One of the least competent administrations in recent American history is now currently giving way to one of the least impressive presidential transitions. It is hardly a stretch to observe that the Trump transition, co-chaired by Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon, seems to have set for itself the goal of ensuring that the incoming president will receive the narrowest range of policy alternatives possible.
What is emerging is a far cry from either the conservative “America First” nationalism many on the right hoped for or the Eurasian-style crypto-autocracy many on the Left feared.
With the honorable exception of Tulsi Gabbard, who was nominated to serve her country this time as director of national intelligence, the Trump transition has been a triumph for the neoconservative wing (and yes, it exists, and yes, that is the correct terminology for it) of the Republican Party.
Trump’s campaign rhetoric led many to believe that foreign policy realists and restrainers might have had a shot at some of the top national security and diplomatic posts. Whatever the reason, Trump’s nominees for secretary of state, secretary of defense, deputy secretary of defense, national security adviser, and UN ambassador—as well as those heading the staffing and “landing teams” at these agencies—seem as though they were assembled with the goal of winning the approval of Bill Kristol and Liz Cheney.
How did we get here?
A well-placed source with a window on the goings on around Mar-a-Lago indicates that the primary architect of this debacle is the aforementioned Lutnick. While not known for his foreign policy acumen, the New York bond trader has grabbed hold of the nat-sec and diplomatic portfolios on the transition, icing out more realist and restraint-inclined advisers. The hope that those on or near the transition such as Donald Trump Jr., Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Vice President–elect Vance would be able to staff the administration with appointees who see the world as it is—rather than through the haze of some neocon fever dream—have been dashed.
Thanks to Lutnick, Trump’s foreign policy has been hijacked by those who have never seen a war in which they didn’t want to embroil us. A true America First foreign policy, one in keeping with the Founding principles laid out in Washington’s Farewell Address (1796) and in the voluminous writings of John Q. Adams, and so eloquently and diligently carried on down the years by stalwarts like Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY), the former Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX), and his son, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), seems to have no place in the incoming administration. It seems that a foreign policy of sanity and restraint will have to wait until such time as President Vance takes the oath of office in four years time.
What a pity.
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