate hoax. One reason they are freaked out about the Gaetz appointment is that their crimes will be exposed...
Rep. Clay Higgins:
“The FBI’s involvement was deep, not just on J6, but on the days and weeks and months prior.”
“The FBI was not only involved in the actions on J6 from within. They had, over 200 agents embedded… dressed as Trump supporters before the doors were opened,”
In other words, the FBI and the DOJ carried out the biggest setup in the history of this country and Ms. Elizabeth Lynn Cheney covered it up.

The Duran and Alex have done a good job this week covering the cabinet picks. First the Duran...
Trump shake-up; Deep State, Ukraine and Five Eyes
The video discusses Trump's cabinet picks, focusing on his strategy to surround conventional figures with loyal, unorthodox choices. It analyzes potential challenges in confirming these picks and Trump's priorities, including ending the Ukraine conflict and addressing the 'deep state'.

Alex from Cyprus and Greece... He covers the cabinet picks in the first 10 min or so.
RUBIO rumors. Elensky NEW Victory Plan, sell Ukraine to Trump. Germany, early snap elections

Hegseth at Pentagon. Elon, Vivek; drain swamp. Boris, UK troops to Ukraine. Kallas will punish China

Gabbard DNI. Gaetz AG. Bolton BALLISTIC. EU freak out as Russia wins. Economist, Elensky clueless

Alastair Crooke has an interesting take...

Israelis, as a whole, are exhibiting a rosy assurance that they can harness Trump, if not to the full annexation of the Occupied Territories (Trump in his first term did not support such annexation), but rather, to ensnare him into a war on Iran. Many (even most) Israelis are raring for war on Iran and an aggrandisement of their territory (devoid of Arabs). They are believing the puffery that Iran ‘lies naked’, staggeringly vulnerable, before a U.S. and Israeli military strike. Trump’s Team nominations, so far, reveal a foreign policy squad of fierce supporters of Israel and of passionate hostility to Iran. The Israeli media term it a ‘dream team’ for Netanyahu. It certainly looks that way. The Israel Lobby could not have asked for more. They have got it. And with the new CIA chief, they get a known ultra China hawk as a bonus.

But in the domestic sphere the tone is precisely the converse: The key nomination for ‘cleaning the stables’ is Matt Gaetz as Attorney General; he is a real “bomb thrower”. And for the Intelligence clean-up, Tulsi Gabbard is appointed as Director of National Intelligence. All intelligence agencies will report to her, and she will be responsible for the President’s Daily briefing. The intel assessments may thus begin to reflect something closer to reality. The deep Inter-Agency structure has reason to be very afraid; they are panicking – especially over Gaetz. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have the near impossible task of cutting out-of-control federal spending and currency printing. The System is deeply dependent on the bloat of government spending to keep the cogs and levers of the mammoth ‘security’ boondoggle whirring. It is not going to be yielded up without a bitter fight.

So, on the one hand, the Lobby gets a dream team (Israel), but on the other side (the domestic sphere), it gets a renegade team. This must be deliberate. Trump knows that Biden’s legacy of bloating GDP with government jobs and excessive public spending is the real ‘time bomb’ awaiting him. Again the withdrawal symptoms, as the drug of easy money is withdrawn, may prove incendiary. Moving to a structure of tariffs and low taxes will be disruptive. Whether deliberate or not, Trump is keeping his cards close to his chest. We have only glimpses of intent – and the water is being seriously muddied by the infamous ‘Inter-Agency’ grandees. For example, in respect to the Pentagon sanctioning private-sector contractors to work in Ukraine, this was done in coordination with “inter-agency stakeholders”.

I found Alastair's good domestic policy, bad foreign policy, a reasonable analysis.

Trump's Foreign Policy Team May ‘Double Down on Stupid’ in Ukraine, Middle East, China
Larry Johnson
“He doesn't understand that the world has changed. They still believe, foolishly, naively, that they can easily split Russia from China, that there's no natural alliance between Russia and China so that we can we can manipulate Russia into joining with us to defeat China. They just don't get it,” the ex-CIA analyst underscored.
“They believe that they can boss people around in the Middle East and control what they do. Not recognizing the fact that Saudi Arabia and Iran, who were at odds two years ago, have now reestablished diplomatic relationships, are exchanging defense ministers to visit each other's capital, and are planning joint military exercises. The Organization of Islamic Countries has made it quite clear that there should be no normalizing any relations with Israel until there is a Palestinian state and the Palestinians are secure. The Trump team doesn't get that… And they're going to probably have to get punched in the face to wake up and grasp the new reality,” said Johnson.

Many of the doctors I like are thrilled with the RFK selection for the HHS.
John Campbell is hopeful...RFK appointed (12 min)
President Trump:
I am thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). “For too long, Americans have been crushed by industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to public health,”
“Mr Kennedy will restore these agencies to the traditions of gold standard scientific research, and beacons of transparency, to end the chronic disease epidemic, and to make America great and healthy again”
Department of Health and Human Services oversees:
Food and Drug Administration
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Institutes of Health
Medicare and Medicaid Services

RFK Jr. Is Poised To Save The Health And Lives Of Millions Of Americans
What is the value of someone who has the potential to literally save millions of lives and improve the health of tens of millions of children and adults? We may be on the verge of revolutionizing America’s failing health care system for the better, and two men will be responsible: President-elect Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Trump has long been a fan of Kennedy’s intellect, independence from special interests, passion, empathy and connection with the American people. Trump also no doubt realizes that Kennedy’s value to his incoming administration is immeasurable, as RFK Jr. can wear multiple hats of expertise. Trump has picked him to run the Department of Health and Human Services. And it is from under that HHS hat that Kennedy will transform our “sick-care” industry and literally save millions of lives in the process.

It will be a challenge to get him confirmed, but we'll see.

Donald Trump has tapped Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for HHS chief – the top advisor to the president on health-related matters, and chief administrator overseeing the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, Medicare and Medicaid. Here’s what he can actually do to make real change. Fixing even a fraction of the problems contributing to America’s health crisis could prove daunting, with the nation facing an obesity epidemic (over 70% of American adults are obese or overweight), an addiction scourge (15% use illicit drugs, 20% suffer from alcohol dependency), a prescription drug crisis (66% use at least one prescription medication), contaminated drinking water (a concern for nearly half of the population), skyrocketing autism (which affects one in 36 children, compared to about one per 1,000 in the 1980s), and other serious health-related issues.
Kennedy has recognized the gargantuan scope of the challenge, saying in a recent interview that the US health care system as it’s presently set up means there’s “nothing more profitable” than keeping Americans sick “for life,” with chronic disease a big business he estimates to be worth some $4.3 trln (i.e. about five times the size of the US’s 2024 defense budget). Kennedy has yet to lay out the details of his agenda as potential Trump Health and Human Services Secretary, including for make good on promises to rein in Big Pharma...

We know big pharma will pull out all the stops to insure he isn't confirmed.

Tulsi is another nominee who faces a conformation challenge...
Tulsi Gabbard, The New US Intel Chief

The nomination of Tulsi Gabbard as the United States intelligence supremo has sent shockwaves through the American and NATO establishments. The Western news media – always a dutiful echo chamber for deep-state policymakers – is reverberating with horror at her nomination by President-elect Donald Trump. That reaction is a good sign that something significant has happened. The potential appointment of Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence (DNI) could be the most consequential decision yet by Trump in forming his cabinet. If one move could signal the foreign policy direction under the 47th president, Gabbard’s nomination is the most salient and potentially the most constructive on the key issue of world peace. Time magazine headlined with the U.S. intelligence community’s response to Gabbard’s selection. “We are reeling,” it was reported. Reuters reported that the Western “spy world is vexed.” Meanwhile, in The Atlantic, an establishment mouthpiece, Gabbard was denounced as a “threat to the security of the United States.”
That’s a staggering charge to levy on the person who is going to be head of national security. It is almost hilarious to see the apoplectic reaction in the U.S. establishment and its servile mainstream media. CNN’s news anchor Jim Sciutto was distraught in sharing his concerns with colleague Richard Quest, remarking that Gabbard’s views “contradict” almost everything about U.S. foreign policies. If we may paraphrase that exchange, the sentiments were: Oh my God, how terrible! Whatever shall we say now about all the lies we have been spinning for years and getting fat salaries for? After all, as far as the U.S. corporate media are concerned, especially those channels and newspapers associated with the Democrats, the establishment, and the deep state intelligence apparatus, Tulsi Gabbard has been smeared as a “Russian asset.” It is indeed profoundly challenging – one might even say, earth-shattering – to the deep state if Gabbard becomes Director of National Intelligence.

The MSM is coming unglued with Trump's nominations.

Tulsi Gabbard Right Pick to Shake-Up US Spy Agencies
President-elect Donald Trump nominated the former Democratic congresswoman and a 21-year army reserve veteran to oversee the bewildering array of 18 US spy agencies in his incoming administration. “A foreign policy and national security appointment that has created considerable dissent is that of Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence [DNI],” Philip Giraldi, a former CIA operations officer with experience in Europe and the Middle East, told Sputnik. The CIA veteran said much of the dissent comes from inside the ‘intelligence community’, including active officers and former staff of organizations like the CIA and NSA. Objections to Gabbard’s nomination have focused on her lack of intelligence experience, claiming she will “be unable to perceive problems among an unruly 18-member intelligence community,” the pundit said.
But Giraldi countered that she was “smart, experienced and capable enough to gather her own staff around her that will guide her way through the shoals of Washington DC.” “To my mind, she is an excellent choice, coming from outside of the intelligence community ‘club,’ and could be an effective and ethical DNI,” he added. The former CIA officer noted that Gabbard is viewed as a “peace candidate” for her opposition to endless overseas wars, the US military occupation of parts of Syria and the demonization of China. But she is also known for her support for Israel, currently waging a war against the Palestinian territory of Gaza. “It is likely that Trump appointed her to shake up the intel community, which is regarded by many as the black heart of the deep state,” Giraldi said. “She will, of course, be both helped and handicapped by being provided with plenty of ‘direction’ by a president who is fundamentally ignorant of foreign policy and national security issues.”

RAY McGOVERN: Will Gabbard Be Able to Direct the Intelligence ‘Community’?

Tulsi and the Establishment Meltdown
“A lot of crazy things have happened in this country over the last few years, so you may have forgotten this one minor story from eight years ago: The US intelligence agencies framed the sitting US President for treason. They all knew that Donald Trump wasn’t involved in a conspiracy with the Russians, but they lied. Well, that President is back AND the boss of the Intelligence agencies is now, not only someone completely outside of that conspiracy, but someone who was slandered with that same accusation, by the same nasty woman whose campaign came up with the whole Trump frame job to begin with.”
Interesting times. As for Matt Gaetz, they really don’t like him. John Bolton says Gaetz “must be the worst nomination for a cabinet position in American history.” National Review Online has a predictable article against him. JD Vance snapped back: “The main issue with Matt Gaetz is that he used his office to prosecute his political opponents and authorized federal agents to harass parents who were peacefully protesting at school board meetings. Oh wait, that’s actually Merrick Garland, the current attorney general.” They’re appalled that the attorney general isn’t being chosen from D.C. swampdom, because that’s what they’ve come to expect. But John F. Kennedy didn’t do that, and neither did Ronald Reagan. If Gaetz gets in, I do believe he will cut the legs out from under the giant lawfare operation that has grown up around his office in recent years — and this, rather than genuine concerns about his qualifications (these people care about qualifications all of a sudden?) is what the people screaming about him are actually worried about.

Here’s Why They REALLY Don’t Want Matt Gaetz! (13 min)

He looks to have the most difficult path to confirmation.

Rubio is perhaps the most curious nomination as SOS. Evidently he campaigned for the position, and with Desantis able to appoint a replacement, they maintain their small senate majority. Perhaps there is more to the reasoning...
Lara Trump reveals if she will fill Marco Rubio’s Senate seat (5 min)
RNC co-chair Lara Trump joins ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to weigh in on Trump’s historic Cabinet selections and its impact on his political agenda

Opinions on the nominations have been varied. Here are a few:
Amb. Chas Freeman: looks like disappointment (1st few min)
Col. Douglas Macgregor:The Case For Radical Changes In US National Defense (32 min)
Larry Johnson - Signals Trump is Sending w/His Cabinet Picks (12 min)
Max Blumenthal : Trump’s Neocons (32 min)
Daniel Dumbrill: (14 min)
Why Trump's 2nd Term Doesn't Bother Many Global Leftists This Time Around: A Foreigners Perspective

Maybe Joe is right...
JOE ROGAN: “Trump is totally himself. What you see is what you get. I like Trump. I’ve grown to like him. I had a much more negative opinion of him back in the day, but as time went on I realized you need a guy who is completely crazy to expose how corrupt the whole system is.”

There's no way one column can cover all these nominations, so I hope you'll chime in below with people and stories I missed. Considering that some of my least favorite people are the ones hollering the loudest against these picks makes me want to see them confirmed. One thing for sure, Trump 2.0 will be entertaining. Perhaps there even a chance something productive might happen. I guess hope springs eternal.

This thread is open....