Why bungling incompetence of Donald Trump's lackeys has silver lining
The inclusion of a journalist in a US Cabinet-level discussion of secret plans to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen underlines how unfit for high office these Trump loyalists really are
“I... knew two hours before the first bombs exploded that the attack might be coming. The reason I knew this is that Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defence, had texted me the war plan at 11.44am.”
A few weeks ago, I set out the case why we should all be a lot more worried about what is happening to democracy in the United States under Donald Trump. Now I want to introduce just the slimmest sliver of optimism – a hairline silver lining to the dark cloud across the pond.
What we are witnessing in America today is an object (and abject) lesson in what happens when a government is constructed from people who are selected for reasons other than competence. In their disastrous failures of governance, there may yet be hope for liberal democracy.
This week a journalist from the Atlantic revealed that he had inexplicably been added to a text chat with a group of senior Trump officials – including Vice President JD Vance and the Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth – in which they discussed sensitive military secrets ahead of an attack on Houthi fighters in Yemen.
It is very hard to overstate just how grossly incompetent this is. If you add the wrong person in your local “fun run” group chat, it can be embarrassing. For the most powerful country in the world, it is something rather beyond that.
We should be shocked but we cannot be surprised. Hegseth was apparently selected by Trump because he looked the part – straight out of “central casting” – and was a visible and combative figure on Fox News. That he has no policy experience and has faced questions about his drinking was apparently was not worth worrying about.
There are also concerns about other members of the Trump cabinet, which includes a Health Secretary who is a vaccine sceptic, and a director of national Intelligence who has blithely parroted Russian misinformation.
They were seemingly given their posts not because they were likely to govern well but because they look good, are willing to abase themselves to the President and can repeat the words “America First” into any microphone (or Twitter post) within reach. Their political incentives are not even loosely connected to good policy or effective administration, but to toeing the Trump line.
That is not to say that everyone within the Trump administration is stupid – there are worryingly malevolent individuals from JD Vance down – but they are not picked for their governing ability.
These displays of incompetence should be a reminder of the threat that Western democracy is facing, but also of the value of liberal democracy as a system of government. Checks and balances – however imperfect – are what allow us to test the quality and competence of our politicians. As Trump and his lackeys seek to undermine those checks on their power and democratic norms, they are unwittingly reinforcing their importance.
Americans should prepare themselves to face all manner of democratic abuses in the coming weeks and months under Trump. They can take some comfort, however, in the knowledge that if some fresh outrage is in the works, the Secretary of Defence might accidently text the plans to the wrong person.
William Deans is chief of staff to Alistair Carmichael MP, and holds an MSc in nationalism and ethnic conflict
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.