Trump Is NOT Inevitable

Thanos Snap GIFfrom Thanos GIFs

 Trump nominated Gaetz for USAG in November 13, the first of many nominations. Not even a month later, Gaetz was first hired and first fired, and Hegseth is hanging by a thread or twisting in the wind, depending on how you think his nomination ends (hint: not in being appointed). Two other candidates have been replaced, too.

Republicans: We want to eliminate the deficit by putting a drunk with a history of bankrupting medium sized non-profits in charge of the Pentagon.

— emptywheel (mr. blue sky) (@emptywheel) December 4, 2024

Hegseth can argue about the encounter that led to a police report (but no charges. It was a bit too “he said/she said.”). He can’t really argue about losing control of two non-profits (sequentially) because of a drinking problem he says he can control whenever he wants to.

And Capitol Hill is just getting around to Kash Patel, the man who would be Lavrenty Beria (Stalin’s head of secret police). First, Tulsi Gabbard would be advised not to follow Gaetz example and quit her day job, because she’s about to follow Gaetz’ example:

“I do not think the votes are there for Tulsi Gabbard. I don’t see how you get to a majority on SSCI, I’m sorry to tell you,” said the person, who like others in this story, was granted anonymity to speak about the sensitive and still in flux confirmation process.

Too soon to tell, but:

“The best thing that Tulsi has going for her is the other Trump nominees that are blowing themselves up,” a former senior Republican Senate staffer said.

Hegseth as your heat shield is not really the protection you want to rely on when you start tumbling out of orbit.

Remember, the new Senate hasn’t even convened yet. It’s still 3 weeks ‘til Xmas. 🎅 And already Santa’s been busy since before St. Nicholas day. And Gabbard is arguably Patel’s heat shield.

In “Avengers: Endgame,” the last words of the villain Thanos were his arrogant assertion: “I am inevitable.” Right before our hero, Iron Man, snapped him out of existence. Trump nominated Gaetz with the same arrogant air of inevitability. And less than a month later his mandate is already turning to dust and blowing away in the wind. MAGA will scream (mostly on Twitter, but even the journalists aren’t there to hear them anymore), but they can’t sustain a focus for the early months of 2025 when Senate hearings will not be broadcast and votes will be both perfunctory and on the Senate’s schedule (Trump, one notes, has stopped talking about recess appointments). Which is to say, not on a calendar the world can follow.

This isn’t the end of Trump’s second administration. But it’s not a revolutionary beginning, either. Once again Trump proves he is neither hat, nor cattle. He’s just a blowhard. And while that’s enough to fool enough voters some of the time, it’s not enough to establish Trump as king. Or even anything other than a complete failure in office.