Do none of his accusers and reporters on his conduct, have a smartphone? You know, those devices with both camera and video? Did none of them take a picture or video of his conduct while drunk, while banging, while shouting, etc.? Amazing, and hard to believe, that there are no pictures or video evidence of this, over recent years.
3
Mr. Trump’s choice of an incompetent candidate is an example of the president’s incompetence.
10
And continuing on "The Apprentice," the "President" whacks another career through his sheer impulsiveness...
You had me with "pulchritudinous."
That one I had to look up...;)
3
The real issue is Trump’s lack of judgement when selecting staff (or anything for that matter). That’s scary.
7
My hat is off to Mr. Schmidt. Talk about CANDOR!
I enjoyed, Mr. Bruni, your quickie survey of the people our President has working with him.
My all-time favorite remains--Ms. DeVos and the grizzly bears. I was recounting this the other day and I SHOUTED with laughter. Even though I'd already heard it.
But the delectable absurdity of the whole thing! One poor grizzly bear. . ..
. ..being SHREDDED as fifty assault weapons blaze out. Bits of bear meat flying into the stratosphere. Dear me!
I still feel laughter--deep, happy laughter--welling up inside me as I contemplate Ms. DeVos and her solicitous concern for our quailing bambini at. . .well, WHERE exactly? Harvard maybe? Cornell?
But poor Mr. Jackson. To have LAVISHED flattery upon such an unworthy object! To have (as you put it, Mr. Bruni) FAWNED at the feet of a smiling, scornful President. . . . . .
. . .and then to be cut loose. And oh my goodness! When this guy cuts someone loose, he does it with CLASS.
"Well, if I were he, I'd certainly withdraw my nomination!"
Bravo, Mr. President! Age doth not wither nor custom stale your infinite variety. Sometimes you fire the guy outright--well and good!. Sometimes they get the word on Fox News or CNN. Sometimes they die the death of a thousand cuts--a little at a time.
And this last! But you know. . . .
. . .. .the reality show goes on and on . . ..
. . ..and I'm tired of it.
Maybe we could watch something else.
For a change.
13
More unverified charges are being made today. It is definitely unfair to Admiral Jackson. But the person responsible is Mr. Trump. Since there was meagerly venting it is impossible now to defend him.
Trump continues to tar everyone he touches with the smell of contamination.
6
I think Trumps appointments are not motivated by desire to improve, or even sustain, the performance of the agencies they lead. His personal, confidential mantra is "make private sector America great again". Step one is to hollow out the government agencies that restrain the private sector in any way, and as Frank said "the fish rots from the head down".
In Trumps frame of reference Jackson fits. The admiral may well deserve more respect than that.
3
No one in this entire administration has a clue on what they are doing. That was how the head dictator was elected people wanted a change and boy did they get one. President Clueless needed clueless people around him to make him feel smart. And administration knee deep in corruption what is one more clueless administrator in place. The VA is not going to be a push over and people who have fought for this country are very much awake and will not allow anything bad to happen to there health care. Mid terms are coming and we can kiss Ms. Sanders stupid press conference good bye. I hope we all go and vote.
14
I am waiting to see if Jackson, dissed either by trump or Congress, becomes angry enough to remove the 1/2" from trump's height that mysteriously appeared recently, thereby making trump clinically obese.
11
Pulchritudinous? C'mon now. Comely would have sufficed.
3
Still remember when NannyGate was huge with the Republicans and kept 2 perfectly qualified women from becoming a part of the President’s Cabinet. Now, if you have a pulse and Donald trump thinks you are dandy, you get to be nominated and, with this Senate, you usually get affirmed. The depth of their hypocrisy is deeper than the Mariana’s Trench and should disqualify this party from representing anyone in America.
59
A perfect description of Trumps approach to hiring. Never been a better one. Eight bankruptcies and 37 failed appointments and hires later our president still the best in the world, in his own mind, at running a business called the American Government.
9
Hate Trump. But the number of his bankruptcies seems to increase every week. It was four when I first started to read about his business affairs during the campaign, somehow went up to six later and now is up to eight?? I don't know which it is but somebody needs to pick a number and stick with it. Accuracy counts if you want to be believed.
5
Remember that lawyer Trump nominated for a district court judgeship who'd never litigated a single case? The one Senator Kennedy (R-La) reduced to jelly in no more than a half a dozen questions? "Ever try a case, son?" "Taken a deposition?" "Ever been IN a courtroom?"
Ronny Jackson makes him look overqualified.
Admiral Jackson may be a fine man. He may even be a doctor. But just as "J.D." doesn't qualify every lawyer to don a black robe, "M.D." doesn't qualify every doctor--even one who so obviously excels in fawning--to run 150 hospitals, 1400 clinics and a staff of 350,000, all in service to some seven million veterans.
For the sake of those vets, I certainly hope the good doctor will decide he needs to spend more time with his family or something. But I must say it might be entertaining to watch Senator Kennedy question him. "Ever manage a hospital, son?" "How 'bout a community clinic?"
15
Pulchritudinous. Beautiful word.I've already have used it 4x
4
He probably doesn’t have the experience to be the VA Director, but these other allegations have never come up before. He was a doctor for the last two administrations. (Bush and Obama, and Obama gave him a glowing evaluation.) Why are these accusations just coming up now? I wonder if this is defamation of character?
2
Sure Ronny Jackson as the White House physician, declared with Trump by his side that Trump was very fit to perform his job as President. And he failed to tell the truth that Trump was a very obese individual with a McDonald diet and no exercise, a couch potato. And the most important part - tests to ascertain his mental faculty was not done. This is a serious mistake and lapse when you are declaring the President fit - especially this one who is unraveling everyday, his unhinged mental state. This is malpractice for which Jackson's license to practice medicine revoked.
2
As a former long-time Republican, with emphasis on former, I can totally relate to this assessment of Trump's cabinet picks that was voiced by Steve Schmidt on MSNBC:
“From a personnel perspective, we’ve never quite seen the assemblage of crooks, just outright weirdos, wife beaters, drunk drivers, complete and total incompetents that’s been assembled.”
Pretty strong and condemning words from a Republican strategist.
14
Remember that lawyer Trump nominated for a district court judgeship who'd never litigated a single case? The one Senator Kennedy reduced to jelly in no more than half a dozen questions? "Ever try a case, son?" "Ever take a deposition?" "Ever been IN a courtroom?"
Ronny Johnson makes him look overqualified.
Admiral Johnson may be a fine person. He may even be a decent doctor. But just as "J.D." doesn't qualify every lawyer to don a black robe, "M.D." doesn't qualify every doctor--even one who so obviously excels in fawning--to manage 150 hospitals, 1400 clinics and a staff of 350,000, all in support of some seven million veterans.
While I hope the good doctor will discover he needs to spend more time with his family or something and withdraw his hat from his ring, I must say it might be entertaining to watch Senator Kennedy question him. "Ever manage a hospital, son? How 'bout a community clinic?"
3
Whoops. Make that Ronny Jackson.
2
My USN experience (1967 - 71, Vietnam 1968) was that promotions for enlisted from E1 - E9 were earned by test results, recommendations, experience and openings. For officers O1 - O6, the same.
From O7/8 upward officer promotions were as political as much as earned/deserved, maybe even more so...
FWIW after 3 years, 10 months and 13 days I was released from active duty as an E5.
1
Just have to say thank you to everyone here! I have nothing to add to the brilliant commentary in play in these comments except to express my delight in Mr. Bruni's responses. Things surrounding this criminal presidency are so horrifying that intelligent and clear observations, however distressing in the facts presented, are a kind of absolute joy. It helps to know one is not going crazy alone.
12
Love, love, love the comments to this article.
Seriously, enough of beating up Trump and his family. Either they are incapable of experiencing humiliation or they are suffering in silence. It's embarrassing to continually read about it. I can't understand why Trump doesn't resign. I'd prefer to see a lot less about him and a lot more about substantive issues.
2
I wish the commentators on TV would emphasize the fact that Trump nominated Ronny Jackson, and yet acts now as if the man wandered into the appointment and Trump has no idea why Jackson is wasting his time with this ordeal. It's almost as if Trump is trying to say "Who is the buffoon who thought this man would want this job and would be good at it ?" It was you , Mr. President!
It still seems as if Trump's faulty logic and lack of moral compass are overlooked as most things he says and does are reported as normal political events . None of this is normal and I am thankful for the New York Times for telling the straight story. Some of us in flyover land are aware of Trump's many weaknesses and we are fearful of the long-lasting damage he may cause.
Thank you for keeping us informed and staying on the story to hold this den of crooks, liars and cheats to account.
7
The Jackson story, along with the stories published yesterday about Mulvaney's speech to bankers (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/24/us/mulvaney-consumer-financial-protec... and the EPA's science policies (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/24/climate/epa-science-transparency-prui... constitute one of the most damning indictment of the Trump administration's disregard for the citizenry of the USA. Talk about a major league triple. This administration clearly incompetent and corrupt.
14
Hard to feel sympathy for a guy who called IQ45's genes "incredible" and lied through his teeth about his weight (as anyone with any vision whatsoever can attest to). I really don't care about the stories coming out now (although if they prove to be true, he should be gone), but I was concerned with this nomination from the start as he appears to lack the relevant experience to head up such a huge agency. I know qualifications mean little to IQ45, but you would think someone who spent their life in medicine & facts, might have a problem with this. I guess flattery does get you everywhere.
15
Why isn't Ronny Jackson called exactly what he is--a drug pusher.
He's known as the Candy Man around the White House. It never ceases to amaze me how euphemisms and glittering generalities are always trotted out to describe America's over-entitled and over-privileged.
6
The Veteran's Administration needs a top executive with experience in running a complex organization. That executive maybe a Fortune 100-500 executive or a major hospital president, someone who knows how to get things done. Trump should pick the right man for the job, no matter party affiliation, but that's not going to happen and really who wants to be tainted by associating with the Trump. Trump was impressed by Ronny Jackson's looks and his rank, but Dr. Jackson, as everyone has said, is not qualified. If Trump was a real CEO and not a grifter he would have traveled in the world of Fortune 100-500 company leaders which would have possibly led to better choices for his advisors and cabinet. As a grifter he just loves to be stroked by sycophants like Ronny Jackson.
9
It is true that the Veterans Health Administration represents the second- largest federal agency, and it is the largest non-military integrated healthcare system in the nation. There is room for improvement in aspects of service leadership, efficiency and value, not unlike other large healthcare systems.
I would add that individuals who are highly qualified to lead the VA to best care for its 5 million enrolled Veterans include women, not just men.
7
You were right on, Mr. Bruni, in noting that Jackson's assessment of Trump's health was bizarre. After hearing him declare Trump almost healthy enough to live 200 years (despite the fact that Trump can't seem to walk as far as other world leaders, grips the handrail with white-knuckled tightness going up and down stairs, and is obviously weighing in heavy), I looked up his assessment of President Obama's health. Even though Obama is 15 years younger than Trump and at a healthy weight (watch him descend the stairs of Air Force One), Dr. Jackson's report was very low key and unenthusiastic in comparison. It does make you wonder if the doctor was looking for a promotion.
10
we are all assuming that becoming the head of the VA is a "step up" that Dr Jackson coveted - which is the central theme of this editorial: he wanted this position so badly that he would offer flattery in the form of an exaggerated medical report. I'm not so sure. There's no indication from this doctor's career path that he had any aspiration to become a medical administrator. As a practicing physician, I can tell you that one can spot these administrator-wanna-bees from miles away. I knew who these people were in medical school! Dr Jackosn does not fit that profile at all. Secondly, due to patient confidentiality, there's only so much a doctor can say publicly about a patient. And frankly, it is amazing that an obese man in his 70's subsisting on nightly cheeseburgers and fries can live this long without a coronary event - and YES, that IS largely due to favorable genetics. I don't think any reasonable physician would argue with this. I'm more concerned about the previous WH administration possibly overlooking, or worse, protecting & promoting an abusive alcoholic doctor, if the charges are true. I hope not.
1
Frankly speaking, Jackson has been around for the last two administrations and President Obama called Jackson, “A key member of my staff since my first day in office, Ronny is one of my administration's most trusted advisors." While he appears questionable, he was loved by some, including 44.
1
There's a precedent for nomination of unqualified people for senior positions... George Bush nominated his personal attorney (I think) for a Federal judgeship or a Supreme Court position. The person had never worked in a courtroom, was clearly unqualified, and eventually withdrew her nomination... Knee-jerk nominations are clearly the work of inexperienced leaders. Further evidence that trump doesn't know what he doesn't know. )And 'trump' is not a typo!)
3
Donald Trump comes up with all sorts of idiotic ideas but it is those around them who are to implement and to tell him why they so dumb.
Dr Jackson knows he doesn’t have the experience, training or leadership skills to manage one of those largest agencies in the country. Why didn’t he say so and politely refuse? Now his sterling reputation is in tatters and it is all his own fault.
10
Regardless of the fact whether Admiral Jackson makes it to the VA, let's see what country got to witness in this affair:
1. Trump once again demonstrated to the country his sloppy, lazy ways of doing things - never doing his own homework, always deciding on the basis of irrational impulses. No prior vetting of the candidate, no due diligence. In spite of being on the job now for almost one-and-a-half years, he shows he has learned nothing about how the US government functions. He called the initial objections coming out of the Senate as ugly and dirty-dealing. Let alone the Democrats, how can any independent-minded, responsible Republican senator work with that level of ignorance and irrationality?
3
Who could put it any better than Steve Schmidt:
“From a personnel perspective, we’ve never quite seen the assemblage of crooks, just outright weirdos, wife beaters, drunk drivers, complete and total incompetents that’s been assembled.”
And to think that roughly 40% of the country approve of these choices.
8
Bottom line: Trump is making sure that his administration is as incompetent as he said the Federal government was during his campaign for President.
Repubicans are out to prove that government doesn't work by making sure that they leave democracy in shambles. Will the US ever be able to recover with such a mis-informed electorate. It's doubtful. Perhaps this is the reason why few empires in all of our known history (e.g. only for the last 5,000 years or so) have lasted more than 300 years. Democracy is difficult. Democrary requires well-informed citizens who care about and respect our fellow citizens. The decline in our public schools since the 1950's is reflected in the decline of our democratic institutions since the 1950's.
6
It is absolutely unsubstantiated, but it seems right and unsurprising, given the lengths that the president goes in the name of ego, narcissism, and perception: He offered Jackson the position in return for Jackson stating that the president was taller and lighter than he actually is and a pound shy of being "morbidly obese." Or Jackson, knowing the price he would pay for reporting that the president were morbidly obese, felt compelled to be as fawning as Bruni describes. It might also be that glossing over medical truths for presidents is one way to keep your job, so such glozing might come naturally for Jackson. He might also be the only doctor from the armed forces that the president has met, which offers a huge advantage. Whatever the case, and there surely are other hypotheses, the president treats veterans affairs as trivial, and that is distasteful.
5
I spent more time than was healthy for anyone wondering how this so called "Specialist" could have given the *president a clean bill of health?
I just could not fathom how anyone could look us, the people of the USA, in the eye, albeit through the camera lens, and tell such a string of lies about the health of the *president.
It seems that at least one part of the puzzle is solved with this nomination. But what is forthcoming?
Did he and the *president come to an arrangement that when Alzheimer's takes full control of him, Ronny will protect him and not let us know?
Or could it be something more sinister?
I fear it is something more sinister. I think everyone should fear this. This situation, perhaps more than any other nomination currently happening bears watching.
On a positive note however, it has convinced me that there must not be a miracle diet pill for the rich and famous, else the *president would be amazing svelte given his close relationship with Ronny Jackson.
4
President Trump's choices, about everyone and everything, appear to be guided solely by his ego, ignorance, and laziness. Mr. Bruni and others continue to point this out to the American people, but to what effect? There appear to be few if no consequences to the President's conduct - about everything - so why shouldn't he continue as before? He's like a child who has been warned by his parents that he will be in trouble if he does this or that, but when he does this or that, there is no adverse response to contend with to initiate a different course of action from him. And this makes him bolder, the next time.
It is completely weird, frustrating, and oh so scary that this behavior is emanating from the 71-year-old President of the United States of America. At this point, I care less about how he happened to our country and more about how to get rid of him. He has no moral, intellectual, or practical basis for the position he holds and needs to go - yesterday.
5
It is interesting that Dr. Jackson served as the personal physican to President Obama and it was during his administration that most, if not all, of these charges had their origin. Which begs the question as to why the whistleblowers did not come to the forefront then instead of waiting until now. After all these are serious charges and no one, at any time, should have to endure mistreatment or put up with dereliction of duty, let alone having to remain steadfastly silent as then President Obama promoted Dr. Jackson to the rank of Rear Admiral (lower half). Personally I don't see where Dr. Jackson has the civilian corporate and financial stripes necessary to take on the VA and it should be left at that. This very public flogging is disgraceful and unbecoming to the liberal media.
1
Looks as if Jackson's "vaulting ambition" got the best of him. Now, his reputation is trashed, and he is left having to "strut and fret his hour upon the stage" and then "be heard no more" (Macbeth V, xi).
4
Assuredly the most inept and wrong-headed White House and Administration in U.S. history. Please speed up that investigation, Mr. Mueller! This country, democracy and common human decency can stand only so much.
1
G&S got it right:
When I was a lad I served a term
As office boy to an attorney's firm
I cleaned the windows and I swept the floor
And I polished up the handle of the big front door
He polished up the handle of the big front door
I polished up that handle so carefully
That now I am the Ruler of the Queen's Navy
He polished up that handle so carefully
That now he is the Ruler of the Queen's Navy
3
Trump, the creation of "reality" TV, needs constant vindication in the form of sycophants, preferably either ill-suited DILFs or nubile blondes whose best assets are huge mammary glands.
2
Uh huh. And this whole Administration is an historic windfall of such opportunities as this to sit in one's office at The Times and make scathing note of the obvious. Yes, Jackson is an awful candidate, but it's not the flattery and sycophancy that make the case against him. Why Jackson was an awful candidate has more to do with the VA itself, though. Tell is about that someday.
So much outrage when it is the VA. Where is that outrage for the woefully unqualified Ms.DeVos? Her agency impacts over 3.2 million public school teachers, 60 million K-12 students, and countless support staff. Jackson has "limited managerial experience." DeVos has NO public school experience.
5
When I was working some 50 years ago I discovered an incredibly useful managerial tool. Looking at the organization I was responsible for and trying to develop an understanding of managing people, I would pick out an individual who might, of other than work related experience, be the least likely person one would choose to become friends with outside of work. I would then approach that individual with the simple understanding that the problem was not with that individual but was with me.
The result was that the next 20 years of managing people were extraordinarily successful. If our president were to follow that dictum he likely would never have selected many of the individuals he has and as a result would have done a great service to the American people. In Twitter parlance - "sad."
2
Why would someone want to do a job they know they are grossly unqualified to do? Does Dr. Jackson really think he has the skill set to run the Department of Veterans Affairs? The gentleman who was running the department had experience, was highly qualified, and had the respect of many.
Veterans and all Americans deserve much better.
18
This whole sordid episode is true reflection on Donald Trump's ability to govern a great country like America. This is but one more reason that Trump should never have been elected to the presidency; but then, who's counting.
11
If Jackson does like to drink on the job, that could explain some of his effusiveness about Trump's supposed Ubermensch-like physique. Beer goggles will do that. I understand from a news story today that he also has a free hand with the prescription pad. Now, Trump makes a great point of the fact that he doesn't drink alcohol, but he did have a doctor back in the '80s and '90s that used to prescribe something for him that made his employees quail in terror. They knew to avoid the boss on his "Dr. Whoever" days because his famously short temper was even more explosive then. And he loved to party at Studio 54, where we all know that the drug of choice for orgies was something that makes its users sniff and snort a lot, rather the way Trump did through his debates with Clinton. Rush Limbaugh has his housekeeper, and Trump, it seems, has his White House physician.
10
Beer goggles - I love it!! Love your post. I wonder if this doctor is writing scripts for Trump? If he is, what is POTUS taking? A blood and urinalysis test might be in order.
1
Trump is draining the swamp all right.
He's draining it into his administration.
7
Would somebody please explain the finding of "overprescribing of drugs?"
Jackson's patients were three presidents of the United States. Which of his patients were prescribed "too many drugs?"
2
The recipients of his drugs were his fellow passengers on the presidential trips. Pills to fall asleep and pills to wake up.
2
What can, and does, relevant work experience mean, regarding any elected or selected policy maker? From local to national levels of judgment and decision making. In a range of positions when the culture enables not taking personal responsibility for one's harmful words, voiced, and done- deeds?As well as needed words, and deeds, still unplanned, not yet carried out, and if they were not assessed in terms of implications and consequences. It is so easy to continue to focus on Trump, as flawed person, as President, as...while each of US continues NOT to take any responsibility for what each of us is enabling! For whatever the reasons. There will always be reasons, "I didn't know..." being an all too common-cop-out. Complacency being a well tread pathway. Willful blindness, deafness, ignorance being culturally anchored. Cacaphenous silence choking menschlichkeit."Flattery" may be a relevant consideration in this latest "Trumpest." What explains- and not just describes- each of OUR own contributions to both what is happening, which shouldn't BE, and what is not happening, which needs to BE? It is time to target beyond an over-documented, daily media-reminder of Trump! It is time to help US to move from "I myself, with others whom I know, as well as with strangers, am complicit in that which IS, and reach out to make a needed difference for menschlich, equitable, well being for ALL.Who will join this quest, inherent in needed unasked questions, bypassing misleading answers?"
Caligula allegedly tried to appoint his horse Consul of Rome.
By the way, Mr. Magoo, Mr. Peepers? Really? Why do we still tolerate a president who makes fun of physical appearance? I thought we were better than that. Besides, when Trump looks in the mirror does he really not see that he is no prize.
11
When watching that news conference this idiot gave about Trumps "health" it seemed to me he was high or drunk. Now we know!
How on earth did this moron get to be an "Admiral.?" Do they just give those titles out to doctors in the Navy to make them feel good?
10
Trump and his various sycophants remind me of my days in Saudi Arabia and observing how their "royal" family works. - all show, and gaudy at that. But nothing whatsoever behind the curtain but empty desert.
9
Dr. Jackson is a Navy Admiral, so perhaps he is qualified to run the VA, but there is no doubt that he lied about the president's weight. That demonstrates to me he is a sycophant, and sycophants have no integrity.
Furthermore, the president is known to harbor a military fetish mixed with unparalleled narcissism. So, Mr. Bruni's assessment of this latest move appears to me to be spot on.
7
Intentional or not, this is a hit job and a very poor one. Admiral Jackson had the unenviable task of "grading" the health of a patient who would never be satisfied with anything but the best grade. I thought the Admiral's report was a masterful mix of sarcasm and facts, allowing multiple interpretations. Here's a 70 year old patient with a terrible diet, slightly obese but with good lab tests. How can you suggest "change" in diet when the tests prove that nothing is wrong? We tend to forget that this is a report from a doctor to his patient - and if the report alienated the patient, the doctor would have failed.
There is also the canard that without prior experience, Admiral Jackson is not qualified to run the huge VA organization. A great counter example is Seema Verma who runs CMS. She had no prior experience but is managing a 10,000 person organization admirably. After all experienced managers have botched the VA. Why not try someone different? That's the essence of Trump's approach.
The other complaints are also shaky.
Jackson's thoughts on privatizing VA is not known at this time.
He is accused of falling asleep - in deep slumber, after a hard day's work - allowing his staff access to prescription medicine stored in his office. He is supposed to have prescribed medications freely - while Obama was in office - who were the recipients, I wonder? Lastly, he is a sailor accused of drinking.
He has served the nation well and deserves better.
Why doesn't Trump just appoint himself head of the VA? Head of everything. He alone can fix it. He can go throw paper towels to veteran quadra and paraplegics and call it a day. Mission accomplished. Privatize PTSD.
17
Not a very respectful portrayal of a man who has served this nation both in combat and in peace. Disappointing.
To say that he has "zero administrative experience" is also an apt description of Donald Trumps' predecessor. It certainly didn't disqualify him from office.
The claims regarding Dr. Jackson, made by well over 20 people who have worked with him, if true, paint a picture that does not in fact inspire respect.
9
It is no surprise that many people scratched their heads after Dr. Jackson gave a glowing health assessment of a man who is a fast food fanatic. Now, after recent news about Dr. Jackson's many issues, one being that he drank too much, we can probably infer why he gave Trump such a flattering report.
The tragedy of Trump's lack of proper vetting has exposed Dr. Ronny L. Jackson to national scrutiny and ridicule - and like many of his failed picks, Trump will not give him a life raft - sad!
10
Mr. Bruni’s point that Trump’s decisions on cabinet picks or any person he favors are based strictly on his shallow, vacuous personality and his vast need for praise. Attributing deeper motives to the Con Man In Chief is giving way too much credit to his limited intellect. A consummate salesman and brander who lives in a make believe world of tv, it’s really not necessary to look much further in deciphering his motives other than unadulterated greed.
12
Trump has also talked about naming his personal pilot, the guy who flew his 757 during the campaign, as the new FAA Administrator. I have to wonder is this guy still on the TO payroll since Mr. Big Shot now has Air Force 1 to galavant around in.
Whatever the merits of this man he is still just a Corporate Pilot, no disrespect intended, I am one also as well as having a Maintenance back round, yet this would hardly qualify me to head the FAA.
The incompetence of trumenstein just cannot be understated.
6
What a mess. Jackson wasn't even interviewed. So, now the VA and all the Americans who depend on it, are leaderless. Good job Mr President.
7
I've read in numerous media reports over the past day that one of the allegations against Dr. Jackson is "excessive drinking on duty."
What exactly is the right amount of drinking for a doctor to do on duty?
10
I think the phrase is an instance of sloppy writing rather than an implication that some amount of drinking on the job is okay .
1
A suggested template for future columns about Donald Trump's nominees....
Donald Trump today nominated [insert name here] to be [insert position here]. Mr. Trump declared that [insert name here] was the [choose one: best looking, richest, tallest] candidate he's ever known and would do an [choose one: amazing, unbelievable, fantastic] job. Mr.Trump went on to claim that [insert name here] had shown [choose one: super powers, the ability to become invisible, knowledge of life on other planets], a quality that not only fully qualifies him for the position of [insert position here], but ranked him as [choose one: the only person on earth who could survive a direct nuclear hit, most likely to be immortal].
However, an investigation of [insert name here] revealed that he was most recently [choose one: released from prison, is under indictment for bank fraud, beat his wife] and has never held a management position since [choose one: being fired from Burger King in high school, directing a neighborhood play he put on in his garage when he was 8, ever]. A review of [insert name here] educational background showed that he did not graduate from [choose one: Harvard Law, Yale Divinity, Stanford Business] as his resume shows, but instead finished 33rd out of 35 graduates from [choose one: The You Can Learn To Draw This Clown matchbook cover school of art, Hamburger U., Trump University] with a C minus cumulative average.
Mr. Trump expects unanimous confirmation.
16
Wait. I'm the grandmother of eight boys. Does this qualify me for anything in the cabinet? Sure, I'm a little old but still younger than a lot of the guys in Congress. Even though they say that their $174,000 salary is too small, I think this senior citizen could make ends meet on that. (Also, Mr. Carson, my dining room table is in need of replacement.) How do I go about applying for something? Any suggestions?
13
What a fool Dr. Ronnny Jackson was to believe that his alleged history of sloppy practices (to put it mildly) would not come exploding out of the shadows to derail and humiliate him. What a fool Jackson was to accept nomination for a position he was ridiculously unqualified to fill in the first place.
What a fool Donald Trump was to ...
Well, never mind. Space limitations, you know.
15
Ronny Jackson? Sounds like the name of a cocktail. I’ll have to ask my bartender.
7
Anyone with eyes can see that Trump hasn’t seen 239 lbs in a while. Can you say obese? Dr. Jackson lied for Trump in my opinion. Like so many others.
9
Just read a Washington Post article about Dr. Jackson and picked up that an underlying battle is between veterans groups and the Koch boys' anti-health groups.
The veterans' groups want a strong governmental VA system versus the Kochs who want to privatize and outsource VA services. The article mentioned Dr. Jackson is not in favor of privatization and outsourcing the VA.
So keep this in mind as a Republican dominated Congress vets Trump's nominees to run the VA. Is one criterion the determination to privatize VA services?
Of course, like the politically inexperienced President Trump, given Dr. Jackson's lack of experience running a large complex medical system, he could make such a mess of it that VA services become increasingly outsourced--thus handing the Kochs their wish.
It's the Peter Principle in play now: Just about everyone in the Trump administration and Trump himself has risen to their level of incompetence. And this may be how the government gets drowned in the bathtub, as the right-wing so desires.
16
So, in other words, the Koch boys are the Executive, Judicial and Legislative branches of our government all rolled into one. They are calling the shots and the little lemmings fall all over themselves to please them. And we call this a democracy? But didn't Trump say that he doesn't have to answer to anyone because he's so rich. Apparently, not that rich.
5
Your columns make my day, Mr Bruni. So disappointed that weather interrupted your trip to my alma mater on the 16th. Hope you can reschedule!
1
All the public knows of Trump comes from the media. Before he was president, he was a successful real-estate developer.
What developer buys a piece of property without knowing it’s potential vale as a development?
Wouldn’t he at least investigate the property’s potential be-fore replacing it for some other known-valued real estate he already owned?
Trump supporters said, “he’s a businessman, he’ll make bus-mess-like decisions.”
When?
3
Please keep in mind that these people are corporate puppets. Chose precisely as necessary figureheads to do the corporations bidding.
3
Getting nominated by Trump to a high level government position is apparently the kiss of death. Consider how many of his crew could have just continued on, successfully, had they not been touched by Trump's beneficence. Manafort could have stayed below the radar. Gates wouldn't have had to open his mouth. Flynn would be enjoying his comfortable military pension. Bannon might still have credibility with someone. Kuchner could have bumbled his way around the NY real estate market. And there are so many more whose lives, when put under a microscope, may come crashing down.
The sad thing is that Trump may escape unscathed, thanks to a bevy of high-priced lawyers who allow him to avoid dirtying his fingernails. I think I'd prefer the old swamp.
8
Steve Schmidt said it best! A den of thieves.
13
Seems as if every single staffer selected by Donald J. Trump has a weird component, something inherently disqualifying, or actually horrifying.
And he'll praise the person with hefty superlatives.
Defending the indefensible:
Something Mr. Trump appears to do in common, along with his supporters and a complicit Republican Party.
This has been literally a island of oddly misfit toys.
Supporters should have long since abandoned this dysfunctional white house. What will it take?
5
A disgrace to the medical profession along with that other fellow who wrote about the gulper-in-chief's health pre Election.
5
“From a personnel perspective, we’ve never quite seen the assemblage of crooks, just outright weirdos, wife beaters, drunk drivers, complete and total incompetents that’s been assembled"
How on earth did Steve Schmidt go from McCain/Palin to absolute brilliance?
5
Nicolle Wallace and Steve Schmidt are both great and I live for their mentions of Palin. I'm liberal but they are my absolute favorite pundits.
3
I absolutely agree with you, Sue.
I too enjoy both Wallace and Schmidt.
But, I still kind of wonder how these two very well read and seemingly intelligent people were OK with Sarah Palin being a heartbeat away from being President?
1
Waiting for Trump to make another statement on how he respects veterans.
Like he likes to say; "tell them anything."
3
The sadness of this whole nomination is Dr. Jackson. The fact that he drinks on the job is an indication that he needs an intervention. So often our servicemen do not get help for their own addictions. I would offer the doctor a program and have him stay where he is. Otherwise, the caretaker will be the one needing care. Don't they drug test? The last thing an addict will lose is his job. Dr. Jackson you need help.
2
I think during Obama's presidency, the white house Press Secretary got the President's health report. Poor Dr. Jackson was exhibited only by President Trump. I agree with A.T.C.
This column nailed it. Remembering the head-shaking moment when word of that preposterous health assessment ran across news feeds, it hadn’t occurred to me Trump would reward the doctor with such a plumb job. Seriously? And inappropriate behavior is the only thing to give the nomination pause?
Trump conveys such contempt for the workings of government and all who labor there he is more than dismissive of required skills. Anyone can do it. Yet, every day he stumbles around the office of the president, showing it just isn’t so.
9
Flattery apparently got Ronny an eight year gig with Obama. I'm shocked, shocked, that Obama not only kept Ronny as his personal physician but that Obama also ignored the IG warnings about Ronny and that Obama gave Ronny glowing reviews. Thank goodness that we now have a press that actually asks questions about what a president is doing -- that 8 year hiatus led to lots of bad things being ignored and unreported.
1
Did Obama nominate Ronny to be head of the VA or was that trump?
Let go of Obama already , unfortunately he is not the president.
1
Perhaps Dr. Jackson thought the VA was his ticket to going on to head a for-profit hospital system where he could cash out and still collect what will be a six figure pension from the taxpayers.
2
I love it. So well put and so true.
2
A doctor willing to include high heeled shoes to add one inch to Trump's height just to move his BMI from Obese to Overweight is not ethical. But if the payback is worth it, what the ...
4
What else would anyone expect from a guy who dumps his wife as soon as she is no longer a candidate for the Miss America pageant?
2
Trump has built the administration from hell.
Every one of his appointments have had some sort of major personality flaw and/or was devoid of practical experience in managing large enterprises. Personal kowtowing (the more public the better) seems to be the coin of the Trump realm.
Worse, and far more concerning, really, is that the backstop for Trump's disastrous picks, the McConnell senate, has abjectly refused to "advise and consent" on the merits of the appointees' curricula vitae.
7
I find it amusing the at the time Trump named Ronny Jackson as his choice, there were reports that Jackson was initially reluctant, hopefully because he realized he wasn't qualified. But those reports indicated that Trump was insistent and convince Jackson. Ironic that yesterday Trump reports that he said to Jackson "why do you need this" as if it wasn't Trump who insisted
7
What I find really interesting is how quickly Trump threw him out. First he gives him the "good man" title, then finds out when someone else bothers vetting him, that maybe Donald doesn't want to claim him as a BFF. I understand the the Inspector General's report from several years ago, which painted a very negative picture of Jackson, was issued by the White House to the press. And Trump, typically, did one of his distancing statements. Jackson should run, not walk, away from the WH and DJT. Apparently his military rank should give him a decent retirement life.
3
I think you’re letting Trump (and the Koch bothers) off the hook. What could be better to illustrate the need to privatize the VA than to appoint someone with no experience who has the petina of medical care about him.
6
Bravo. Pulchritudinous. And I thought I was well read. I long for the day when I can work that into a conversation.
6
Why should anyone be surprised that Trump, who himself is unqualified and unfit for the presidency, time and time again, turns to people who themselves are similarly unsuited to their appointed tasks? Not only does Trump’s own glaring inexperience sully everything he does, but his insecurity and massive inferiority complex preclude him from choosing anyone who is even the equal of his ineptness—which is an exceedingly low bar indeed.
15
Thanks Frank, it's not often that the news has much to make me smile about but this article is a real doozy.
6
One could say, "What was Trump thinking?" That's the first mistake. He barely thinks about any of this at all. I agree with Frank that Trump tends to rely merely on physical appearance or topline scans of resumes when selecting nominees for cabinet or staff positions. Someone looks the part or acts the part. Jackson is handsome, wears a uniform and flatters Trump's ego: You're hired! The "vetting" in the Trump administration is a joke. Yes, other administrations have had missteps on cabinet or high-level staff appointments. But this gang can't stop tripping over their own feet.
I think there may be something else at play with other nominations: Are influential people whispering the potential names of nominees in Trump's ear? Trump hates to work for anything, so he relies on advice and suggestions from people around him. He didn't know Rex Tillerson at all...someone floated that name all of a sudden.
7
Sadly, when calling Jackson "one of the finest people he ever met," it was probably the truth.
6
If Ronnie Jackson needed any tutoring about how to flatter Trump, all he had to do was review Trump’s initial Cabinet meeting which began with secretaries heaping saccharine praise on the President.
One of the most expert performances was delivered by the wife of Mitch McConnell, Elaine Chao.
Trump promised to “drain the swamp” and to replace swamp creatures with the best people.
Too many people assumed that those “best people” would work for the public good.
Now, Americans are becoming acquainted with a word they may never have even heard prior to this administration: kakistocracy
4
And this is undoubtedly how Trump picks the executives for his various companies.
God -- and maybe Mueller -- only knows what shape those entities are in.
2
We do not need another person who is in over his head leading a government agency. Trump, Mnuchin, DeVos, Pruitt, Zinke, Tillerson (even though he was one of the few decent ones, he was unqualified), Carson - it’s shameful and it’s damaging to our country. Enough.
Vote every Republican out.
18
"So when Jackson, dressed in his uniform as a Navy rear admiral, cast Trump as some pulchritudinous Captain America, the president had all the validation that he could ever want, and all the motivation that he would ever need to lift Jackson up." Frank Bruni at his best - terrific insight to the very horrid core of Donald Trump.
Trump went on and on in his campaign about veterans and how they deserved the best treatment, etc. etc. - and now he delivers up the hard drinking, inexperienced, "candyman". Same story as all his non stop health care promises of "better, cheaper, health care" - which have turned out to be ZERO health care.
His blind supporters apparently are incapable of waking up. The Trump brainwashing on some people appears to be a permenent affliction.
9
See, this is why we need Fox news. Under the guise of objectivity and fairness, the Times over and over and over again in opinion pieces and news stories omits or twists facts to suit their narrative. In the case of Dr. Jackson, Bruni omits the fact that Obama on multiple occasions praised Jackson and recommended he be promoted. Fox clearly reported and read those reports from Obama.
Further -- it's OK to elect as president an Obama who had no managerial experience but somehow the VA head requires years of experience.
The twisted liberal mind.
3
Jackson's life is over. Remember - he's in the military. That means that he has a military supervisor who is in charge of him. All these charges against him, if validated, will land him in a lot of trouble.
8
Munificence, obsequious aria, and pulchritudinous? Mr Bruni, you certainly worked overtime on your thesaurus app for this column. Well done.
2
The fact that he accepted the nomination makes me question his overall judgment. The VA is not the farm team where someone can be groomed for the Majors. It crushes even highly experienced and qualified healthcare administrators. Whether or not the allegations are true is less of an issue than his near total lack of the "MQs"--in government speak, that's "minimum qualifications". However, this appears to be SOP for this administration--the exemplar of the actual meaning behind SNAFU.
8
The responsibility of vetting The Moron's picks for running the country has fallen to organizations like the NYT, WAPO, leakers and all the other "fake news" outlets. And even after finding outright thieves, wife-beaters and incompetency The Moron still backs them. It's fair to say he admires people as clueless and corrupt as he is.
Dr. Ronny, my boy, you swore an oath to do no harm. Please go away.
7
Serving under Obama normally the kiss of death for Trump, but didn't hurt Jackson. Another overbearing boss, according to reports, who sucked up to his own boss.
2
Frank Bruni represents everything that is wrong with current public discourse. He is mean spirited, snarky and rude. It is no longer enough to respectfully disagree. Bruni and his ilk have to attack the character of people who disagree with them. He is no better than a cowardly internet troll, hiding behind his computer screen and the banner of the New York Times.
1
I disagree. Frank Bruni tells it like it is. And his writing is brilliant.
7
Maybe Frank should run for President.
1
I would not let this clown attend to my Beagle's stuffed bunny!
5
Don't the 62 million Idiots who put a Clown in the Oval Office are not ashamed of their stupid decision when they see that a drunken doctor who could not manage a staff of half a dozen has been proposed to head the VA with over 380,000 employees tracking 9 million veterans with a miriad of illnesses and disabilities? Or do they still believe that their Glorious Leader who can not get a single thing right will still make America great. And if they do, is there any bottom to the depth of their stupidity?
12
"...the assemblage of crooks, just outright weirdos, wife beaters, drunk drivers, complete and total incompetents that’s been assembled.”
Trump's voters assured anyone who would listen that he would surround himself with good, competent advisors, so I guess Schmidt must be talking about some other country, yes?
Uzbeckistan, anyone?
2
Jackson’s obsequious aria?
Reminds me of NYT June 12 --- “Trump’s Cabinet, With a Prod, Extols the ‘Blessing’ of Serving Him…..One by one, they praised President Trump, taking turns complimenting his integrity, his message, his strength, his policies. Their leader sat smiling, nodding his approval.”
A bizarre opera buffa ensemble, perfect for the composer Rossini. But ominously real.
Steve Schmidt is a rare GOP truth teller. He's the only Republican I take seriously. I listen when he’s on MSNBC. Does he ever go on Fox News, the party state run network?
Would Fox News ever let Schmidt say this? “…..we’ve never quite seen the assemblage of crooks, outright weirdoes, wife beaters, drunk drivers, complete and total incompetents that’s been assembled.”
Lordly, preserve that tape!
9
Another day in the Trump administration. Another pathetic display of bad judgment and disingenuous "concern" for America's veterans.
3
Kiss up, punch down, the true military tradition.
5
As Frank Bruni notes, Steve Schmidt says it all:
“From a personnel perspective, we’ve never quite seen the assemblage of crooks, just outright weirdos, wife beaters, drunk drivers, complete and total incompetents that’s been assembled.”
2
Jackson is yet another Icarus to Trump's orbit. Anyone who comes too close to Trump (Evangelical Christians, Republicans in Congress, Republicans across America), ultimately falls, their kleos dies an ugly death, they walk the rest of their days in shame.
But let's be clear. Trump is no sun. He is a black hole.
7
Trump is all about genes. He believes Anglo Saxon and Nordic genes are superior. He wouldn't be able to define eugenics but he is definitely in favor
3
Allegations are just that. The NYT should treat this column how they built their reputation. NEWS. Opinions are often presented as "journalism." If the NYT decides to run a smear campaign, they are no better that those they have criticized. Stick to the "fawning" stuff.
2
Speaking of medical stuff, why no in-depth columns about malignant narcissism personality disorder, an incurable mental condition, and how it impacts those who have to be around the victim?
3
A pitiful excuse for journalism. Bruni leaves out the key point that Jackson also served as Obama's WH physician AND that Obama highly praised Jackson -- recommending him for promotion ahead of his peers.
Further -- it is pure gibberish to suggest that it's quite OK to elect an Obama to run the US ( a country with millions of employees and 330 million constituents) -- but somehow an admiral couldn't be expected to run the VA? The VA has been a disaster and needs new blood.
Further, Bruni forgets to state that Jackson's sins are alleged. I don't know where the proof is of any of that?
This is part of the ongoing refusal of progressives to accept the results of the 2016 election. They will do anything to undermine Trump.
Get the facts straight at least. OK?
1
I've worked in the VA and bureaucratically it's an unmitigated disaster. Whoever runs it really needs to have a handle on bureaucracy and has to know how to navigate through a huge medical industrial complex. That is only thw first baseline qualification. Dr. Ronnie doesn't meet that first qualification. End of story.
5
Suggestion for a future column: Trump and genes.
As a historian of eugenics and Nazi pseudo-science, I'm attuned to undercurrents of racial argumentation. And I've heard enough from Trump -- Ronny Jackson's comments clearly parrot earlier ones by the president -- to make me prick up my ears.
I would love for a reporter to ask Trump if he believed that he (Trump) was a genetic superman. And to follow up by pursuing questions of whether he picks his candidates with a view toward their genetic fitness.
It might be a matter of subconscious thinking (I bet it's more overt than that, though), but I suspect this kind of thinking fuels Trump's drive to favor appearance and ignore experience and competence. Good genes will out.
(And don't forget that Fred Trump Sr.,, a man arrested at a KKK rally was steeped in the pro-eugenic sewage that flooded many Anglo/German-American communities in the years of the Bundt and the "good" Hitler. Trump may have imbibed these views from deep taproots.)
Fawning not wasted. Worth watching to see how what goes around comes around. I am sure Trump thinks he has now fully repaid the doctor's compliments. So all is good right? And VA will just have to do without a director because Trump will now say thrre is no point, Dems will destroy even his "best" picks with their disgusting personal attacks...
1
oops, even Trump's "best" pics are simply awful
1
Trump is an entitled fool. Anyone picked by him professionally or personally is marked, for life. The price is game or flame. Likely both. No moral fiber here. Maybe public rectitude if we are lucky.
4
Is this what DJT meant by “extreme vetting”?
Let’s make a list:
Surgeon for housing secretary
Torturer for CIA
A “geologist” who is not a geologist for interior dept
Drunk, pill prescribing doctor for veterans affairs
Director of Tulsa space museum to run NASA
Betsy DeVos
the list goes on.....
"I'll choose the best people for my administration"
DJT, 15 Sept 2016
7
Let's let Jackson run the VA into the ground. The VA is a behemoth entity and bloated bureaucracy because of the US's obsession with wars and militarism--both of which are the foundations of modern Republicanism. It will be nice to see another incompetent Republican cabinet member undermine his comrades.
What got me from the physical and the report was the Candy Man (as we now know he's called) let Trump grow an inch to out-trick the BMI to otherwise pronounce him obese. As far as Trump's health is concerned, he does seem to have much strength, and so far he hasn't disappeared from view because of a nasty cold.
But the Problem is not "Dr. Ronny", but "Prez. Donny" and his refusal to go by lang-Standing rules (like vetting). It would be great, however, if Trump were to pick his pilot he picks cabinet secretaries: let's say "Let Hannity fly the plane", he's best looking on tv.
Creepy Dr. Ronny. Creepy Mr. Donny, creepy Trump inner circle.
1
For all of the accurate portraits of Trump as a “sleaze-ball”, to use his vocabulary, it is a serious mistake to be distracted by his pathetic clown show. The real enemies of the people are the Republican leadership and their billionaire controllers. Trump is a putrid symptom of the disease they have brought to our nation.
The only cure is massive voter turnout. Make it happen.
5
Soooooo . . .
Any word on how unhealthy the so-called president actually is?
"divining clearer evidence of divine munificence in Trump than some 60 percent of the American public does" ???!!
How embarrassing for Loomis.
1
Spot on, Frank!
1
In stead of facing a congressional hearing, Jackson should be facing a court-martial. Any man in the armed forces who was repeatedly drunk on duty and also passing out controlled drugs would be in for some stiff disciplinary action.
1
Mr. Bruni you are absolutely dead on the money here.
Trump’s administration is a dumpster fire, one that reflects the incompetence and ignorance of our depraved President.
Soon Mr. Jackson will be gone, eventually the corruption and lying will force the exit of Pruitt, Sessions has been hanging in by his fingernails for months now and even General Kelly is rumored to have fallen from favor....
Dumpster fire was too kind, I apologize.
1
Maybe he was drunk when he gave that press conference!
Since Trump himself has no qualifications to be President, it is easy to see why any yokel he likes can head a government agency. Sad, very sad. Fakers, all of them.
Which came first? The embarrassing sycophantic praise of Trump's physique or the promise of a promotion for such effusive nonsense? Either way, the man has been entrapped in Trump's destructive web and whatever good he has done in life now has the Trump brand stain all over it...forever.
1
The notion that Jackson, who authored the most preposterous, facially disingenuous bill of health for a president this nation has ever seen, and who knows precisely zero about administering a gigantic agency (or any agency for that matter), should be approved by the Senate is as bad as it gets.
Jackson is a gold-medal winning Trump sycophant and liar. What he deserves is to be run out of town. Our veterans deserve far better.
5
Even if Dr. Jackson had zero personality/behavior issues, he is still absolutely unqualified to lead the VA. "Support our troops!" Hah! Jackson's nomination is itself a massive disrespect of all active duty personnel and veterans.
5
“Flattery will get you everywhere.”
1
thank you, thank you for using "pulchritudinous"....... that made my day... and reminds me of when we read the Times in high school specifically looking for new things to add to our vocabulary... a gem of a word.
Does no one doubt that Jackson was interested in being nominated?
Dr.Jackson's track record of competency probably relies heavily on his credentials and practice in emergency medicine. A psychiatrist or neuro psychiatrist he is not: don't forget that he fawned over his patient's prowess mastering a quickie screening test for gross dementia that requires recognizing a camel. Oh frabjous day!
1
I think everyone is missing the obvious here. You have it backwards. What if Mr. Trump promised Dr. Jackson a "position" if Mr. Jackson gave Mr. Trump a glowing health review, which Mr. Jackson did? Most of us gave pause with the Dr's glowing, and somewhat ridiculous appraisal of Donald's Trump's health. The words almost sounded like Donald Trump put them in his mouth. Now we know why. That's my theory.
2
I said to my wfie during the absurd “physical” report that this guy was gunning for Surgeon General. Not too far off.
4
It shows how much DT care about Veterans of this country, when he nominated such under qualified man to lead the VA!
2
I love the NYT Replies column!!!
3
At the time of his sycophantic report of Trump's supposed excellent health I commented that Dr Jackson was so hyped that he was either drinking or high! Now we know it was likely. The vetting process at the WH is based on "who likes me"...ability and credentials don't play a part. Thus we end up with DeVos, Pruitt, Zinke, Perry,Carson and Tillerson. This is an inept, unqualified, ignorant president who cannot find his way around the very important vetting process. Every day of this tenure is more and more Depressing!
2
Democrats just do not like the man because he is a republican. These hateful people are partisan. Luckily the secretary of state was approved by one vote.
The Michelin Man meets “Lard Lad” from the Simpsons. Those are the physical specimens that validate “booze googles” as cataracts to cloud the view.
Morobidly or Grossely obese are merely degrees of scale. As all chefs know, marbeled meat marinates best in a bath of false praise.
Dr. R. could use an assist from Dr. Ruth to unravel the shortcomings of Trump in the sack as splashed across page 6.
Veterans Administration deserves better than one so under equipped or kitted to lead without experience.
Jackson is the epitome of obsequiousness, and even on TV comes across as less than genuine. Learning now that he has a drinking problem explains his ludicrous health evaluation of Trump. Is there a competent person left in Washington?
I have hard time to call this immoral man (trump) the president. He has done nothing to earn that title.
1
I would like to feel happy that this guy won't be running the VA, but why would someone like this have been kept around so long? That's the story I'd like to know more about. Did Obama have a second, "real" doctor?
Now if only Mike Pompeo would meet the same fate. I guess drunkenness is worse than a vicious foreign policy outlook.
1
If you went out to eat last night, the person who ran the restaurant has more leadership and management experience than Admiral Jackson--not figuratively, literally.
2
Based on reports of his behavior, Dr. Jackson exhibits classic signs of problem drinking and may even be a full blown alcoholic. If that seems implausible for a rear admiral and a doctor, I've known two retired colonels--one Army, one Air Force--a former US ambassador, a surgeon and an airline pilot, all cases their alcoholism was quite evident during their careers. By his own admission, the surgeon performed complex surgeries in blackouts.
The worst thing Trump could do for Dr. Jackson and the VA would be to put him at the head of such a vast organization. He needs help, not a promotion.
2
Frank Bruni pegs both Ronny Jackson and Donald Trump correctly, but there are people in the White House who want to effectively privatize the VA. That’s why Trump has blamed the opposition to Jackson on a Democrat vendetta.
They’ll either try to put more lipstick on Admiral Ronny or find someone else to do destroy a VA which actually works for veterans in medical need.
1
two observations;
1.Jackson got as much scrutiny from the WH as Trump did from the Americans who put him there.
2.In Organized crime families, loyalty and sycophancy come above competence or experience.
3
That is not the correct yes of the word tropism. Tropes is more accurate.
Blame the voters who elected Trump.
3
Trump certainly can pick losers, from Flynn to Price, but some of his picks endure, and some have come directly from the Koch libertarian, anti-government machine. Conway, McGahn, and Short all worked for the Koch network at one time or other. Last week, US senators wrote Trump and some cabinet members to demand explanations of ties to Koch: Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), Ed Markey (Mass.), Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev), Ron Wyden (Ore.), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Tom Udall (N.M.).
We go on being distracted by Trump, the organ grinders’ monkey, while the organ grinders, the Kochs, pour vast sums into TV campaigns to influence elections and attitudes to policies. And that’s legal. But how suitable is it that the Koch machine takes credit for Trump policies or that their operatives populate the Trump cabal?
Yesterday, Udall and Whitehouse kept up their attack on the floor of the Senate. Will the NYT publish their remarks? Here’s a short excerpt from Udall’s speech: “The Koch brothers’ web of dark money, lobbyists, and infiltration into the Trump administration threatens our democracy. The influence of their hundreds of millions of dollars is pervasive, pernicious, and hidden…” In fact, much of it is not hidden. It includes the work of ALEC, the Seminar Network, dedicated units of George Mason U and many others.
1
Trump's method of operation is also pure cronyism.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cronyism
2
I learned a new word this morning: pulchritudinous. Perfect use, Frank, and gave a much needed laugh amidst the tragedy our country is going through. Thank you!
1
I hope Bruni continues to write and comment because his observations are incisive and he pulls no punches. When our country is dealing with someone like the current president who is constantly spewing misinformation, there must be constant push back because eventually the truth will work its way down to even his most ardent supporters.
5
If the job of POTUS is the most important in the world, demanding the best candidates that humanity has to offer, then the selection of Trump as Republican candidate is living proof that the selection process stinks. In turn, Trump has used his patronage like a Nero or a Caligula to promote third raters who won't highlight how truly incompetent Trump is.
The 21st century solution for the USA, where merit supposedly matters most, is to headhunt the best that our species has to offer, irrespective of such irrelevant criteria as the country of birth.
There are 7.4 billion of us. Were Clinton and Trump really the best that the USA could come up with?
2
dr. ronny may be an alcoholic. it seems he can't control the amount he takes once he starts and is showing up on the job drunk and is likely underreporting his use when in private. i work as a psychologist with impaired physicians (and nurses and pharmacists) in california and it is a very, very serious issue that includes not only alcoholic doctors, but docs who have problems with opioids and stimulants. while troubled for certain, they are a danger to the public and must not practice medicine until they are in a place of recovery and comfortable with the stressors of their job and their personal lives. dr. ronny may be a good physician, but he is a danger to the public if he is impaired when he is working or he drinks when he is on call, or comes to work hungover. he needs professional treatment, and professional monitoring (with a 5 year commitment) and 12 step intervention in the physicians health program in the state where he holds his license. it is imperative he surrenders his license and gets the help he needs. this is a very serious issue. https://www.centerforprofessionalrecovery.com/
3
Anyone who is surprised at Dr Jackson s situation clearly has no experience with military medicine...this is the ONLY way a physician can succeed in that environment to reach Rear Admirals level - by very aggressively managing up and and always always be focused on securing the next promotion. This comment should in no way suggest Dr Jackson is anything less than a highly qualified physician certified in an utterly demanding speciality- emergency medicine is not dermatology. AndI am impressed that there is, at best, lots of piling on here with the allegations that he dispensed Ambien and provigil at times to overworked White House staff-"The horror, the horror"! Lay people presumably would be in for a shock to Discover most house staff engage in the same use (quite frankly they have to to stay awake and on their feet )
In my stint of just under 14 years in the Navy Medical Department, I had occasion to know of one of the principals in the IG report released by the White House yesterday.
At one time, I would have listed the White House as a desired spot on my "dream sheet", the rough draft used by the detailers (those who make assignments) for future billets.
A bit more experience cleared my judgment and I realized that position would attract a particular type of doctor, driven more by ego than a wish for the highest public service. Putting two such doctors together, Dr. Jackson and his colleague, would inevitably put them at loggerheads.
Increasing ego virtually guarantees decreasing mission effectiveness. I remember stumbling across the best and briefest statement of priorities in military service in the bowels of a decommissioned ship, now a museum. On the bulkhead (wall) was painted three words for the top to bottom importance. It read:
MISSION
UNIT
SELF
We enter military service with that list inverted. Either boot camp or innate understanding and experience will yield the more effective order above.
Reading the IG report tells me the White House Medical Office was not run that way and was doomed to difficulty. This sad lesson is now being retaught by RDML Jackson and hopefully learned by him, Mr. Trump and the country as a whole.
1
On the other hand, there must be something about Trump, the man, that can make so many people so obsequies to him. From 'that Cabinet meeting' to Dr. Jackson, there must be something about meeting him personally that transforms men into mice.
1
Trump simply lacks the competence and managerial skills to make appointments based on competence. The most important value to Trump is personal loyalty and fealty to Trump. Just ask James Comey. Under these circumstances Trump’s cabinet will be populated by underachieving sycophants. And Trump’s presidency is destined for failure. He will not make America great again.Unfortunately the worst is yet to come.
3
Lost in this weird appointment is something damnable about the Trump Administration: despite the boasts and blusters on behalf of "those who served our country," the fact that Trump would nominate such a blatantly under-qualified person to run the VA shows how very little regard Trump actually has for veterans.
I'm hoping our military, past and present, absorb this nomination for what it truly is -- a slap in the face of every vet who served our country.
2
So, what are we learning if nothing else?
Elections have consequences!
Ronny Jackson shows us how the President of the United States is wholly susceptible to blackmail. Anyone can flatter the man and he will thoughtlessly do their bidding. The Fox News audience and the legislative branch do not care; they are busy feeding on indignation. They have essentially left the front door and all the windows of our country open, and abdicated their duty as Americans. Anyone who attempts to shut the doors is attacked. We are vulnerable and those in power demand fealty while they keep it that way. Why?
2
We're all disgusted by various aspects of this case: Trump's shameless quest for more and better sycophants, his preoccupation with superficial "Central Casting" qualities, the harm he's doing to the federal government, the insult to the intelligence of the American people.
But the aspect that's getting the least attention is the one that should disgust us most: the harm and the insult to America's veterans. They, if anyone, deserved to be called the Forgotten Men and Women during the campaign of 2016; especially those who have given the best years of their lives and precious parts of their very being in this country's wars and now languish in its troubled VA hospitals.
Donald Trump, who pretended to champion the cause of forgotten Americans, can't muster a thought for veterans even when he thinks about the Department of Veterans Affairs.
2
"fearless visionaries" juxtaposed with "feckless vagabonds".
Great thinking. Great writing. (Enough said less I become a sycophant)
There's something called the "Peter Principle" which dates me - it came out in 1969 - but the philosophy is still solid. The principle states that promotions are made based on the performance of the individual in their current positions, and continue until the individual reaches their highest level of incompetence.
Ronnie Jackson is clearly at his Peter Principle height. He can go no further because he was finally found to be incompetent at his current level - 20 or more people say so.
The White House physician should back away from the nomination, acknowledging that he has no credentials to run such a large organization, and save face as to the other allegations.
He is tarnished now, but not skewered, as he would be if he continues. A Greek tragedy in the making - another narcissist designing his own demise.
Trump is an unbelievably bad manager. No wonder he filed for bankruptcy so many times.
2
What is scary about this article is how easily the president can be bought. So if it’s so obvious to most of us, how hard is it going to be for Kim Jung Un?
Lack of any managerial experience or policy prescriptions are disqualifying on their own for a nominee response for leading the VA. Being a doctor doesn’t suffice. That this reckless WH nomination has unleashed feedback from colleagues about troubling personal behavior may end up tainting even his medical career. Wouldn’t that be ironic.
Not withstanding the other issues, if drinking becomes a barrier to approval, Winston Churchill might have been in the trash heap.
How did this guy get to be an Admiral with a these alleged problems? Also, how is it possible to remain in his White House position for so long a time. My daughter was moved every 3 years while in the Navy.
Yes, Pruitt still outshines everyone for corruption and venal impulses. However, Mick Mulvaney just rose as a contender. At a talk yesterday, he basically said that if you contributed to him, he listened to you; if you didn't contribute to him (I assume his Senate campaign), then he isn't listening to you. Is there a balder more direct definition of bribery?
1
All roads traveled with Trump lead to shame;
legitimate and inevitable.
1
It is very simple to ingratiate oneself to #45. Everyone, all together now: #45 sings: "You love me, I love you, until: you no longer serve my purposes; you speak truthful criticisms; or you are revealed to have serious legal, financial, or health problems. Then I'm out a here."
Why would 45 think his nominees should be qualified? After all, he is completely unqualified, yet he got the job.
4
Like everyone, he/she who associates with this POTUS is diminished or destroyed. It is not the media's or Democrat's fault that this came out. The hubris of Jackson to believe that he could run this complex department is one issue. That Trump could care less about qualifications or ability is even worse.
And we all suffer every day due to Trump's small base and the policy making of Fox News. It is a long term problem turned into a tragedy.
1
Medical school graduation does not deliver good judgement, morals, ethics and all that's needed for service to others. Those intangibles are usually present in some form at matriculation. I imagine that it's much the same at Officer Training School. Admiral Jackson, MD is an example of this.
Passing the Medical Boards, while not inconsequential, only ensures a minimum competence and that the police powers of the state have determined that, at that point in time, the candidate is not a danger to the health, safety and welfare of the community Whether or not the candidate is good, or becomes more than merely competent in their chosen field, is determined through time and practice.
Ignore the allegations for a moment. This guy is eagerly running head first into a brick wall. I can't imagine why a guy with hardly any bureaucratic experience would want to run an agency that is the second largest in the government and the one under the most pressure to improve and has been scrutinized for failing to provide good services to our veterans. I mean, you've got a fairly cushy job, telling Trump to lay off the Big Macs, and now you think you can fix the VA? Why would any novice want to do that and think he will succeed? Especially when others with far more experience at it have failed. And if any of the allegations are proven to be credible, and he is confirmed, why would anyone expect he will change his behavior? I know, I know the agency will crumble around him. But as long as he goes to cabinet meetings and says "Looking good, Mr. President" , all the damage will be ignored.
2
"The way that Jackson likes him is key to this evolving disaster. He didn’t offer general praise about Trump as a leader. He offered specific praise about Trump as a physical specimen, using the very yardstick that the president vacuously favors."
Well, since he is a doctor commenting on a medical exam it would have been highly unusual for him to comment on the President as a leader.
1
Ronny Jackson's report on trumps health- "excellent," "excellent," "incredible," "incredible" health,- is FAKE NEWS. When a doctor's report is untrue, and issued for a political motive,that doctor ought to step down, not step up for a promotion.
1
Dr. Jackson's medical experience and credentials seem praiseworthy. But to hand him the reigns to an organization with over 350,000 employees and a budget of $185 Billion (yes, billion with a B) is completely inexplicable.
Our Vets are being seriously shortchanged. (If you run a business, would you hire this man to even run an organization with a budget of $185 Million .. with an M?)
Maybe the GOP will continue down this road; leading to some disastrous result, and then the Trump base might awaken to the incompetence.
1
I'm not sure that I would want him to cover the front counter when I stepped out to get some lunch.
1
Don’t understand this - MANY folks who worked with the Doc came forward. I assume they would have said the same to White House staff in their vetting process- if there was a vetting process.
This is an important job - our vets deserve the best. Choosing the person to run the VA is important. They should have Administrative experience- Dr Ronny runs his office (not the same) and he’s miltary (I thought that was a plus).
Trump seems to spend more time choose his golf club than choosing a qualified person to run the VA. Sad!
Gee, my physician won't write me a prescription for sleeping pills unless I come to his office and he takes my vitals. If I could only get aboard Air Force One, I wouldn't have to put up with such inconveniences since the Candy Man doles them out without checking these things. Clearly, Trump is much more interested in comfort (his) than competence. And we're only at day 461.
2
Why can’t we just say Dr. Jackson is not qualified which is really the right reason. We are hiding behind an excuse that seems easier to use instead of the real reason which is so often the case why we fire people. Wouldn’t he be a better person in the long run to know he hasn’t had the training or experience to run a large broken institution. Trump actually flattered Dr. Johnson in even nominating him. So flattery ran both directions.
4
How did we get from finding ''all the best people'' to nominating someone to head the 2nd largest agency in our government -- the one in charge of the health and well-being of our military veterans -- on the sole ability of being able to add one inch and subtract 10 pounds?
13
In retrospect, you have to wonder whether Dr. Jackson may simply have seen the handwriting on the wall, and realized that anything less than a superlative assessment back in January could have resulted in his re-assignment somewhere else. I don't think he was auditioning for head of the VA Dept, or anything else. He probably just wanted to keep his job.
3
Everybody is paying attention to everything except the fact that Dr Jackson does not have the managerial experience to lead the huge bureaucracy of the VA. Regardless of the allegations of drinking and distribution of prescription medications, isn’t the primary prerequisite missing? Do we need to know all the sordid details about someone who basically seems decent? I can even overlook the press conference after the physical (and mental?) exam.
Let’s have some qualified candidates for anything....PLEASE!
10
Yes, we need the sordid details precisely because he looks decent.
He's not; Trump’s note and these nominees are deplorable!
Dr, Jackson is another victim of Mr. Trump. It is too bad that Trump's ignorance and lack of vetting put this man's future at risk.
12
excuse me, no one forced this man to accept being nominated to a position he is not qualified for
If you want an up-close, detailed description of how things actually work in this "administration", Patrick Radden Keefe's "McMaster and Commander" in a recent New Yorker is a must-read. It's far, far worse than we thought, and we're in far deeper trouble than we can possibly imagine.
35
Jackson lost me when he said Trump had good genes and could live to 200.
Reputable studies in gerontology have shown that your genetic make-up has less of an effect than previously thought. In fact, your lifestyle influences your lifespan much more.
Exercise, weight, not smoking and being educated are factors that extend your life. While Trump doesn't smoke, he loses bigly on the other three factors.
26
Not to mention that any physician saying any human being could live to 200 , regardless of anything, smacks of unprofessionalism. His "assessment" of Trump smacked of the letter Trump's NY physician wrote, and both have Trump's fingerprints all over them. What I don't get is, how does someone as odious, toxic, and deranged as Donald Trump get so many people of "stature", including Congresspeople, to sell their souls (not to mention the country's) for him? I just do not understand it.
“Good genes from God” is also a claim of eugenicists, which is another word for racists.
If the Senate does its job and scuttles this nomination, perhaps that event will be a signal to Michael Cohen that trump is not the answer to his problems after all.
25
Dr Johnson may very well believe that as a Navy admiral he has the necessary skills to oversee the VA. He may also believe that it's better to have a Navy man in the job rather than some other crazy person who has zero military experience or any inkling of what our veterans need. Before we make any snap decisions let's see how his confirmation hearing goes. Trump may very well find someone worse if he's thwarted just because he can. Do you really want someone in charge of our VA who would deliberately destroy it like so many of Trump's other picks.
6
Trump has already amply demonstrated that his intentions (or rather those of his handlers) are to undermine and destroy the cabinet functions. And Dr. Jackson has already demonstrated his willingness to take orders from Trump. Jackson would fit right in with the rest of the swamp creatures in the cabinet.
Read the stories about Jackson.
There's no need to wait for sham hearings to decide. Just watch or read his fawning, ridiculous proclamations on Trump's health.
He's got to go. You don't approve someone who is unqualified and likely committed misdeeds just because you fear the next clown Trump nominates is going to be worse! All that does is reward Trump and his incompetent vetting.
Vote no; reject several nominees; and the caliber of the next nominees will go up. If they don't, keep rejecting them until they do — or the Democrats take over again!
Betsy Devise or Scott Pruitt may be available.
Trump was filmed some time ago spouting his theories of eugenics. He spoke of his German heritage and said he believed that some people were lucky enough to have good genes. He referred to the theory of breeding horses with good genes. When speaking to the American people about Trump's health, Dr. Jackson spoke of Trump's great genes. I have to think that Dr. Jackson (as well as that odd fellow who was Trump's doctor in New York), has learned that, to curry favor with Trump, you have to feed his narcissism.
We should be truly frightened now. If these stories about Dr. Jackson are true, that's unfortunate. I can certainly understand a drinking problem being exacerbated by horrible wartime experiences. And, if Jackson had been properly vetted, that would have come to light. But, what is horrifying is that apparently we have reached a point where the qualification for a big powerful job in government is being "nice" to Trump. The job of running the V.A. is huge. Jackson has no expertise in doing anything close to this. These are our vets we're speaking about here!
Every day. Every day there is another outrage. When will it be enough? This is exhausting.
91
I was wrong about Dr Jackson. When I heard the Trump health report, I thought he was going for the Surgeon General job.
32
Mr. Bruni: It's not that Dr. Jackson 'OVERprescribed' drugs. It's that he broke the law by affording drugs to people with whom he had NO patient-physician relationship. In most states that means loss of one's medical license.
69
The pharmaceutical bar tender as it were
Technically you are correct, but most doctors do this within their family without sanction or keeping medical records (go back and watch West Wing re runs re: Martin SHeens physician wife). This nomination is absurd, but so is the over the top accusations re prescribing habits here. ....no need to pile on here, vets will swallow their prejudices and nix this - though they will still march briskly behind trump otherwise...
1
Thank you for determining that 'most' doctors do this (i.e., break the law). Thanks also---for using as an example---a soap opera character.
If the job of POTUS is the most important in the world, demanding the best candidates that humanity has to offerings, then the selection of Trump as Republican candidate is living proof that the selection process stinks. In turn, Trump has used his patronage like a Nero or a Caligula to promote third raters who won't highlight however truly incompetent Trump is.
The 21st century solution for the USA, where merit supposedly matters most, is to headhunt the best that our species has to offer, irrespective of such irrelevant criteria as the country of birth.
There are 7.4 billion of us. Were Clinton and Trump really the best that the USA could come up with?
10
Good until the last line.
There is NO equivalence, NONE AT ALL, between Trump and Clinton.
Anyone who thinks they are even in the same league is misinformed or has fallen for Fox Fake News propaganda.
By the way, only Americans over age 35 are eligible to run for President. So, that eliminates 5 billion people, right off the bat.
Facts matter. Avoid hyperbole. And, turn off Fox Fake News!
2
There's that damning false equivalency again. Trump's ignorance, arrogance, incompetence and corruption put him light years away from Hillary Clinton. She should not be tarnished yet again by a comparison to Donald Trump.
While I agree that RADM Jackson lacks the essential administrative experience normally required to run a large healthcare organization (which the previous VA secretary, Dr. David Shulkin, had in abundance), I am greatly repulsed by the attack on RADM Jackson's character by Mr. Bruni.
Dr. Jackson is accused of liberally prescribing zolpidiem (Ambien) and modafinil (Provigil) which are drugs used to induce sleep and wakefulness respectively. These are both DEA C4 drugs which means that they have low risk for abuse and dependence. They are widely used by people who must rapidly adapt to working a radically different shift (e.g. days--> night) or a radically different time zone (e.g. USA --> Asia). Such drugs are not uncommonly used in the military during mission critical operations. This must be distinguished from C2 drugs (e.g. narcotics) which have high abuse and dependence potential. As far as I am aware, Dr. Jackson is not accused of over prescribing C2 or C3 drugs. If the above is true, this is not a big deal.
Dr. Jackson is also accused of yelling at subordinates. Such behavior is not always abuse: In medicine, disasters often occur when instructions are not diligently followed. Sometimes it is essential to firmly remind subordinates the importance of ensuring patient safety.
Military Officers and physicians sometimes drink alcohol, occasionally to excess. As long as this is not a recurring pattern and does not interfere with work, this is not considered a problem.
9
Except that at least one of the charges against Dr. Jackson is that he was found passed out drunk on an occasion when he should have been ready to administer care to President Obama if needed. That's more than just stress relief. It's dereliction of duty.
Lack of sleep was linked to the Navy's crashes in the Pacific. I think prescription of ANY drug should be taken seriously.
But drinking on the job is precisely what he is being accused of.
My favorite line is:
"If he likes someone — and, more to the point, if that someone likes him — it’s full steam ahead, straight into the iceberg."
And I would have amended it to read:
"If he likes someone — and, more to the point, if that someone praises him — it’s full steam ahead, straight into the iceberg."
15
Thanks Frank.
Very much appreciate you work and happy when lucky ought to see you when you are on TV.
7
Dr. Johnson is woefully unqualified to run the VA, and he clearly has some personal issues that he needs to address.
But he wouldn't even make the All-Star team of Trump's picks, with the likes of Pruitt, Mulvaney and Nunes roaming the halls.
24
1) Google Admiral Ronny Jackson, a c.v. and a career showing simply superior skill and performance in every way. We are indeed fortunate to have this capable man to safeguard the health of our Presidents.
2) Donald Trump appears to believe that competence is a global quality, that skill and success in one area indicates likely success in all areas. Hence his own chutzpah in running for President, and hence his appointment of various people to positions for which they lack the appropriate background and skill set. For him to change this approach would be to admit that he himself if grossly unqualified for his job.
3) The VA is so stretched in all directions by politics (veteran's groups, commercial interests, cost cutters, employee groups, politicians with specific constituencies) that it is impossible to begin to run it to provide efficient, high quality care to patients. The job of VA administrator is not difficult, it is impossible.
5
You had me going with your first two premises. Unfortunately you fell flat on that last one. Turns out, the VA already provides high quality healthcare more efficiently than the private sector. Look it up. That information just doesn’t make headlines because it isn’t sensational.
31
But he is correct in that there are a lot of competing interests. Also, the VA's biggest problems that each state has its own VA admin so the Feds are not allowed to impose national programs.
2
Beg to differ. Worked as a section chief at a VA Hospital in the 1980s. Just try to fire someone who is incompetent. Try to spend money efficiently. Try in short to promote good, efficient patient care at the expense of other political priorities.
Maybe if he tells the Senators that they might live to be 200 they would approve him. Jackson seems to be the type of Doctor that appeals to Trump - if Trump needed another case of bone spurs, Jackson would find them, no questions asked.
22
During my over 20 years in the military, we used a common, well-know phrase to describe those like Jackson. A phrase everyone knows but does not use in polite society, but which is extremely accurate in this case. And it was NOT "flattery". Trump has enough experience that he should have recognized that activity. But perhaps that is what he expects..........
19
Trump is casting for roles on his new reality TV show
He doesn't understand that these people are actually responsible for do something.
16
There used to be a commercial where the guy said "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on T.V." That guy would seem to be a perfect fit if it turns out another candidate is needed.
18
I'm not a gynocologist,but I'd be happy to take a look .
5
Frank, why no reference to the Peter Principle?
The short summary (from Wikipedia!) states: "The Peter principle is a concept in management theory formulated by educator Laurence J. Peter and published in 1969. It states that the selection of a candidate for a position is based on the candidate's performance in their current role, rather than on abilities relevant to the intended role."
Some (but not all) of DJT's picks were reported quite competent before he tapped them for Greatness, viz. Ben Carson, Neurosurgeon.
11
This is not even the Peter Principle at work — it’s worse. This Executive Branch has become a combination of pathology and a carnival show. No wonder Trump filed for bankruptcy four different times over the course of his “career.” His final investment as a “carnival barker” has paid off. I hope everyone who voted for him is enjoying the freak show. Now excuse me while I go figure out how I’m going to pay thousands more in taxes (while I’m putting my last child through college and haven’t had a meaningful income increase in years) because I live in a high cost city in a blue state that likes to try to provide its citizens with decent educational opportunities and social services.
Trump's casual and insouciant approach to selecting a nominee to head the troubled Veterans Affairs Department shows disrespect for our veterans. Straightening out the multitude of problems at the VA will require someone very experienced and knowledgeable who is qualified to act expeditiously. But Trump has acted as if it the matter is a low priority.
33
Senate gets to pick apart the President's nominees; what's the point when the wrong guy has been picked by the people to be President.
13
Why didn't the previous administration address his shortcomings? He was apparently a mess well before 45.
9
I don't recall the previous admin nominating Dr. Jackson for a cabinet appointment. Do you?
1
I doubt Obama had much if any need for Dr, Jackson's services.
4
President Obama will go down in history as one of the greatest presidents we’ve ever had and is already showing to be in the top 10. He was extremely intelligent, knowledgeable, hard-working, Brought our economy out of the Great Recession, brought the unemployment rate down to 4.5% and got our Economy going the last three years before Trump. All this occurred while the Republican Congress did every single thing they could to try to Sabotage him to prevent him from accomplishing anything. Republicans also went against the constitution not allowing him his Supreme Court pick. The Republicans have greatly decreased the respect for the United States in the world and done great damage to our democracy and ethics as a country. Now we have Trump Who is a Perpetrating lying, lazy, vacationing incompetent who has along with his Totally inappropriate Cabinet picks robbed the taxpayers of millions and millions and millions of dollars. We don’t have a president anymore we have an emperor/king clearly only tries to serve one party.
1
What we are living with is the overthrow of America as a democratic republic.
What we now have is the equivalent of a royal court, where the most important skill is flattering King Donald. Instead of competent advisors, he has surrounded himself with courtiers. His ministers live to serve - themselves and their patrons. The nepotism is blatant.
The legislature is full of those whose only interest is riding the gravy train for as long as possible, and packing the courts with judges who will protect their privilege. They are busy transferring wealth to the very few while oppressing the majority.
Division, racism, xenophobia, religious bigotry and the evangelical embrace of the Divine Right of Trump - it's all of a piece. They can't govern worth a darn - what they want is to rule. (And their supporters want to be ruled. So much for the land of the free.)
I wonder if French President Macron had any passing thoughts about guillotines and who went to them during his visit here.
40
Still can't figure out why no reporter at the press conference on Trump's health checkup didn't ask that with all the reports of sexual activity on the President's part, and his own bragging of sexual assault if was there any evidence of STDs in his examination.
22
Misplaced politeness?
I will say, I have never seen a world leader have their medical status downloaded to the press corps like this. Is America the only place where this happens?
3
Bingo!
1
I am looking at this issue as a test of Trump's base.
Sometimes you see articles where people defend his base (trying to breeze past the perceived privilege loss issue of the white Christian) trying to argue they wanted his business and management experience in the White House.
If DT's attempt to appoint Jackson doesn't tell at least moderate Republicans who follow Trump that Trump himself has no management chops.....or real understanding what it takes to run a large organisation....they cannot be helped.
DT thought China was laughing at America before...nothing....nothing compared to this sort of stuff.
SUCCEED NOW BLUE AMERICA!
16
Put an end to this confirmation lunacy in November. Vote!
20
Smells fishy. What’s really going on?
Admiral Jackson is unqualified for the Secretary post, to be sure, but he is more qualified for the VA bureaucracy than any of the other miscreants are for theirs.
Pruitt? Perry? DeVoss? Carson? And don’t get me started on Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
I mean, give me a break! Why, all of a sudden, is Jackson being “shivved,” to borrow a Hillaryism? What is the real issue?
Could it be that Trump realized afterward that Jackson has a shred of integrity, his boosterism notwithstanding? I mean the others have ZERO qualifications and integrity. Jackson at least has served in the military.
Trump probably wants to keep only the complete ZEROES in his Administration.
10
Trump should get a new medical,exam. His doctor may have been drunk at the time.
26
The media is on a search and destroy mission of all things even remotely related to Trump.
2
No. He is just unqualified, which makes it quite simple for the media (and investigators) to find examples of standards, ethics and activities not being what it ought.
56
He’s the president - that’s their job.
Oh, puh=leeze. From the side that impeached a president over fib about a private, consensual affair (and now cheer the pardon of a convicted perjurer!).
“From a personnel perspective, we’ve never quite seen the assemblage of crooks, just outright weirdos, wife beaters, drunk drivers, complete and total incompetents that’s been assembled.” You nailed it, Frank. There's nothing bold about what trump is doing; lazy and perverse is the right description.
54
These words were spoken by Steve Schmidt on MSNBC.
Mr. Bruni does give credit.
Trump puts this guy up for nomination without any vetting at all. So typical, and it came back to bite him! He looked stupid and incompetent so he ranted his anger in public saying, "....To be abused by a bunch of politicians who aren't thinking nicely about our country,” Trump said, before going on to blame Democratic obstruction for the suddenly stalled appointment."!! "Abused"? That's what Trump thinks vetting is? "Thinking nicely about our country"? What the...?!
Mr. Bruni, you described Trump and his, horribly unfit for office, cronies perfectly. When I heard Jackson report on Trump's health, I was laughing out loud. Then I thought, this is the kind of doctor President Obama had while in office?! There must be better much people available for these important jobs in government.
16
Great work Frank. When you dig equally into your deep reserves of rage and humour, the results are very readable indeed. “Feckless vagabond”!
13
Is this dirt that Cohen dug up under Trump's orders so that Jackson would give that pathetic assessment of Trump's health?
4
Wasn't Mike Flynn "one of the finest people that [Trump had ever] met?" How about Steve Bannon? Betsy DeVos? Tom Price? Hope Hicks? Sebastian Gorka? Reince Priebus? Rex Tillerson? Scott Pruitt? The Mooch was a really good guy quick with the 'bon mot,' as was the man Melissa McCarthy so affectionately called "Spicey." Great people, down to the last bi-ped standing. Good lookers, too, as though that counts for anything.
And Ronny looks so natty with all those buttons, medals, badges, stripes and brightly colored chest ribbons. Nice hat and neat hair, too. Clean shaven when sober. Colgate smile. Central casting, they say. Strictly Hollywood material, I hear. Prime time viewing material, we all should know by now. Heck, that would be vetting enough for me to run the federal government's second largest agency!
17
There is a certain dark logic to Trump's nominations of unqualified individuals and individuals hostile to the missions of the agencies they would head. The conservative mission is to destroy agencies and departments, except the military. What better way to do it?
16
I am a physician and when I heard that Ronny Jackson said Trump could live to be 200 I knew I could never take him seriously as a doctor. His statements about Trump demonstrate a lack of gravitas about being a doctor. A medical student could do better than he!
59
Simply out of deserved respect for those veterans who have put their lives at risk to serve our nation and who need robust and competent VA services to survive, no patriotic American can support Trump and his Republican handymen in Congress.
24
Photographic styles once included wide lens shots that could cover baseball outfields while still showing an amazing clarity of details in the faces and hats of fans crowded together, cheering the home team.
Apply the concept to Trump's team and his fans: the wide lens is necessary to see the broad context of "team" play; the repositioning of education, environmental, healthcare, and foreign policy; a rapid redeployment that is missed if the focus is only directed toward pitching and catching--Trump's team loves the spitters, with their rule breaking unpredictability, they corrupt the game.
Now Trump has reached into the stands (shades of The Price Is Right!), and summoned a cheering fan to take the field. The fan is not only inexperienced and unvetted, but unfit, as reported by associates whose ethics demand loyalty to the highest standards of conduct and preparedness.
The telephoto lens focuses on the manager; in this case, Trump. His team is scratching their collective heads at his impulsiveness at by-passing the playbook, his abandoning time-worn tradition, proven to benefit the team's goals. The player has an unsavory history of bad judgment and bad conduct, but these are whispers retold. Eye witnesses are coming forward, the evidence is accumulating, despite denials.
But the manager--why didn't he have the organization conduct a proper review? It would save the fans and team grief. It would save the country from engulfing chaos, for another day.
8
By now we have a pretty good idea of what Trump's capabilities and attitudes are. It is safe to say that they are not what we look for in a president. Almost every day of Trump's presidency we are forcibly and repeatedly reminded that he does not possess the character or judgment that inspires confidence. It is safe to assume that he is incapable of growing into the job. But, he was elected president. And some forty percent of voters still approve of the job he is doing. The question then is: What do we do now?
16
Get out the vote. 40 million registered voters stayed home in 2016. The GOP counts on a low turnout.
30
Yes, of course. It's always good to pay attention to the basics. However, our vaunted system of checks and balances between the branches of government does not seem quite up to the challenge posed by an outlier such as Trump.
3
Without wishing to detract from the obvious point that Trump selects nominees based on loyalty rather than experience and competence, may I add that were Trump to attempt to make selections based on competence, he would lack the competence to do so? He has no capacity to judge real substance in people, whether based on a cv or on character.
44
Fabulous assessment! Thank you Mr. Bruni.
23
Here is another trait that Dr. Ronny and President Donny share: the inability to engage in self-reflection and self-criticism.
Does Dr. Ronny have a conscience? If not, then he too may have a personality disorder or two, just like President Donny, who is demonstrating his "stable genius" for poor judgment in the selection of his appointees to high office.
Given the number of mistakes in personnel Trump has made in 15 months as president, wouldn't you think Trump would learn to make sure the people he is appointing are properly vetted? Of course, another question is why he even thought of appointing Dr. Ronny, who has no experience running a large medical organization, to head the troubled V.A., the most complex, difficult, and important medical system for our veterans this country has.
Similarly, wouldn't you think Dr. Ronny would realize that when all the black marks on his past record would come to light in the vetting process (overprescribing drugs, drunkenness, creating a hostile work environment, maybe more), he would want to save himself a lot of embarrassment by withdrawing his name from a possible list to head the VA medical system?
No way to run a railroad, a business, or a government, and this country will pay a heavy price.
18
When I saw Dr Jackson’s press conference announcing the results of DJT annual physical exam, the first thought going through my head was, “that guy is high”.
I write this as a pot smoker for the past forty-three years, I know high when I see it.
82
When all of the graspers and incompetents and toadies that Trump has chosen and the Republicans have OKed for their turn at the treasury cookie jar ruin our country, no problem.
Trump and his cronies will blame the ensuing disaster on Obama.
15
I would like to respectfully ask that Fox & Friends more fully vet potential Cabinet nominees for our President so he’s provided the information to make more carefully considered selections. How else will he possibly get it?
55
I read the Times reports earlier this evening that essentially Trump was offering Jackson a way out of an embarrassing situation or, alternatively, kicking him under the bus. Then, I made the mistake of eating dinner. When I came back to my laptop about 8:15, I found a new Times headline that said Trump is now rushing to Jackson's defense. None of that is unusual, of course. The essential facts of the issue remain unchanged. Jackson, whatever his abilities as a Navy doctor, has little to no management experience. That alone should disqualify him. However, his personal conduct issues, recently revealed should make him unacceptable as a nominee. That Trump does not recognize that will surprise no one. That Jackson doesn't have the good grace to withdraw his nomination adds to the list of reasons he's unacceptable. In the meantime millions of veterans who deserve the best of care are still waiting for someone, anyone, to care enough to give their health care system someone who cares enough to do the job and knows how to do it.
29
Look, we are in a lose-lose situation with this cabinet in general. No matter what the motives are of both Trump and the candidates he puts forth, it is about obsequiousness, snap judgment, 'loyalty', a hearkening back to a past era, and for the most part, short-term fulfillment for both the 'appointee' and the 'annointer.' As Mr. Bruni so rightly points out, the appearance of pomp and circumstance suit Trump's assessment and sense of what being 'president' and 'presidential' means.
I work in healthcare. Being a good and competent doctor doesn't mean that you are a good and competent administrator or even a good person. Trump loves uniforms and the past, primarily male-driven sovereignty, of what we consider 'authority', i.e, 'the boss', the 'doctor', 'general', the 'fixer', drive his world view and decisions while in office. I decline to call them 'presidential' decisions.
I appreciate Dr. Jackson's medical expertise. That might very well be the professional limit here.
17
I don't doubt for a moment that Trump's reasons for nominating Jackson are as outlined in this op-ed. However, I can't help worrying that there is something more sinister at work here. Trump and his minions have been chomping at the bit to privatize as much of the VA (and the rest of the federal safety net programs)as possible. Having someone with zero administrative or executive experience, and clearly very little integrity, at the helm should make that goal easier to achieve. Anchors, aweigh.
499
Thanks, A.T. Cleary, for chiming in, and I just wanted to add to what you said one sort-of related observation that makes this particular administration mess more interesting still. Trump banged on and on and on during the campaign about his concern for veterans and how it outstripped other candidates' concerns and how he was finally going to do right by them. When he skipped that debate in Iowa, he held a separate rally that he said would be a fundraiser for . . . wait for it . . . veterans. WHO DESERVE EXACTLY THAT AND MORE. (And he did, albeit sluggishly, subsequently donate millions to veterans groups.) My point is that if he were a consistent, coherent and principled person, you'd expect him to nominate someone of unquestionable authority and experience managing a huge, complicated organization to head the Veterans Affairs department. Not the guy who said, "Oh, my, Mr. President, what lovely pectorals you have."
216
Dunno if you're still following this, but anyway: Trump talked about how much he was going to give to veterans, but didn't actually give *anything* until he was embarrassed into it. And then likely only from his foundation, or maybe his campaign money.
Pulchritudinous? I just learned a new word. And quite appropriately used.
10
I think his alleged drinking on the job could exp!win his strangely effusive description of Trumps health.
22
Frankly, it’s hard to imagine having to work for Trump and NOT drinking on the job.
12
Also of note,
As people in the medical field are well aware, the Navy has had a long history of drinking problems in its medical personnel.
A physician MD
15
No doubt, all that “drinking to the foam” they sing about in the US Navy anthem
In would be very interesting to see a true full medical and psychiatric examination of the creature known as Trump—say by the Mayo Clinic.
I can guarantee you that the results would be startling in comparison to what we heard from Ronny Jackson.
A physician MD
43
All the professional federal employees of all the government agencies headed by Trump's crew of "deconstructors" are dealing with appointed agency heads who demonstrate gross incompetence, hostility toward agency mission, and serious corruption. Jackson is just one of many who from complete ignorance of agency function would destroy the organization they are appointed to lead. This is the operational model established by Trump himself, who is the most ignorant, most corrupt of them all. Trump, who thinks the federal government is an extension of his family business is the poster boy for today's Republican Party. The Republican Congress looks the other way while Trump runs our country into the ground. Throw them all out to save our nation from further disgrace.
12
Trump doesnt do vetting, he simply floats balloons. As we can see, there are a lot of darts aimed at this balloon. Jackson, fully aware of his own background and lack of experience, should have declined if he was smart enough to know that Congress would vet him. Now...embrrassment.
Next nominee please!
7
Besides performing the president's physical and perhaps those of the president's family, what exactly does the president's physician do the rest of the year? Really, I'd like to know. Being the president's physician sounds like one of the cushiest jobs available.
10
Its a great job, but Hours can be strange and already on call, lots of traveling, and pay is not great at all. But for a single guy it's truly a great job, and very unchallenging from medical perspective.
Meanwhile, armed forces men and women who served our country in good faith and were put in harms’ way, deserve to expect and receive the best possible medical care. Too many aspects of the expansive VA health care system require overhaul.
Mr. Shulkin was dismissed at a crucial time for our VA hospitals that are undergoing much needed improvement. For example, the only VA hospital in NH was recently cited for woefully sub-standard care. Never has the need for best practices medical care been greater for our honored veterans. Time is of the essence.
2
I was shocked and offended by Dr. Jackson's effusive and fawning presentation of Trump's physical exam. The doctor's emphasis on Trump's God-given, excellent genetic make-up was meant as a counterpoint to our previous President's genetic background. Sounded and felt like a thinly veiled racist remark to me.
If the allegations about Dr. Jackson prove to be true, I think we citizens should demand a re-do of Trump's physical examination with a doctor who doesn't view it as an opportunity to further his or her own ambitions in such a disgusting manner.
30
I loved Trump's comment today that the VA is so complex that nobody can run it. So why not appoint someone unqualified like his personal physician? We are now truly in a place where the inmates are running the asylum.
26
Jackson's over-the-top fawning was cringe-inducing and weirdly unsophisticated, coming from someone who achieved a high rank and position in his field.
One has to wonder if the alleged on-the-job drinking was a factor there.
In any event, it's another day in our ongoing national disgrace.
28
I'm inclined to cut Ronny some slack on the drinking. If your job included the possibility of seeing Trump naked wouldn't you drink to excess?
58
my first laugh of the month!
10
I agree this nominee is short on managerial experience, but the the opposition certainly appears highly politicized and mean spirited.
2
And a lot of that opposition is coming from the GOP
The White House physician, Ronny Jackson, is a cute dude, and also undeniably in the president's pocket, notwithstanding the fruit salad on his navy chest, and his desire to assure all of us that President Trump is so healthy he will live through his second term...and could live to 200 years of age if he'd take it easier with Big Macs and fries.
We have been diddled to a fare-thee-well by Trump's useless and scary appointees to his cabinet positions. "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari", a true horror film. When Dr. Jackson broke it down for us Barney style, about the President's health in January - next to the Arkansas press sec who doesn't answer questions - he was a perfect example of sychophancy up the yingyang.
Today, we cringed several times during Trump's press conference with Emmanuel Macron (30 years his junior); when he called the DPRK leader, Kim Jong-un "very honourable", when he brushed a flake of dandruff off the President of La Republique Francaise's navy serge shoulder, and during his rant on the "viciousness" of vetting his appointees for cabinet positions. We retched, Frank.
Trump's coterie of flatterers and empty suits and minds
is vomitrocious. How can we stop viewing the whole catatrophe of our 45th Presidency? We are in dire need of Monty Python in America these days. Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah, etc. are doing their best, but we cry for blood and gore all over the floor and me without my spoon and straw in these awful days of Trump.
25
Dr. Jackson had a good reputation as the White House doctor until he now has joined Donald Trump's entourage. Anyone who starts to follow Trump ends up the worse for it. When offered the position, Dr. Jackson should have respectfully declined.
9
The scandal in this is that Shulkin wasn't fired for some trip. If that were true Pruitt would have been fired weeks ago. He was fired because Trump wants to privatize care of our veterans because somebody should profit from all that healthcare! What Trump needs is another amoral sycophant with just enough skills to get that ball rolling.
In Trump world veterans are for profit and military's are for parades.
26
After reading this piece, the first thing that came to my mind was, “yes, we have no bananas.”
10
Mr. Bruni has accurately described the folly, hubris and sheer incompetency of this president. Well written!
10
It is mind boggling that Ronnie Jackson was officially nominated with no qualifications or basic vetting from the White House - I guess Kelly will be departing soon. But at least someone was able to stop Trump from nominating his personal pilot to head the FAA.
10
Ronny Jackson should have quit while he was ahead, on Donald's good guy list.
Instead he illustrates beautifully the Peter Principle, aspiring one level more than he should have, and winning the VA nomination because he 1) praised Trump's "genes," and 2) was a physician.
I heard one pundit today saying that's like making your likeable barber head of the Department of Defense.
Now, even his role as White House physician maybe in jeopardy, particularly if the drinking and over-prescribing charges stick. The optics alone are chilling: the nation's top health professional acting with impaired judgment.
One would think the president, by now, would get the message that checking one's background or at the least, seeking out previous performance reports, would be the logical first step. That's what his staff is for, right?
Assuming he has any HR staff left--somehow, with this revolving door of an administration, maybe even qualified HR professionals refuse to sign up.
They'd be wasting their time anyway--this president, as with everything, goes with his gut, meaning, a little flattery (or better yet, a lot) goes a long way.
9
Speaking of previous performance reports.....Read President Barack Obama's glowing evaluations of Dr. Jackson's performance for the EIGHT years he served as the President's personal physician - that included Michelle and the girls. You will notice that Obama considered Jackson flag material to be "groomed" for leadership. Maybe you think Obama's word isn't worth the performance reports it's written on.
2
@Albert Edmud: No doubt Barack Obama's glowing evaluation was sincere. But handing Dr. Jackson management of the DVA goes way beyond grooming.
10
@Albert Emud: I have utmost respect for President Obama's word. But clearly something doesn't add up here.
Perhaps Dr. Jackson has an innate sense of what his First Patient wants: for President Obama, it was the medical truth and for Trump, a glowing physical assessment in language he himself uses.
That said, I want to see what the fact checking brings--the charges are quite serious, and almost too bizarre to be simply made up.
I'd also want to know the time spans and the sources of the allegations.
9
“It’s just the way God made him.” —Dr. Ronny Jackson
Well, you can’t argue with that statement. What’s open for debate is what’s meant by “the way.”
13
My apologies, Mr. Bruni, but may I be excused from the table column now, because reading, albeit skimming this less-than- flattering profile of Trump's doctor is not healthy for the constitution and complexion, making this American feel quite ill. It is enough to make one toss one's cookies, and these are not computer ones.
5
I kept pulling out quotes to send my family and friends; "we’ve never quite seen the assemblage of crooks, just outright weirdos, wife beaters, drunk drivers, complete and total incompetents that’s been assembled," and "There’s draining the swamp, there’s disrupting the status quo, and then there’s simply being lazy and perverse." But then, I just send them the link.
8
Dr. Roony says "Not everyone who's been to medical school thinks he's just a mere Doctor!."
4
Sadly, his base still does not care. Only Iowa farmers are now beginning to doubt.
12
I've come to view this sort of thing as Trump's version of draining the swamp. Someone is nominated to a position in Trump's administration. That person comes under increased scrutiny which they cannot possibly withstand. They resign in disgrace and we are rid of them. Being nominated by Trump for any position is a "kiss of death" for one's career.
5
The unnecessary mess is Trump's presidency. When 46% of American voters decided that a pathological liar, con man, scam artist, serial bankrupt, groper and sexual assaulter should be president of the United States, the rest was foreseeable. Trump's role as a successful executive in "The Apprentice" was fiction. He ran his businesses into the ground and made money by cheating his creditors, victims of Trump University and other scams, and laundering Russian funds from oligarchs and mafiosi close to Putin. Not having a president would do the country far less harm than the current incumbent who combines ignorance, malevolence, incompetence, and corruption.
59
For every one of these disastrous nominations that move to actual confirmation — the list is too long, but well-known — there will be policy pronouncements and rule changes that take effect, and are potentially reversible. The situation with the VA is more dire, since veterans will die under inept transitional leadership whose surreptitious goal is to privatize the whole system. Trump's craving for ego-stroking minions knows no bounds, even when it threatens the health of the nation. After all, he's a genetic physical and mental specimen, according to Dr. Ronny.
7
Thank you. I do not remember ever reading the word pulchritudinous in an editorial before. Make my day great again!
12
Get the military out of the picture to start with. The military sucks up to the president. A qualified, honorable and honest civilian doctor, properly vetted would serve the job much better. Jackson should have the decency to dropout of the nomination. He knows he's not qualified, and should never have accepted the proposal in the first place. But, like minded people stick together. The country suffers in the meantime. Jackson is just another selfish, unqualified self serving opportunist. The cabinet is full of these losers. Enough is enough. Clean house, and soon.
13
Humor is the truth, and this guy won the Electoral College, which
is not about screening an unsuitable as per the founders had prudently designed.
The Congress likewise is seemingly sadness, but perhaps I overly conflate our dysfunctionals.
1
Trump doesn't care about veterans or their affairs, he only cares about himself. So he surrounds himself with others who stroke him and make him feel good. He is surely the most insecure president this country has ever had.
11
Evidence that Jackson does not have the judgement to run the VA? He accepted the nomination.
14
Too bad Ben Carson is too busy redecorating his HUD office. He's a doctor. He must be qualified.
15
I was a Navy physician.
You don't get to be an admiral without a substantial track record of competency. Schmoozing and flattery aren't enough - though they may grease the skids to put you ahead of more deserving peers.
I don't think this column is fair to Dr. Johnson.
On the other hand, Dr. Johnson's report on Mr. Trump's health was downright embarrassing.
I wonder what his motives might have been for giving such a ridiculous report on Mr. Trump's health.
Perhaps he just wanted to keep his cushy job?
It's fair to criticize Mr. Trump for his incompetence.
It's also fair to criticize Dr. Johnson for lacking the moral fiber to admit that he is not qualified nor competent to run the VA.
It's not fair to impugn him with imagined motives.
That would make you, Mr. Bruni, no better than Fox "News".
101
I like to think I'm in a SLIGHTLY different category than Fox News, but I absolutely take your point that I'm making some assumption about motives. But as you yourself concede, I'm accurately noting the outright embarrassment of that "excellent," "excellent," "incredible," "incredible" health report, which plays like a parody whether coming from a Navy admiral or any other physician. It is what it is. In any case, my main points here--or what I intended my main points to be, and it's my fault if they got lost--are about Trump, his vulnerability to flattery, his unprofessional process and his cavalier attitude about proper training and experience. Those are vivid. They concern me. I hope they concern most other Americans, too. Thanks for reading and for writing in.
949
Read it again, Doc. Mr. Bruni does not write anything that impugns Adm Jackson with imagined motives. The criticism is aimed at DJT for failing to vet Dr. Jackson and so many other appointees, and for being to vain and lazy to do so.
By the way, if Adm. Jackson has such a sterling track record, then why isn't he in a command position somewhere?
43
@Mike Mc Allister: “Perhaps he just wanted to keep his cushy job?“
You’re speculating on Dr. Jackson’s motives, certainly more than Frank Bruni did in his column.
17
Oh, but Ronny's kinda cute!
At a Trump cabinet meeting, he'll be the snowy dove trooping with crows!
7
It is inconceivable to me that a medical school graduate and a veteran of the armed services could be a crapulent, preening, affected dunce.
With that kind of resume you would presume a disciplined adult.
8
the way to show trump the kind of loyalty he is looking for is to lie for him. this is what jackson did when he gave his report on trump's health. in a reflexive response trump nominated him for an office that happened to be open. since the republicans have given him everything he has asked for that was in their power to provide he had no reason to consider the qualifications of his nominee. in a surprise twist it turns out that the republicans will consider a nominees qualifications for a job if that job has no impact on their rich benefactors.
9
Trump likes Ronny because he will remain complicit while they privatize the VA.
14
It is difficult to keep one's bearings back there, isn't it, Admiral Jackson?
5
This column is exceptionally difficult to swallow ...
except ...
Every last word is true. And it is very, very hard to come to grips with.
This phenomenal narcissist, Donald Trump, inside his inwardly mirrored silo is the president we managed to elect as the most powerful man in the world.
9
No one loathes Trump and his picks more than I, but if "we’ve never quite seen the assemblage of crooks, just outright weirdos, wife beaters, drunk drivers, complete and total incompetents that’s been assembled,” it's just because all that was hidden back in the day. I wonder how many cabinet members over the decades could pass muster with today's search engines?
2
Trump and Jackson both like to play doctor...
4
Trump's statement that Jackson is one of the finest people he has ever met shows how far down in the swamp trump dwells. When Jackson gave his absurd medical assessment of don, making him taller, thinner, more cognizant tha he factually is, you knew he was a flim flam man. No doctor would say such things contrary to the obvious evidence and expect to accepted as a real doctor. He just plays one when called upon.
13
Disturbing in so many ways. But the structural disrespect to our military and veterans is beyond reprehensible.
10
He was going to "drain the swamp", said The Donald, but It appears instead that our president went out to find the slimiest swamp thangs in the world. The worst ones are the ones who remain: Pruitt and DeVos.
No worries, though. Hannity and the Sinclair robots are telling us that everything is just great.
We need a billionaire to buy a media company that is the mirror image of Fox politically, but on a different planet morally. Our planet.
8
"Crooks, just outright weirdos, wife beaters, drunk drivers, complete and total incompetents." This isn't merely a description of the Trump administration it's a partial list of the job requirements. We can add infidelity, hypocrisy, mendacity, perversity, moral turpitude, nepotism, tax evasion, narcissism, misogyny, corruption, and ignorance, to name just a few more.
18
With his good looks, bedecked military uniform and fawning skills, Dr. Jackson must have thought he could play Trump for some sort of administration reward. And he did. However, if you compare his Trump/ Obama medical reports, something changed drastically in his MD reporting demeanor. I have to assume it came from a specific attempt to win favor with Trump.
Unfortunately for him, in the end, alignment with Trump probably has a greater chance to kill a career, than further it.
567
Please see Mike McAllister's very interesting comment and my response. It's Jackson's changed demeanor/vocabulary that inclined me to creep out on a limb and speculate/imagine the sorts of motives that you too do. (That speculation, of course, is much more common, and much less provocative, in an opinion column than in a news story.) I had a reaction to, and take on, Jackson that's similar to yours: He knew what kind of sweet music this particular patient (Trump) wanted to hear, and he played it, to win favor. Favor for what? Maybe simply for its own sake: as Mike McAllister correctly notes, I can't really know. No one but the doctor can. As for "greater chance to kill a career," I've written several times before, and often think, that to tango with Trump is to be demeaned, even mortified. Look at Tillerson, Spicer, Sessions and the humiliations of their service. The Republican strategist Rick Wilson has a book coming out later this year titled "Everything Trump Touches Dies." He's talking in part about reputations, and while his statement is obviously hyperbolic, there's a substantial measure of truth in it.
422
@GP
Trump actually told people in a public setting that he wished he were Admiral Jackson.
This pathetic Loser-in-Chief wants so BADLY to be a young handsome military officer..but WITHOUT actually joining up, doing the work necessary to make rank or heavens to betsy get shot at.
In 2016 a retired officer and Trump supporter gifted him with a Purple Heart.
Trump said:
"And I said, 'Man, that’s like big stuff. I always wanted to get the Purple Heart," Trump said. “This was much easier.”
https://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/trump-purple-heart-226565
We have troops dying and being wounded grievously for this Idiot-in-Chief! I am embarrassed saying that I was a veteran.
48
Ditto my last! It's nigh on bedtime, but I'm going to follow this thread. Good for you, M. Bruni!
In any event, Jackson would have been a figurehead while the privatizers who drove out Shulkin would have dismantled VA. The surfacing of Jackson’s conduct issues provides Senators of both parties a way to oppose Jackson without directly challenging Trump. Same for the veteran service organizations. No profiles in courage here.
10
Real courage though from those who have come forward.
4
Of course, many perceptive people have also observed the apparent errors in the medical conclusions. The people who contributed to "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump" (top behavioral health specialists) ridiculed the cognitive screening as woefully inadequate. So on it goes, ad-nauseam, until we rid ourselves of this monster through all lawful means, a.s.a.p.
4
So much for Trump’s profound commitment to the veterans. His haphazard selection process suggests the sincerity of his concern.
Ah well, as with virtually all of the miscreants he hauls out of Dumpsters and morgues: on to the next. Can we be far from the nomination of that dissolute weirdo Dr. Harold Bronstein? He may not have the “central casting” look Trump adores, but he is a world-class bootlicker, an ability that supersedes all others in this White House.
3
Maybe Jackson’s name should be not Captain America but Popeye.
4
Will this country survive this debacle called the Trump "presidency"? Each day, I'm outraged more the last.
9
When the good Doctor spouted all that nonsense, everyone I know said, "Is he drunk or on drugs??" It just may be the case.
22
When will people learn that he is toxic, and that *everything* he touches turns to ash?
7
Gee, Frank Bruni recognizes when Donald Trump succumbs to false flattery, but he NEVER recognized all the false flattery he received from W in 1999 and 2000. Al Gore and Hillary Clinton refused to engage in false flattery of reporters and were never liked by Frank. Bill Clinton advised them to praise reporters a whole lot more, but they never did.
Flattery works. False flattery works. It works on Trump. It worked on Frank..
1
Under the bus you go Sir......thanks for trusting me!
8
The great danger here, also, is the assault upon the VA by forces wanting to privatize it for lucre. It appears to be an assault by some self-serving group that needs to be brought out of the shadows and opened for inspection and public discussion. Some bi-partisan Senators are raising the alarms to these venal plans. The incompetence and ignorance of this administration breeds the success of such dire forces as we have seen in the election campaign and cyber attacks ongoing on America. We, the American people, are deeply troubled and justified in our concerns.
7
Great column! And it's not a surprise to learn that Dr. Ronny, who lied about Trump's weight, has a pill and drinking problem. Looks like his services are a waste of tax dollars.
11
I started work for the Federal Government under Daddy Bush, he hired folks and let them lead. They at the agency and the Department I worked for let them lead.
The Clintons came in their as Blue dog Democrats, more conservative on dollars then Bush. Then socially picked some unqualified minorities which the white male career SES’s took advantage of.
Then W, was so unsure of his self let Dick run things which was contract it out and give payback to campaign donors.
Obama added back layers of minorities and was stuck with more contracting.
Trump is plain stupid and doesn’t understand basic economics. He is just vengeful and has one mission, erase everything of all his past Presidents. He thinks he is running part of a NY mafia family. He and his associates will end up in Club Fed.
2
In my work with organizations I sometimes ask people to assess their culture using a continuum between two extremes. At one end is a FIBS culture. At the other end is a ROCK culture. Both are acronyms. They stand for
F . you flatter anyone who is important to you
I - you inflate your own contribution to whatever has worked
B - although you may make lots of promises you break most of them
S - you scapegoat others when things go awry.
At the opposite end is ROCK
R - you develop respect
O - you take ownership of whatever part you played - or could have played when things have gone awry
C - you credit people when they do good work
K - you keep commitments
It's a simple little model but it very quickly tells you whether the culture is toxic or not.
People like the language. They also know what it is like to work in high FIBS cultures. It provides another way of saying. 'From your experience do high FIBS leaders ever deliver?' etc
Journey with courage and kindness
Peter Rennie leadershipaustralia
18
Given that Trump's entire approach to life is transactional, I can't help but wonder if, among the other things Mr. Bruni offers in his excellent analysis, Jackson's nomination was the reward he received for his obsequious report on the man's physical and mental health.
5
This piece is pulchritudinous Mr. Bruni! Bravo!
2
Take two oxycontin with a glass of vodka and call me in the morning?
16
Competence? We don't need no stinkin competence. God save us from fools and republicans. But, I repeat myself. Sorry.
10
The idea of Dr. Jackson 'flattering' his way into the nomination really has few great consequences for the nation when compared to how Trump is blinded and manipulated by world leaders who lavish him with praise for their own political gain. Trump is mercurial and easily influenced to change policy and alliances with countries. And they have figured out how to 'play" him on his recent visits with military parades, pageantry, red carpet treatment and elaborate welcoming receptions--all to stroke the his fragile ego.
In his now famous 2016 Presidential Primary interview , Trump recounted Putin's description of him as "a bright and talented person." A gushing Trump returned the compliment: "It is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond...I like him a lot. He likes me." Who knows what piece of this mutual admiration ties into the Russian saga?
Dr. Jackson's flattery of the president will fade as a fleeting domestic blip in the Trump White House. It cannot be compared to the real ramifications of flattery on a world stage of international diplomacy in Russia, China, South Korea, Japan and France (Wonder if Macron will downplay his Bastille Day parade to flatter Trump and assure the president that his will be bigger and better). What then? Get the Iran Nuclear Deal back on the tables?
4
Clarification on my comment--the Department of Veterans Affairs will have important consequences if Dr. Jackson is appointed to the position, especially the issue of privatization.
2
Gee, Mr. Bruni, a little ascerbic, even for you! Pity I could not agree more. Venality may be of Mr. Trump's lesser defects (lying like a sociopath a greater one still, or a least one more toxic to the nation), but it is obviously his primary motivation. That same venality is his primary vulnerability to being manipulated by Russians, sycophants, and/or the last guy in the room to get face time on the issue of the moment.
5
This has been no small service to the nation, for Admiral jackson to illuminate our government with such radiance. It certainly qualifies him for a Fleet promotion, although which one I beg your indulgence, not to name.
3
Trump is a chump for flattery. Sing his praises and he's at the ready to hand you a prestigious position. I'd love to replace Betsy deVos. Wondering if I tell Donald I love his hairdo I'd become the new Sec of Ed?
8
Trump needs "yes" people around him to corroborate his alternative view of the world. They shield him from reality and allow him to believe that his cracked vision is genius. Anyone who supports him must be as special as he is.
Just as this groupthink left a trail of six bankruptcies, it could also stumble us into nuclear war.
5
Trump says of Ronny Jackson: “one of the finest people that I have met.” Of course, he is!
1
Ronny Jackson is disturbingly like Dr. Leo Spaceman from 30 Rock.
239 lbs? Just one more in a deluge of Trump lies, this time courtesy of a clown and court jester who wants to oversee Veterans Affairs despite the fact he has no experience leading a department that size. What could go wrong?
4
There are college degrees offered in healthcare management. For the most part doctors don’t manage healthcare systems. And the VA is vastly more than just a network of hospitals and clinics. It is also responsible for many nursing homes, cemeteries and the administration of a complex conglomerate of heath, social service and mental health benefits. It requires someone with experience in all these areas. Or at the very least in seeking out people with the needed expertise in meeting the diverse needs of the folks depending on the VA. This guy looks good in a uniform but didn’t fit the bill.
4
I don’t know how much is true about what Jackson is charged with – supervising a “hostile” work environment, drinking on the job and allowing over-prescription of medications. Trump, as Frank alleges, clearly is lazy and perverse in his appointments. However, I do know this: demonizing Trump’s nominees has become a cottage industry among the left’s pundits and those who analyze news. So, I’m a little suspicious.
After all, this guy rose to rear admiral rank in the U.S. Navy (equivalent to a major -- two-star – general), and that typically isn’t accomplished these days by closet drunks and the irresponsible. These are generally formidable military officers and buttoned-down professionals.
So, let’s let it play out. If Jackson has any spunk and the allegations are no more than politically-interested rumor, then he needs to show that spunk and defend himself credibly. If he can’t or won’t, then we can only hope that it becomes yet one more cautionary lesson to Trump to tighten-up his nominations process.
Navy officers are buttoned-down professionals, maybe, maybe not.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/admiral-seven-others-charg...
8
Putting forward ethically challenged nominees with dubious qualifications leads to "demonization," I'm afraid. Witness the many Republicans who maintain that the allegations against Dr. Jackson merit investigation. Consider the fact that Scott Pruitt's patron, James Inhofe, is now asking for an investigation into the ethical allegations against his protégé. (James Inhofe!) Recall how swiftly Trump and his advisers abandoned Tom Price after the HHS secretary took charter flights at taxpayer expense. The list goes on.
It isn't just "the left" that engages in so-called demonization of Trump's un-vetted choices for key appointments. Republicans do it, too...eventually, and usually when the nominees have been confirmed. That's not the way it's supposed to work.
5
Trump needs cautionary lessons as he nominates people to manage our government? That statement, in and of itself is an indictment of him and his judgement.
Beyond that, achieving high military rank may or may not be a complete indicator of full qualification. See Michael Flynn; Lieutenant General. See David Petraeus; 4 Star General. For that matter, see former Commander in Chief, Bill Clinton. Now I know you can agree with that one.
Are you so naive to think that high achieving individuals can't be closet drunks; that they can't be irresponsible? History is full of high flyers who have been brought down by the soft underbellies of their own hubris. And I feel confident in saying that those soft underbellies are usually very well hidden until someone really starts looking. It's called vetting.
5
While listening to the News' Hour today, it was reported that a few of the Republican senators found him to be intelligent and seemingly capable of running a large organization when they met with him face-to-face. Really? Is this some insidious way of having this guy lead the VA so the GOP can attempt more successfully to "privatize" it, as with Medicare and Social Security? These clowns just never give up. Let's face it, all Jackson has to do is put a smile on his school-boy good looking face and speak a few Latin medical words. He sells like Trump sold, and we all know how that is turning out. But I do have a feeling that he will bow out. And those allegations....well, he said he never drinks at work. Umm, as a retired nurse and being a patient from time to time myself, that gives me little comfort as to what he does at home before going to work to "heal and cure."
9
By having the hubris to think he has the necessary qualifications to head the enormous and dauntingly complex VA, Dr. Jackson is only following the example of Donald Trump when he decided he had all the qualifications to become president of the US- and we can see daily how well that’s worked out. I guess for Ronny Jackson “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”
621
What you're seeing here...and it is certainly a rare spectacle to behold for the avid rara avis observer! ... is the flocking and murmurations of the Dunning-Kruger Vulture.
20
That's the elegant way of putting it, Susan. (And thanks for writing in, by the way.) When I look at the ethical void of Scott Pruitt, the greed of Tom Price and the shamelessness and showboating of Steven Mnuchin, and then mull them in the context of Trump, it's another famous phrase that comes to mind: A fish rots from the head.
397
Dear Mr. Taylor,
Thank you for acquainting me with the Kruger-Dunning effect, heretofore unknown to me, and so rampant in Trump and his administration. Sigh...
Yes, Jackson is a major suck-up and kick-down, like Trump himself and most of his cabinet. THe laziness of this administration is amazing. Trump has run his business's this way, sloppy, promising stuff you never intend to do, etc. Yes, he is the epitome of a spoiled billionaire businessman. I'm reading a book about the 1930s when we pretty much figured out the Republicans were never going to do anything for anybody but rich people. Somehow, we have let them back in, lying about helping working people, ha ha. Sad, that some of us are so gullible to be hood-winked by them. It would be funny if not so damaging to our country. The Republicans have been at them helm for every economic meltdown, leaving it to the Democrats to clean up. The Democrats have lead us through all our wars that weren't self-inflicted. Yes, Vietnam was started while Eisenhower was president. Well, as Martin Amis says, the Republicans, due to their policies, racism, anti-democratic voter suppression and meanness deserve not a single vote. But, there you are. They know that getting people to vote their hate works for them.
10
Trump's self-described methodology of governing, by "gut instinct", is but a verbal contrivance for, in his case, pure laziness. This inherent characteristic influences many aspects of his slothful conduct as President, including his resistance to studiously reading briefing materials, the impulsive decision-making process, the lack of rigorous vetting of Administration employees, the adoption of a communication mode of frenetic tweets, his addiction to passively watching large amounts of television. As Mr. Bruni states, add "perverse" to Trump's controlling quality of laziness and what you get is the the tragically unnecessary, sad tale of Dr. Jackson.
7
Trump's White House operates on nothing less than consummate brown-nosing. Or if you like ego driven nose driven gluteal cleft parting.
1
So, incompetent, ignorant Lyin' Donald shot from the hip and made a bad choice. The good news is that he is being consistent for a change.
4
"....... his obsession with looks ......"
Frank, explain this: I won't mention any names, but when it comes to anything but wives and girlfriends, Trump chooses unattractive females.
1
Really? "....complete and total incompetents" in the Trump candidate are being assailed by the man ultimately responsible for putting Sarah Palin on the 2008 GOP ticket?
Now, THAT is funny!
3
Uh, Frank, I need to break this to you gently, but then -Navy Captain Ronny Jackson was installed as White House doc on July 25, 2013 by Trump's predecessor, whatever his name was.
And that very same predecessor helped Jackson get promoted to rear admiral (lower half) in July 2016. So Trump inherited the man, alleged sycophancy and all.
And, Frank, I gotta tell you that your recent op-ed piece alerting everyone that Texas is going to go Democratic come November has occasioned chuckles all over the Lone Star State.
You spoke with folks in liberal-leaning towns like Austin, Dallas and San Antone, which really fails to mirror what the vast majority of Texans are thinking.
Y'know what we think? Simply that Trump seems like an idiot when he plays with his Twitter device. But underneath it all, the right moves are slowly, gradually being made -- economically, diplomatically and political- ly -- and our nation is in better shape right now than it was when Trump's predecessor left office to write his memoirs.
Presumably Barack and his ghost-writers will engage us as well as Hillary and Comey but for a lot more money from his publishers.. (Is it really true that the Obamas together have signed a $65 million publishing agreement?)
Frank, ya'all need to come sit a spell with folks here in Huntsville, Texas -- 70 miles north of Houston -- and then re-evaluate your thoughts on the likelihood of Texas going Democratic five months from now.
Bob Orkand
Huntsville, Texas
1
Is this Texas humor? -- Thanks for reminding me why I have no desire to go there.
1
"Jackson drank excessively and allowed the overprescribing of drugs."
Ronny may be wildly unsuitable to head the V.A. but he's uniquely qualified to be my next husband.
16
The standard is high, but we cant have presidents physicians drunk esp in public and certainly while not clearly off duty. Anytime you are overpasses with the president you are manifestly on duty. He should have been dismissed from his post at the time. The question arises though why didn't Obama administration fire him ?? Why are NYT reporters tracking down Obama officials and demanding answer to THIS question ?
The Justice Department is careful about presidential behavior that could make him a candidate for blackmail.They need to be on watch for flatterers who dazzle him and lead him to fall for their charms and professed loyalty.Mr.Trump is an easy mark for anyone who inflates his ego.Dr.Jackson did this and now there is another disastrous choice for a cabinet post.
3
Rear Admiral Jackson is a terrible choice to run the VA because he has zero experience as a manager and administrator of a massive organization like this. Even if he was the world's greatest doctor, his skill set and competencies are a complete mismatch for this job.
But then again . . . Pruitt at EPA? DeVos at Education? Carson at HUD? Perry at Energy? Kushner as senior advisor on virtually everything? I could go on and on.
The lesson: As Jackson figured out somewhere along the line, just tell Trump he is a fantastic physical specimen and you can have any job you want. If Stormy Daniels had told Trump he was good in bed, she'd be running the State Department right now.
10
Remember, the GOP voters love this stuff. Metaphorically, they want Trump to drive the country off the cliff at top speed. And he will.
2
Frank Bruni
Be advised: Dr. Jackson was selected by President Barack Obama.
2
Not to be head of the VA Sarah.
19
The defining characteristic of Donald Trump is that he is a fool . During the campaign he talked like a fool and walked like a fool . People should not be surprise that as President he makes foolish decisions , including personnel decisions . It is terrible to think that the Decider in Chief , the man who has to make life and death decisions for our Country , is a fool .
10
Too bad for Ronny. Just a pretty face.
We can't say that about many of the dear leaders picks.
Mostly vacuous between the ears plus immoral and unethical.
7
How is this different from any other of Trump's appointments? He has Betty DeVos who can't answer simple questions about schooling in the US. He has Dr. Ben Carson, whose brains seem to have dried up, running HUD, when he has no experience running any business, let alone one with complex problems. It is logical for him to appoint another know nothing. This guy has flattered an obese, junk food eating, non-exercising specimen who takes many drugs for his various problems. A man who seems to have grown an inch in his 70's to miss the obese category. Jackson sounds like Trump's other nutty doctor in NY. He should fit right in if only the Senate would ignore his many faults.
13
Brilliant. Just brilliant analysis. And let's not forget our neurosurgeon who is currently achieving... ...what exactly ?
8
Our president has a big ego that needs to be stroked constantly. Other than that, he has nothing. Too bad about the country, constitution and the like. Everything in the service of little boy donnie's ego needs.
4
I think the idea that Trump is recklessly gambling with his personnel choices actually gives him too much credit. Trump just picks people who look good and will fawn over him. A gambler at least has some conception of winning and losing. Trump never loses. If one of Trump's picks doesn't work out that's our problem, not his. He just picks somebody else who looks good and will fawn over him.
3
I have to admit that I had to look up the word pulchritudinous. While doing so, I read about some words that should be brought back into the vernacular. One out-of-date word that would have been quite appropriate is "lickspittle: a contemptible, fawning person; a servile flatterer or toady." (http://www.dictionary.com/e/s/12-insults-we-should-bring-back/?param=Dco...
8
Well said, well said! Mr. Bruni.
Too bad some of the words in the article are just too difficult to understand by Trump's feckless vagabonds even if they have read it.......
12
The problem here is that President Trump looks at the world through the eyes of a man who has had everything handed to him for most of his life. His father gave him his business, fully formed and fully staffed with folks (like the evil genius, Roy Cohn) to clean up his mistakes along the way, and when he managed to make a mess of it anyway and the banks were about to foreclose on his casino, Daddy sent someone down there with a couple of million more cash in a briefcase to buy chips and then walk away without cashing them in. That's the way Trump's whole life has been run, and as a consequence, he's never had to take seriously his responsibility to do anything right. Appointees? Doesn't matter who they are. In Trump's mind he does it all anyway, and if he screws up he can pay somebody to fix it (after signing a non-disclosure agreement, of course).
26
After Dr Jackson's cartoonishly hyperbolic press conference on the dear leader's vigor and mental acuity, all the wide speculation about what seemed to be Trump's clear cognitive decline and possible early-stage dementia suddenly stopped. Can we please start that converation again? Or at least have a real doctor assess him this time?
26
Trump stands behind every one of his appointments - ready to push them off the cliff at a moment's notice.
621
Just how I envision Pence standing behind Trump, too. ;)
49
Clever! I salute you!
26
Thanks Dave. At ease.
Trump promised vets during the campaign that he'd take care of them.
Apparently he thought what they needed was a couple of stiff drinks and a lifetime supply of Prozac.
That explains his choice of Dr. Ronny Jackson who apparently has extensive experience with the therapeutic benefits of drinking and pill pushing.
The other significant capability of Dr. Jackson, besides the physical and mental assessment of the president, is keeping a job he's entirely unsuited for.
Obviously Dr. Jackson wasn't vetted for the VA position. But you have to wonder who vetted him for his current position at the White House.
Maybe Trump liked how "Ronny" rhymes with "Donny."
19
"But Jackson’s selection tidily reflects many of Trump’s most distinctive traits and disturbing tropisms: his obsession with looks; his disregard for relevant experience; his indulgence of decisions that make him feel good in the instant, consequences be damned; and above all, his itch to marinate in as much flattery as possible." Just like a spoiled rotten little boy.
9
Don't worry about Ronny Jackson's inevitable withdrawal from this post. Fauxtus will submit the name of another equally unqualified, sycophantic candidate post haste.
11
In my next life I want to write like Frank Bruni. He nails it every single time.
15
Donald: Ronny, you know I really need a clean bill of health so do what you can.
Ronny: Well Donald, you are quite overweight and your diet is horrible. I suspect you may have serious arteriosclerosis, and of course there are your extreme neuroses.
Donald: You are a brilliant physician that knows how to serve your nation. How would you like to be nominated as head of the VA?
Ronny: Donald, I will be certainly able to tell people that you have good jeans. And they fit you.... So ..I've never seen anyone better fit for the job.
Donald: I knew you were talented. You will be hearing from me when the time comes. Try and cut down on the booze until the Senate hearings are over.
Ronny: Right, boss.
14
Why did he fawn?
Why did he want the job?
Is loyalty to dear leader at the honest bottom of these queries?
7
Bravo, Mr. Bruni!
4
People on both sides of the aisle have praised him so you may simply be slandering him. Trump is a buffoon, but may we'll be a healthy one. You've let scolds sell you a bill of goods linking being health with being emaciated.
1
"What an unnecessary but characteristic mess." Truer words have never been written. This mess is a perfect example of Trump's total lack of meaningful managerial experience. Having spent my career in the corporate world of Fortune 500 companies, I can definitively state this never would have happened in that environment. To head a division of nearly 377,000 employees, a search committee would have sought out candidates with extensive leadership experience guiding many different departments. Further, the final candidates would have undergone a thorough vetting before any selection was made.
Trump waded right into this mess with a sense of hubris and ignorance. But he is not the only individual showing poor judgment here. In accepting this nomination, Jackson revealed a total lack of common sense and self-awareness. A resume of treating patients is wholly inadequate to the responsibilities of this position.
Both have done a disservice to our veterans.
588
Hmmm.
I seem to remember theat the GOP had this grerat theort...."We need to have a BUSINESS PERSON for our president."
{I havenot heard that mantra discussed lately.}
33
But Trump never ran a real corporation, let alone a Fortune 500 one. He ran a crooked family business with crooked accountants and a shady lawyer.
223
Let's leave "crooked" aside for a moment, because we don't need to bring that in to note this: Trump didn't run a huge corporation the way most CEOs do. The enterprise that Trump ran sprang from his persona, revolved around his persona, bent to his persona, indulged any and every of his eccentricities and vanities and whims, and never required him to fold himself with any humility at all into something bigger than him. And to read about it and travel back in time is to notice that he was as much mascot, frontispiece, hood ornament as expert driver attending to the intricacies of it all. And it was really about SELLING, not managing. That doesn't translate tidily to the presidency, and that's part of what we're seeing. Thanks, all, for this thread.
161
Frank, I take exception to some of your assertions. I would describe the press conference that Jackson gave on the report on trump's physical certainly qualified as "the most fantastical gibberish". I am no doctor but any guy as fat as Donald and who has a steady diet of Big Mac's and fries is nt in excellent health, what gibberish.You ask how trump ould intrust Jackson with a federal agency that has 360,000 employees and an annual budget of $186 billion without vetting him. I ask how voters without any proper vetting could elect a man who is the president of a nation of 330 million people with a federal budget of $4.407 TRILLION. Stupid is as stupid does.
24
Falling into Trump's orbit is like the kiss of death.
All ye who enter here...
5
If he is a Rear Admiral why does he wear a Commodore’s wide stripe on his sleeve instead of a RADM’s 1 wide and 1 narrow stripe?
2
he had to borrow the costume at the last minute. don't ask about the ribbons.
4
Because he's a rear admiral lower half, a one star admiral, or what used to be called a Commodore.
6
"To be abused by a bunch of politicians? If I was him... I wouldn't do it."
Seriously? Coming from the quintessential abuser...
What a hypocrite. What a joke.
12
Can we now assume that he also failed the cognitive testing and he is mentally unhinged as we all suspected???
Someone please end this unending nightmare!
13
In defending Adm. Jackson against accusations that even he admits he is not privy to and assigning the blame for Jackson’s problems to evil machinations by Democrats, Trump returns once again to his ace-in-the-hole card, the one he always uses to inform his followers that they are being swindled, hoodwinked and taken advantage of by their enemies, composed in equal parts of Muslims, foreigners and people better educated than they are.
And it works every time.
13
Our veterans deserve more than an unqualified, fawning sycophant with an alarming lack of management experience to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs.
14
This is hard to believe about Dr Ronny Jackson. He had such great genes. In North Korea they don't believe their fearless leader defecates because his super human body absorbs all the nutritional value in his food, so there is no waste. Dr. Jackson reached those levels of hyperbole when describing Trump's physical exam. He should not only lose his position in the VA, he should lose his license. The only time he should be called Doc should be in a production of Snow White.
16
Any doctor who suggests that any human being may live to 200 needs to really have his head examined.
18
"Obsequious aria", "feckless vagabonds, " "pulchritudinous Captain America" ... I love the way you write Mr. Bruni!
7
The people who drain "the swamp" were the African slaves that worked for the US government, as they build the first white house. Hundreds of years later to have these cretins using that phrase, is my proof for the non existence of God.
11
That’s how many of these flag officers get where they are. Playing the military political game.
13
Well, Trump can always nominate his longtime personal physician, Dr. Harold N. Bornstein, for the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
5
Dr. Jackson does stand out from Trump's other poor nominees in one regard.
Betsey DeVos has no background in public education; Scott Pruitt has no use for science; Rex Tillerson had never been a diplomat; but Dr. Jackson is a practicing MD and has not lived up to his profession.
Drinking on the job, wrongly prescribing controlled substances, fostering a tense work environment, making specious declarations about the health of a patently unhealthy president are all unacceptable for a physician.
So while this bad nomination blends in with the ridiculousness of Trump's White House, it is alarming that he is entrusted with matters of life and death.
340
Excellent points. Commend.
21
Navy medicine is extremely political. The good doctor is probably more skilled at looking good on paper than actual doctoring. The good ones too often get left behind or quit from frustration.
26
I've been a physician for 48 years, and like commentator Kathryn, was sickened by Dr. (is he really one?) Jackson's carnival barker press conference, spouting wonderment over how well the Bearded Fat Lady sings.
Was totally unprofessional. Made me sick to my stomach. Was an embarrassment to my profession.
If he gets confirmed, the swamp gets another alligator.
40
Well said. Lying Trump is a crook himself, hence, convinced all others are of his condition; and the glitter of a military uniform seems to enhance his own image of a make-believe made-for-TV champ ready to tackle any and all burdens in front of him. This is what ignorance 'provides' him: the arrogance of thinking he knows all there is to be known about any subject. And if neophyte Ronny Jackson is fit to administer the VA system, then this ugly American in-chief called Donald J. Trump is fit to abuse the power of the presidency for personal gain. Trump is so impulsive and thoughtless that he is unable, or unwilling, to see the adverse consequences of his selection, in this case a guy telling him what he wants to hear, a hypocritical flattery. But the star for corruption is, without any doubt, Scott Pruitt, elected to destroy the very office he was elected to administer, the E.P.A.; and sycophant Ronny must accept second place. What a circus of clownish characters.
9
It took me 63 years to see "pulchritudinous" used in a sentence, but it was worth the wait.
44
"Jackson would, with limited managerial experience, be expected to run a federal agency with 360,000 employees and a $186 billion annual budget."
Jackson would also be number 16 in the presidential order of succession. Now if that thought makes you queasy, just remember that Betsy DeVos is in front of him at number 15. Though to be fair, I doubt even Ms. DeVos would try to convince anyone that Trump really weighs 239 lbs.
13
After reading this op-ed and several articles on Ronny Jackson, I've half a mind to send my CV to the White House. I'm an old white guy. I have a masters degree from an Ivy League school. I was a television producer for 40 years. Maybe there is a high-level job for me at the FCC. I produced hours of arts programming. How about chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts? I'm now a teacher in a Title 1 school. When Ms. DeVos is tired of making a fool of herself, perhaps Mr. Trump would like to replace her with someone who has actually worked in a school. Since this administration values appearance and inexperience over qualifications and professionalism, I know there are numerous positions at which I could fail and still enjoy the perks of first class travel, 24/7 bodyguards, motorcades with flashing red lights, and over-priced office furniture.
1046
Actually working in the Arts would disqualify you as Trump's NEA chair. The job there is dismantling the organization. If you have taken something apart though, you'd be in.
83
Oops, not one mention of Trump's magnificence; not so much as a hint at fealty toward Trump. Merely a blah, blah, blah recitation of your CV, for which Donald Trump does not have the attention span...or care...to listen to/read. No fawning, no job. It's that simple.
72
Sorry JTBence. The NEA has been effectively dismantled.
29
Look. Trump never will stop trying to be a potentate Before he ruins absolutely everything, maybe Congress should face up to this, tell him to stop using Cabinet positions as door prizes & to start naming qualified people. In return, they'll let Trump name people he likes (or at least who flatter him sufficiently ) to be dukes & duchesses, earls, countesses, knights & dames. A lot of money will come with these titles - no doubt, from a new tax on the middle class. But the good news is we might have a government that's moderately well run.
5
Trump's fascination with appearance is humorous. I hate the sexist implications of my recurrent visions of Trump, but the subconscious has a mind of its own, so to speak.
He, who hates Bolton's mustache, loves Ronny's crisp, military bearing and never met a silicone-enhanced show girl he didn't love, is one wardrobe change away from being the painted fat lady at the circus.
Donny thinks he's a swashbuckling Lothario. I'll bet he's never had an encounter he didn't pay for, one way or the other.
15
Frank is very articulate. I always appreciate & enjoy what he writes. It is becoming clearer that Trump won not because of the economic woes of a large segment of the country as has often been claimed, but because America is at its core a racist society with profound anxieties about white privilege.
23
Trump said three or four times during his mostly self flattering diatribe that in many ways he wishes he was Dr Jackson. This reader also wishes Trump was Jackson. So it's two and counting.
8
I wish someone had asked Dr Jackson, when he reported Trump’s height and weight: Did you actually measure him, or are those self-reported figures.
Anyone could see from a hundred yards away that Trump is closer to 265 than to 239. Jeez, this is the guy who had to be hauled in a golf cart, when all the other world leaders strolled to a nearby building.
Trump and his minions have raised lying to an art form. When most people tell lies, they strive to make those lies at least plausible. But Trump and his Trumpites lie extravagantly, luxuriously, delighting in their own excesses.
It’s a wonder the doc didn’t tell us that Trump weighs 175, and could box as a light-heavyweight.
19
VA health care is in a time of crisis. We need capable, experienced leadership to guide the VA through these difficult times.
This is not the time or place for a clinician, even a rear admiral, to learn how to administrate.
246
Thanks for making that point. That is precisely right. And Donald Trump himself made that point--the time of crisis for the VA, the need for effective leadership--repeatedly on the campaign trail. He rightly talked of what we owe veterans; well, except for one veteran, John McCain, whose years as a prisoner of war he mocked. (All this time later, I'm still astounded that that one early moment wasn't the death of Trump's campaign. No other presidential candidate in modern history would have survived it.) This is why Trump's indulgence of his own random whim in picking Jackson is so infuriating and depressing. Trump supposedly got how big this particular problem was and how urgently it needed to be attended to. Then he made this befuddling, reckless and improperly vetted choice. He doesn't govern seriously. He governs to please himself.
112
If only Trump were king and he had titles to hand out to all those who fawn appropriately in his direction. But, alas, we fought a war to disentangle ourselves from the last king in our history, and wrote a constitution that guaranteed that titles could not be handed to the sycophants among us. Too bad Mr. Trump has never read the Constitution...nor studied the history of our revolution from the monarchy structure he so clearly thinks he belongs to.
9
No one undergoes extreme vetting by the Trump administration unless he or she is a refugee from a war-torn land or an immigrant seeking the kind of backbreaking labor most Americans are unwilling to perform.
28
Well, remember Mr. Bruni, that 30 percent of the electorate is OK with Trump and his "administrative abilities". What's a little sycophancy when you are dealing with a bunch that makes the Tea Pot Dome crew and Tammany Hall, all rolled into one, look good.
6
'People are saying lots of great things about this doctor, Ben Casey. I have my people looking into it.'
10
Does Trump swing by the Everglade Swamps on his weekly trips to Mara-Lago?
I'm starting to see a pattern here, drain the swamp?
He draining one and filling up another in our nations capitol.
4
Benjamin Franklin said that, "Praise to the undeserving is severe satire." If we translated all the extreme flattery as satire, it would make a lot more sense.
"It's just the way God made him," might be actually true as an apology for Trump. "Incredible" can mean unbelievable, etc.
However, Dr. Jackson is completely unqualified to run an enormous healthcare system that provides critical care to our veterans. My brother is one of the vets who relies on the VA. I wrote Sen. Isakson to protest this nomination. Sen. Isakson tends to work behind the scenes, so the letter he and Sen. Tester just wrote is much more emphatic than it seems on the surface.
Why do these Trump appointees think they have any business in the jobs Trump keeps putting them in? It is an invitation to disaster and humiliation. The man is a shame magnet. Forget honor, all who enter Trump world.
249
Because these appts. are nothing but a cash grab
4
When I see trump on TV, I imagine him in a circus ring master suit complete with the hat, boots and whip. It's cathartic when I laugh at him. Not to mention it's better for my blood pressure.
6
Brilliant! I'm starting to refer to Mr. Bruni by the nome de plume of the Chronicle's late columnist, Charles McCabe: "The Fearless Spectator."
He's becoming our generation's Samuel Johnson. A witty, learned, and devastating pen.
10
Questions:
How many Americans will be surprised if Trump's next appointment to head the VA turns out to be his barber or shoe-shine guy?
Answer: None
Question:
Would they be confirmed by the Senate?
Answer:
Absolutely, providing that Republicans and Fundamentalists have anything to do with it.
9
I believe that there are Republican Senators who dislike this nomination. Ronny Jackson isn't going to do them, or their constituents, any good. For that matter, I don't think they see Trump as doing them any good, either.
2
"There's draining the swamp, there's disrupting the status quo, and there is simply being lazy and perverse." That is the single most cogent summary of Trump's decision making process and philosophy of governance I have read.
Why work at filling positions with qualified people if you can declare them the best, the most tremendous, and move on to the next thing? Why work? Undo the TPP with no concept of replacement? Unfund the ACA with no concept of how to manage the chaos? Undo the Iran pact with nothing in the back pocket except John Bolton's opium dream of invasion and regime change? Why not. Declare it all a success and move on.
Lazy and perverse.
17
Cathy, truly excellent coda to Frank's spot-on column.
1
Poor Doctor had the greatest job in the world and one day- decided to fly too close to the sun! One is never too old to live and learn.. including a high ranking military officer/physician!
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This editorial brings tears to my eyes because it is so beautiful and on POINT!!!
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I have an idea. America should just make an offer to Trump. The largest stadium in the world, to be named TRUMP STADIUM, will be built wherever he chooses, and he can have rallies there whenever he feels the need, to be attended by a standing room only crowd (there would be plenty of volunteers from both his base and relieved Clinton voters), painted in orange and red. Helicopter, full band, cheerleaders, testifyers and assorted hacks would be fully provided. Best cheeseburgers and fries, cooked to order. Luxury dressing room, hair and makeup.
And, the Mueller investigation will be closed with no charges against him.
All he has to do is resign. Tomorrow. Or sooner.
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I don’t know what Dr Jackson was thinking when he thought he could head the VA. His very brief association with the POTUS has probably severely tarnished his reputation.
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From one English major(Duke) to another (UNC), I say way to go paesano!
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This might be a chicken or egg situation. As in, did Trump dangle a shiny object in front of Dr Ronny that led him to flatter Trump? It seems to be a technique employed by Trump and he seems to rely on a few old techniques. He first spoke to Comey about continued employment before asking for loyalty and leniency for Flynn.
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DJT diminishes everyone he touches. On that account his record is unblemished.
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Proper pay-back would be to release the REAL results of Trump's physical.
Come on, Ronny. Redeem yourself.
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When will the Trump Administration rewrite the Recommended Daily Allowance for workplace consumption of alcohol by medical practitioners?
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". . . Trump’s most distinctive traits and disturbing tropisms: his obsession with looks. . ."
With all of Dr. Jackson's shortcomings (and who amongst us don't have any?), he does look spectacular in that navy uniform. I think Trump was enamored by the uniform and never looked past it when stating Dr. Jackson was “one of the finest people that I have met.” Perhaps the good doctor is a fine human being, but that does not automatically qualify him to run the V.A.
Frankly, I think Trump was so pleased and grateful for the "nine times he trotted out “excellent” to describe various aspects of Trump’s health" that he thought he would repay Dr. Jackson with an appointment as the head of the V.A.
Trump still hasn't figured out that he is not running another "Apprentice" TV show. People should not be placed in positions, especially important positions, simply as a payback or thank you from Trump.
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Trump's three vetting questions:
Do you think I am a wonderful genius?
Will you do anything I tell you?
Do you have a good lawyer?
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why not?
they won't be long in a job anyway, the funding's about to be slashed, and they're only figureheads, because DJT makes all the important decisions himself after watching Fox News and looking into the mirror.
who needs qualifications? can you take them to the bank to guarantee a loan?
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I would exclude no. 3. He doesn't care if the applicants have a good lawyers since he doesn't care what happens to them after their time in their positions is over. Not. his. problem.
Dr. Jackson may or may not be a decent physician. What we do know is that he has had combat experience, and for that we must be grateful. However, 3 personal observations of this farce.
Firstly, I was a physician in the army for 3 years in the 1960s. I quickly learned that to be a general, one must look like a general (Hollywood mode). This admiral fits that bill. No scrawny, 5'3" squirts allowed. (Napoleon would never have made the cut).
Secondly, for a military physician to make grade of general or admiral, they must know how to play the company game (as in "How to Succeed in Business without trying"). The best physicians I saw in the army never ever went above colonel.
Thirdly, why on earth didn't the admiral himself know how unsuited for the job he was and graciously not accept?
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Your question answers itself- a careerist always SEEKS out opportunities they aren't qualified for-how else do you think they get ahead ? By being tapped while practicing quiet over competence ?
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The VA is one of the largest and most complicated of all federal agencies, and it has massive ingrained problems. Is it to be run by Jackson, who is not only superb at sycophancy but is also willing to claim Trump gained an inch in height (at an age when men with less incredible genes are typically getting shorter) in less than a year. The White House physician's office has very few personnel and few duties. Jackson needed good medical skills to get the job. That he previously had been reprimanded for being drunk on duty, for over-prescribing pain-killers, and for creating a toxic work environment, surely also helped. Nobody wanted him to continue to foul up larger organizations.
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As a physician with many years of academic training in primary care medicine, emergency medicine, and clinical research, I was truly embarrassed for my profession when Dr. Jackson spouted the inappropriate assessment of Trump's health status at that news conference. I figured it would be downhill from there, and that was an enormous red flag telling me that Dr. Jackson would be the last person I would consult about a patient if I were ever in a position to do so. As Mr. Bruni explains so well, he appears to be yet another sycophant in Trump's corrupt, self-aggrandizing, incompetent circle. If Dr. Jackson had any self respect, he would never have accepted the nomination in the first place. Surely he must know he is not qualified to lead the VA. For once, it looks like the Senate may do the right thing.
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I agree with Frank Bruni except for the bit about Mitt Romney. I don't think Romney's looks had anything to do with it. In my opinion, Trump never had any intention of nominating Romney. He just was toying with him to humiliate him after Romney had less than flattering things to say during the primary campaigns. Romney, to his discredit, fell for it.
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Admiral Jackson may turn out to be the best administrator the VA ever had. That said the VA is proof that at many things the government can do a better job at a lower cost than private enterprise.
The VA like Canada is the mortal enemy of the fundamental creed of the GOP.
Here in Quebec our Provincial electric utility and our largest financial institution are government owned and operated by the best managers that we can find. They are paid salaries as good or better than the private sector. They are rated by Forbes and other institution watchers as the best run corporations in the world.
I suspect Admiral Jackson was thoroughly vetted by the GOP and was considered likely to fail. I suspect that the GOP's next choice is guaranteed to fail. Take a chance on Jackson there is no other choice.
4
I am always amazed when an individual fails to recognize that he/she is totally unqualified for a job. Jackson's proper response to the invitation should have been "I'm honored, but no thanks."
Better that than for ever being cited as an example of the "Peter Principle."
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Beautifully done, Frank. Another of the endless "You can't make it up' follies we're enduring. (We hope.)
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Of all the sad things that this saga presents to me, the saddest is that the fact that I'm shocked that the Senate is finally questioning the qualifications of the candidate in a bipartisan manner.
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I guess all those fine Senators finally found someone even below their bar.
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Touche!
The Senate Veterans Affairs has been known to be one of few groups in Washington DC that does work well together. It's too bad it doesn't bleed over to other committees.
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Dr. Jackson had his 15 minutes of fame when he told us what a fine physical specimen Trump was and especially how smart Trump was. Jackson fell into the trap that so many do when the press is listening, hyperbole and a pat on the back from Trump.
Frankly I feel bad for the guy. He did not know what he was getting into.
As far as earlier comments regarding his supposed excess drinking and supposedly establishing a hostile work environment, I am sure a lot of Senators can identify with that. That should actually get Jackson the job.
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Jean,
Shed no tears for Dr. Jackson. As a Rear Admiral (upper half) in the USN, he is no naïve 20 something with stars in his eyes and flattery on his lips & mind. He is 50 and a veteran of more than 20 years in the USN. Academically he appears to have performed well. But, his judgment is subject to scrutiny and question. He could and should have respectfully demurred from his promotion to head the VA. He appears inexperienced and unqualified for the job.
A dysfunctional opportunist to write the mildest condemnation of his behavior and his rise to his level of incompetence. From my conversations with medical professionals I am acquainted with, "Dr. Ronny" possesses an unusual and unique standard of evaluation of Trumpster = obese, high blood pressure, self-confessed sexually promiscuous and assaulter of females, and undisciplined character... a prime candidate for sudden & incapacitating medical problems.
I would be concerned about any patient under Dr. Ronny's care. Our veterans (among whom I count myself) deserve first class service and a cabinet secretary /administrator who is equal to the task of managing and leading more than 300,000 medical professionals.
By his words and deeds, I believe he disgraces himself, the USN uniform, and the fine USN medical personnel that serve our nation. He would perform a valuable service by withdrawing his name from nomination and encouraging several qualified individuals with substantial records of medical managerial success.
11
During my thirty-plus years as an attorney, there were many times I had to read medical reports. Never - not once - did a report (or a doctor's opinion, rendered verbally in a deposition) sound anything like the hogwash spouted by Dr. Jackson in his "report" on Trump. Even when a person's health justified a positive report, doctors simply do not speak like that. It was truly mind-bending to listen to him.
"I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States"....with the most incompetent, venal, unqualified, cartoonish, lampoonish, self-serving, corrupt and disastrous staff in modern American history.
But they will be incredibly and blindly loyal to King Trumpty Dumpty.
As the Trump Titanic sails confidently into a sea of icebergs: "full steam ahead", yells the idiotic captain....and the idiots cheer deliriously.
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Well, you can’t deny that Trump and his cronies are performing to the best of their abilities.
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Except we are the titanic and trump is the iceberg.
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So it appears Adm. Jackson may be another victim of His Unhinged Unraveling Unfitness, as in Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby':
“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”
But the removal of Veterans' Sec. Shulkin was the real goal of the crowd wanting to privatize the V.A., so very little care was spent on a place-filler nominee, with the agenda of the Pumpkin Bambino's appointees from the Koch Bros. Inc. cabal being well-described by the departing Shulkin:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/28/opinion/shulkin-veterans-affairs-priv...
Wonder how many veterans (and veterans' relatives) there are amongst the vaunted 78,000 critical votes Agent Orange from KAOS received in Rust Belt states to win the Electoral College ?
Or how many such families there are amongst Dems who stayed home on Election Day in 2016 in those states, or who believed they would expend the effort, but voted for a 3rd party candidate who couldn't possibly win ?
The kakistocracy proceeds apace, complete with the rolling Trumpster fire flicking 'dandruff' from the shoulder of the French president in front of the world media :(
Hurry Special Counsel Mueller and your band of heroes !
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Excellent comment. My brother just had his life saved by a VA doctor who diagnosed his cancer after two private doctors missed the symptoms. He is in surgery right now. This is not a situation I would trust to Trump appointees who are not qualified.
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@smb - Thank you for taking a moment at such a critical time to post your comment; we're all in this together (especially in the red states) making sure the ultra-wealthy Greed Vultures don't decimate and create havoc in real life and death arenas of ordinary Americans. We salute your brother for his service, and hope for the best outcome.
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Thank you, smb; and thank goodness for the VA doctor's skill and conscientious care. We all shall pray for your brother's successful surgery and recovery.
He can't do it alone and his support system is all important.Hopefully, your brother has one or more advocates supporting him and providing advocacy, so he may concentrate on his recovery and his advocates monitor his care and interface with his VA caregivers.
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Frank, you make me laugh. Thank you!
Your insight regarding Dr. Ronny Jackson's appointment to lead our Veterans Administration is precious.
The nation's loss will be the VA's gain. Our nation's heroes deserve better.
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the first time reading anything about Trump that made me laugh. Probably because Frank hit that nerve between 'ridiculous' and 'pathetic!'
4
Dr. Jackson fits right in with the grossly unprofessional individuals Trump has singled out for positions of power.
Rankings are difficult - which is ultimately worst, anyway, disrespect for our Veterans' health, for the environment, for public education, for our Justice system? - when our entire national wellbeing depends on so many different spheres being operated well.
But what's most demoralizing is how entirely predictable the poor nomination is proving himself to be. The only shock at this point would be Trump finding reputable people for his Cabinet.
23
I don't think people fully understand what Mr. Trump meant by "swamp".
If it's just a lot of people just trying to get their jobs done without ME in mind, it's a swamp. If they're my cronies making me wealthier and more powerful, it's good government.
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It's almost as though the Senate cares about doing their job properly.
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David, you are ever the optimist. After viewing the Senate's behavior and, particularly, the Republican "leadership," your use of "almost" is particularly appropriate.
I suspect as soon as this bumbling incompetence passes, many of the US Senators will be back to their cynical, selfish, and un-American ways. Let's applaud and compliment those Senators who do perform their job well and place the interests of their constituents and all citizens of the USA above the narrow selfish greed of Trumpster and his minions.
8
You are too funny.
4
By every known standard of good health Dr. Jackson seemed to play games with the truth about DJT's condition - did he examine him by video or Skype in another city? Nothing about this President suggests good health - his weight - his diet - his sexual habits - all are predictive of a disastrous health outcome for him. It is fortunate for our vets that this man remove himself from the running of heading the veteran's health - and it would be fortunate for the world if he turned in his medical license and pursued a career as a PR rep, or just spent his retirement tweeting compliments to DJT.
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From your lips to God's ears.
8
Veterans Affairs is so complex and so important, it requires serious leadership with the persistence of Patton, the genius of F.D.R. and the compassion of Mr. Rogers. It must be staffed with men and women who put integrity above bureaucracy. That Donald J. Trump would entrust the overwhelmed Department with a careless choice for its leadership demonstrates the well-established disdain with which Mr. Trump regards those who served the nation in ways beyond the Trumpian imagination.
Trump supporters should be outraged and ashamed.
Doug Giebel, Big Sandy, Montana
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Well written Mr. Giebel. I share your sentiments but am concerned that many of Trumpster's supporters are so ill prepared they may not appreciate the wisdom of your thoughts and words. Let's hope they have better judgment than their handicapped "leader."
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The gap between what the VA ought to be, as you describe, and what it actually is may as well be the abyss beneath the Mariana trench. Shulkin was actually doing a fairly decent job, and all the hoopla about his travel was a kangaroo court. Just a little research will bear this out. While Jackson is apparently a good doctor and a better politician, he has serious problems, one of which is no experience managing a large bureaucracy, besides his personal and character flaws. On that basis alone I can guarantee the VA would eat him alive and spit him out. The report he gave on Trump's physical was embarrassing, professionally inept, medically inaccurate and indicative of his sycophancy, all obvious disqualifiers. Trump doesn't think about what it takes to run the various departments, these people and their portfolios are nothing more than game avatars to him, on a one dimensional playing board, like "Clue" or "Chutes and Ladders". He has no way of recognizing anyone's intellect beyond the limitations of his own, and subscribes to the principle that everyone who wins cheats, just like he does. No wonder we have a gaggle of toads in the cabinet. That said, Jackson should be faulted most of all for agreeing to stand for a position beyond his limitations, out of his wheelhouse and seriously above his pay grade. Just being smart, accomplished and good looking do not a cabinet secretary make. Like many who Trump has appointed he's betrayed himself as well as his nation.
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Unless Trump dumps him, the Senate will almost certainly confirm him. Look at Pruitt, DeVos, Carson, and Perry -- all no more competent to lead their departments than a box of rocks, and yet all confirmed by our bravest and most intelligent Senators.
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His hearing has been delayed into perpetuity, so he's not getting approved. The Moron-in-Chief gave him an out today which would save both of their pride, so I imagine he will grab it.
22
Speaking of a box of rocks, all 4 of those you mentioned have a combined IQ of 6 above a rock!
15
I heard a commentator say Mike Pompeo would be approved by the Senate after Senators Corker and Paul changed their vote because "they figured it would be the best candidate they could get; no one waiting in the wings." So that's where things are at, the best we can get.
I thought they just folded. Two Senators who love the spotlight of indecision but go party line in the end, ignoring qualifications. Kind of surprised they're actually holding Dr. Jackson up. Unqualified seems to be their person of choice.
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The article did not reveal anything that I did not already know or suspect. However it brightened my day with it's brilliant acerbic wit, and the correct use of language. Somewhat like a guilty pleasure that is best not indulged in, but is oh so good for the soul. Yeah the pen is still mightier than the sword.
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Kaki, you have made my day! I suppose I should cringe and self-examine at "did not reveal anything that I did not already know," which is absolutely fair. But I'm so delighted to be called "good for the soul" that I'm focusing solely on that. No, that's a lie. My mother (long gone, sadly) was such a fan of the language, and such a gorgeous, gorgeous writer, that your "correct use of language" does MY soul good. I'm focusing on that, too. Hell, I may stitch your entire comment on a throw pillow and keep it on my couch, and clutch it tight while watching the 2018 midterm results come in.
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I just heard a comment from President Trump regarding this matter - it went something like this - "these people are vicious and you might not want to expose yourself to them any longer".
Let's see if I have this right - vetting is now a "vicious" activity by mean-spirited souls who are "out to get you". Challenging the skill set of a person nominated to provide administrative leadership to a huge bureaucracy is "vicious".
Be careful, due diligence - you're next!
1047
GOP are you listening? Consider vetting a candidate. Or, consider check & balancing a President. Or, consider stepping into the contemporary age and associated realities. Or, consider re-affirming a loyalty to the Constitution of the US and a progressive interpretation of an, inevitable, progressive world,
49
When Trump said that this was all so ugly and who in his right mind would want to go through it, I had to wonder if he was talking to Jackson, with concern, or to himself, with self-pity.
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I guess that makes extreme vetting extremely vicious.
26
Remember when trump wanted to appoint his pilot to lead the FAA? Saying that this is like a mob family is much too generous.
1205
The various mafias are much much smarter than this administration. Well actually its Putin´s mob which is playing puppeteer here so they are pretty smart creating situations for money laundering thru NYC real estate while dismantling the USA.
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Tom Durkin, I should consult you before writing columns! That would have been wisely included. I remember NOW, but in the rush of on-deadline production, my synapses fired inadequately. Great to see new details brought in here in the Comments section. Thanks for that. If anyone wants to read more about what Tom is mentioning, here's a link, https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/26/trump-pilot-faa-post-skepticis...
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@tom durkin
Rats, I completely forgot about that one. Priceless comment Mr. Durkin. Thanks for dusting the cobwebs off my brain.
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Republicans are concerned about this nomination only because the veterans are a reliable voting bloc. If this abusive drunk gets in and destroys the agency, it reflects on them. That's why they have shown "concern."
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Word-you can stick a fork in this nomination, but this is a "one off"situation.
As a poor, undereducated white child raised on Christian theology before it became an abomination of prosperity gospel, snake oil and GOP politics, to see a Christian Texan with a military and medical degree fall sway to a despicable charlatan like Trump is to destroy all hope. As a liberal, I empathize with the disadvantaged. But, Trump is destroying the advantaged. Now no child has the hope of the liberation of education or the promise of equality when the only way of advancement is the adulation of the weakest.
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I would not be certain that the Senate will deny his confirmation. After all how many Republican senators want to anger the narcissist in the White House? Yesterday, the junior senator from Kentucky caved to party pressure and reneged on an important part of his own manifesto. I know that it would take only 3 Republicans to stop this nomination but I think it is up to Dr. Johnson to withdraw his nomination rather squeak through.
47
Based on the way even the Republicans are talking about Jackson, it sounds like he did some awful things. If so, they'll save themselves and Trump from embarrassment and force him to withdraw.
9
Frank, I completely agree. Dr. Ronny looked the part, straight from Reality Show Casting. He so pretty. Those teeth, that hair, those classically handsome features. Why, he could appear on " The Bachelor ". And, that's an ideal for a new Reality Show: " Bachelors of the West Wing ". No qualifications or experience required, or expected. Requires an ability for extreme obsequiousness, creative lying and, especially, the ability to appear knowledgeable and BUSY. Major, Tax-Free Bonus availability, depending upon contacts and commissions. Free legal representation. Send Resume to Trump International Properties, Television Division.
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And it's also irrelevant whether, in fact, " The Bachelor" is married.
14
Good looks seemed to be the sole criterion for Presidential favor. The Pretender judges people solely on how closely they approximate a kind of trashy reality show ideal; porn stars and Bunnies for women and NFL running backs with slicked-back hair for men. Given his predilection for perverse sexual tastes, viz. his desire to be dominated by won V. Putin, it wouldn't surprised if he and Dr. Ronny were having an affair. The term "polymorphously perverse" comes to mind. Perhaps this will come out in the end. It always does.
6
" ... his itch to marinate in as much flattery as possible." One of the best and most accurate things ever written about the republican president!
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I prefer my presidents au jus.
13
Trump probably thinks "vetting" is when two vampires get married.
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I don't get it, why when two vampires....OOOOH!
11
@Chris K NY
I can't stop laughing. Great line Chris. Really.
12
Thanks, I needed that. :-D
10
to paraphrase Monty Python, "When we say we know what we are doing, we mean we haven't a clue".
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The Senate would never allow a huge federal agency handling matters directly affecting the lives of thousands of Americans to be operated by someone with no experience managing a large (or even medium-sized) organization. That person might be a highly trained medical doctor, but that of course is irrelevant to the demands of leading a huge federal bureaucracy. It would be hugely irresponsible to confirm such a nominee and only the most sycophantic senator would disregard the public welfare in such circumstances just to cater to the whims of this president.
[Ahem... cough, cough... Ben Carson... cough, cough.]
581
One of the most incisive comments ever recorded. (I say that without flattery.)
50
And don’t forget the other dolts that Trump appointed who are unfit to hold their position, all approved by Trump’s U.S. Senate enablers...Rick Perry, Steven Mnuchin, Tom Price, Betsy DeVos, Andrew Puzder, Wilbur Ross, Ryan Zinke, Scott Pruitt and Michael Flynn.
65
Why stop with Carson?....
19
Draining the swamp. Right into the Oval Office.
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Physician: heal thyself!
53
Didn't Dr. Dimples tell us that our so-called president had all his own teeth (before the televised denture slip) and hair (before all those windy-day photos started appearing)? Veterans deserve better than a square-jawed perjurer.
18
The ARE his own teeth and hair -- he paid for them!
Not sure about his teeth, this being the first I have heard about them. But those windy-day photos seem to show that all of trump's hair is natural----there just isn't much of it.