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https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/04/trump-unqualified-men-rudy-giuliani?CMP=fb_guWhy is Trump surrounded by cocky, unqualified and kooky men?
Richard Wolffe
Fri 4 May 2018 14.30 EDT
First published on Fri 4 May 2018 14.03 EDT
They say you can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep. The presidency is no different: when it comes to a commander-in-chief, you can tell a lot from the aides they keep close.
Barack Obamas closest staffers were often intensely competitive, earnest, studious types who struggled to understand why the world didnt admire their idealism and talent as much as they did. George W Bush, at least in his first term, surrounded himself with trigger-happy street fighters who confused patriotism with their own paranoia and prejudice.
In the case of Donald Trump, the company he keeps is surprisingly consistent: a singular type with a shared set of character traits. They are, to a man, cocky, unqualified and kooky. You might call this the CUK theory of the Trump presidency, in honor of one of their archetypes: Steve Bannon.
All the presidents men at least, the CUKs are a constant presence, in spite of the huge turnover among them. There was Bannon, now theres Bolton. There was Scaramucci, now theres Giuliani. It matters not. Trump cycles through his CUKs happily and frequently because he needs to keep one or more close through all his volatility.
snip//
So to our latest member of the gang: Rudy Giuliani. According to the otherwise friendly New York Post, it was Rudys arrogance that killed his 2008 presidential campaign. For some reason, early state voters found it a turnoff. This is a man who endorsed Trump at the Republican convention by saying the next president would carry the Giuliani torch: What I did for New York City, Donald Trump will do for America.
If anyone had any doubts about Rudys qualifications to be the latest in a long line of Trumps lawyers, this week was truly special. In a couple of Fox News interviews, Giuliani contradicted the previous official story about Trumps lawyer paying hush money to the actress known as Stormy Daniels. Along the way, he exposed his new client to additional legal risk and managed to refocus the worlds attention on the president and a porn star on the National Day of Prayer. Pure genius.
Among the many kooky theories Rudy has peddled was his repeated stirring of the pot about Hillary Clintons health, his obvious superiority to Beyoncé, and his recent description of FBI agents as stormtroopers. For all this and so much more, Rudy scores another perfect 10 as a CUK.
Curious minds might wonder why this president chooses to surround himself with so many men who are cocky, unqualified and kooky. For someone so modest, so well-versed in world affairs, and so cogent, it seems so obviously out of character.
randr
(12,409 posts)backtoblue
(11,343 posts)Bleacher Creature
(11,256 posts)Eliot Rosewater
(31,109 posts)But he really is just a completely ignorant narcissist.
I would bet a LARGE amount of money were I to be allowed to ask him 5 BASIC business questions that even a shoe repair store owner would know, he would not know 4 of them , that would be the bet, but I am sure he would not know all 5.
Complete ignoramus.
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,580 posts)BigmanPigman
(51,584 posts)Solly Mack
(90,762 posts)They measure their worth by him and how he sees them.
There is a pecking order even among the cocky.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)only highlight the fact that he was stupid and incompetent. He will do anything to make himself look good. The thing is, it's not really working, is it?
unblock
(52,188 posts)IADEMO2004
(5,554 posts)enough
(13,256 posts)Sophia4
(3,515 posts)lunatica
(53,410 posts)Hes quite transparent to those of with an IQ.
sharedvalues
(6,916 posts)Look at the GOP intellectuals writing columns for major papers... a bunch of cocky and unqualified lightweights. Douthat, Williams, mcArdle, Thiessen, Rogers, Noonan, etc theyre a bunch of weak minded mediocrities.
As far as I can tell, there are few or no smart Republicans left. Look at Comey: former Republican. No more.
The only well educated people joining the GOP today are those who are purchased by billionaires or dumb enough to buy the billionaire lies.
So given the state of todays GOP, is it any surprise the president cant find smart people?