Trump is the strutting, uneducated, uncouth, jealous and small minded person. He may have stayed in school and gone on to a college, but he learned nothing and thus has contempt for those who did. He resents those who studied and became professionals in their field while he succeeded by grift, lying, conning, bullying and cheating his way. He hates veterans who served in combat while he bought draft deferments. He hates non whites,as shown in his denying apartment leases to other races, and his treatment of immigrants. Now he is trying to force 700,000 'dreamers' back to a country they have never known, a country deemed so dangerous that the survivors of a family who had resided there for 50 years, before an attacked killed several, are being rushed back to the safety of the USA.
One only has to look at the turnover in his administration as competent professionals are ousted in favor of unqualified cheats with falsified qualifications, claims of attendance at universities, degrees not earned, padded resumes. Look at his advisers: his daughter and son-in-law and Kim Kardashian for crying out loud! The man is making the USA a world laughing stock.
Whether or not he is impeached over the Ukraine 'quid pro quo' which he fails to see as doing anything wrong, he has demonstrated his unfitness for office and needs to be gone.
23
The GOP has never looked so pathetic and dishonest. And now their lying grifter of a president is truly under the spotlight with treason hanging over his head, and true professionals waiting to testify. It was only fitting they started with Bill Taylor, who has an impeccable reputation.
18
Bullies like Trump know deep down that they are not a match to professionals, hence their open contempt. Trump pretends he knows more than scientists, diplomats, generals, national security advisers and anyone else when he doesn't even read his briefings. LIke all bullies, Trump is a fake.
14
I fear that the Republicans main defense of Trump will be to try to discredit these fine public servants. They will take the path of McCarthy by declaring that the State Dept. is simply a den of lying Deep State elites intent on stopping Trump. Facts and evidence be damned. Pompeo will do little to nothing to defend his colleagues, but, of course, he has little attachment to the institutions of state. He serves Trump, not America.
10
What Trump calls the "Deep State" is a core of dedicated professionals, loyal to the Constitution, & not to him who cannot be bought & will not bow & scrape to him.
10
"Stephanie Grisham, the White House’s peerlessly nasty press secretary, has sought to discredit Taylor’s account of the pressure on Ukraine’s new president by saying that he belonged to a cabal of “radical unelected bureaucrats.”"
Stephanie Grisham is an idiot. Ambassador Taylor took the job at the request of ... Donald Trump.
If the assertion that Taylor belonged to a cabal of “radical unelected bureaucrats” were true (and it is not true) then the person who was most responsible for making him the Acting Ambassador to Ukraine is ... Donald Trump.
Grisham just effectively called her boss Donald a moron for appointing Taylor.
15
Mr. Bruni this is an excellent piece. Your insight, line up of examples, details and connecting of the dots —from the very beginning —really brings a sense of clarity to me. Thank you very much.
10
The oligarchs are the princes of the Right who call college professors "the elite" because they actually analyze life and publish reports for the public
The Founders were not just elitist, they were highly educated and hard-working creators of a new political order that put We the people at the top, and made presidents into citizens.
The presidency is a job, with a job description: Article II.
Trump claims that "Article says I can do anything."
If the Russians want anything for the USA, it is that we abandon and attack our own Constitution, from the Oval Office, the "Center," the Right, and the Left. For all of its faults , the United States Constitution is supposed to replace political violence with debate and voting.
White Supremacists are wrong. We shouldn't be armed camps that divided by race, ethnicity, sexual belief, religion, etc., as if that were even possible.
The Amendments ratified by SUPER MAJORITIES, keep repeating that we all have equal tights under the law, all of us, not by wealth.
Donald Trump knew when he ran for president that his finances would not stand the scrutiny due any president of the USA. Without thinking for ten seconds, Donald Trump decided he would be King of the USA. He will either pull it off or go to prison. He will not take an exit ramp.
King Trump already calls his critics and professional investigators "treasonous" and calls for random political violence daily.
The dictators that Trump admires all got there by calling for violence.
11
Trump never worked hard to achieve excellence.
He's out of his league.
Instead, he mocks this quality in others.
12
I can't help but think that Trump doesn't necessarily "hate" true professionals. But I think he does have utter contempt for them and anyone who is smarter than he because perhaps he feels threatened and is fearful that he will be found out - that he isn't the smartest guy in the room, on the block or on the planet.
And I think that notion terrifies him - that he will be found out. That's probably why he hates dogs - because any dog that crosses his path would be on to him and his nefarious ways in a New York minute or less.
8
I miss those old-line WASPS like Taylor and Kent who used to be in charge of running the country.
I felt safer when they were managing things.
8
Here is the problem - Trump, Mulvaney, Pompeo, and all the rest not only do not appreciate professionalism - they actually disdain it. Their actions toward professional career staff from day one of this Administration makes this perfectly clear. They have directed an attack on the civil service on many levels. Mulvaney admitted reassigning career staff in USDA and Interior to areas outside Washington was really a way to fire them - it had nothing at all to do with efficiency. Trump doesn't believe in a professional civil service or professionals on his staff. His only criteria is obedience to the cult of Trump - those who serve him and his personal interests above all else. If Trump is re-elected the assault will be unrelenting, and it will take years to recover. No one in their right mind will consider a career in government service if Trump gets away with trashing these people.
10
Trump is a clear and present danger to the USA and the rest of the world for many reasons but this account of his contempt for the professionals who have dedicated their careers to the service of their country surely describes the most dangerous aspect of his many pathologies. If this column does not send shivers down your spine what would?
7
Trump has contempt for that which he was always unable to attain. Honesty in the corrupt world in which he lives. He exists in a world of lies. He dominates in a world of grovelling serfs. He breaths in a world where money is its oxygen.
He has grown up in the corrupt environment of New York real estate.
He hates that which he could never be. Honorable.
5
Trump's contempt for professionalism follows a lifelong pattern, and exposes him as the rank amateur he is — if it weren't for a massive inheritance from father Fred, we wouldn't even know who this multiple draft-dodging, bankruptcy-leveraging conman is.
7
If Trump wins, we all lose. Everything and forever. God Bless America ... whatever is left of it.
5
"Trump slyly markets his anti-professionalism as anti-elitism and a rejection of staid, cautious thinking" - unfortunately, his supporters have totally bought into his marketing tactic and the 90% approval of Trump by the GOP voters is corrupting the GOP party. "But it’s really his way of excusing his ignorance, costuming his incompetence and greenlighting his hooliganism" - agree completely, but, his supporters would never see his ignorance, incompetence and hooliganism.
4
I have a friend who, just last night, stated proudly that she is anti-Vax. I have friends who think jet contrails are chemicals “they” put in the atmosphere. I have relatives who think Hillary Clinton killed dozens of people. I have friends who think there is a (single) cure for cancer but “big pharma” is hiding it. And no amount of factual information will change any of their minds.
It’s frightening, how comfortable with conspiratorial thinking and disdainful of knowledge people are, across all political spectra. Trump is just a symptom.
9
Jim Jordan: off the rails, as usual.
Embarrassing spectacle.
11
Mob bosses don't appreciate those who take notes.
10
Jim Jordan was like a junk yard dog in today's hearing. It's worth looking up his wikipedia page to find John Boehner's (former Republican House Speaker) opinion of him.
5
Do ALL this guy's photos make him look like superhero?
Contempt for professionalism, and contempt for basic moral decency. Every day it's like waking up to a mafia Don running the United States. Think about it, this utter disaster is being wholeheartedly embraced by white evangelicals. What a catastrophic failure of judgement. The fate of the world may hinge on how these people vote.
6
I worked in the gov't with "true professionals" and I am very wary of them. I came to gov't from the private sector and saw the almost obscene waste of money caused by these true professionals building unnecessarily large fiefdoms. The other cautionary tale about the true professional group is that they think they are the decision-makers in areas where clearly they are not! But they are so entrenched with the "it's the way we've always done it" philosophy that they ignore new leadership's direction. Don't be too hard on the President or the Republicans....they have the right to have diplomats who support their agenda. I firmly believe diplomats should have a limited term to avoid the "we know best" pitfalls.
3
@J.G. Smith A few more facts and detail regarding your experience going from private to public sector would be helpful. Because I spent a lot of time (34 years) in the public sector at the state level. During the last 15 years or so if my career, every time an R administration took the reins, we found ourselves with numerous “advisors” from the public sector who were going to reengineer our shamefully wasteful processes. Of course any process can be improved. However, this re-engineering usually came to naught once the private sector folks learned that 1) the public sector goal isn’t money-making, it’s public safety; 2) the public sector has to approach its work limited by the authority it is given by laws and regs; 3) it has to seek out and include the perspectives of all stakeholders before making big policy changes, and 4) the public sector has requirements for extensive, long term record keeping that do not apply in the private sector. Not a simple, apples-to-apples comparison.
13
Dooming his presidency? I have nothing but disdain and contempt for Trump, but his presidency is not doomed. People have been saying that he is doomed for 3 years now and yet he stands a very good chance of winning re-election, and he certainly has shown the Republican party for what it truly is. Certainly his base and his donors haven't changed their minds. I think we need to stop saying things like "his presidency is doomed." It is not.
156
@Larry Powell
Frank nails it, but you're absolutely right. Polls show Trump's base is solid and he has the advantage of the election being decided in the Electoral College by a handful of swing states.
20
I agree. Trump's presidency is far from doomed. I also believe if the Congress fails in removing him from office that the Democrats will fail at the ballot box.
Those who cite polls one year out from an election either are admitting cupidity or forgetting the short memories of the American public.
6
@Larry Powell
If Trump's presidency isn't doomed, then the country is. My father always said a democracy gets the kind of leaders it deserves.
48
True professionals? Those "true professionals" are responsible for disaster after disaster upon disaster in US foreign policy. That is the kind of "professionalism" we definitely need much less of. One other thing we need much less of is the arrogance of those "true professionals" presuming that they know better what is good or bad for the country than a democratically elected president and American people who elected him. This type of arrogant elitism we need exactly zero of.
105
@David Trump is the disaster of recent foreign policy that is still "happening"
The Bill Taylors of our government are all that remains between this President and total disaster.
Why does Trump keep advancing things beneficial to Putin? One day we will know...but the blind support of many Americans will prolong and enhance the Travesty of Trump.
The sooner hes gone, the better.
1054
@David Right. Because when I want a dentist, I call my electrician. He is much less arrogant. And when I need a plumber, I call my grandmother. She is not nearly so judgmental and tells me it's not my fault that I put so much toilet paper in the potty. So why wouldn't we call a bunch of hacks and amateurs to run our foreign policy? How much do you need to know? Why is it that people only think you need an expert to work in their own field, but that in other people's fields, it must be vastly easier?
1668
The biggest foreign policy the nation has ever had, the Iraq War, wasn't the fault of the professionals, it was W, Cheney and Rumsfeld, with an assist from Rice.
752
Remarkably, your column omits almost entirely the assault of Trump and his administration on professional scientists. It’s not just the weather service - note the EPA’s commitment to ignore expert research on pollution and health, the violence done to auto emission standards and global warming limits compiled by geophysicists, etc. If not directly done in service of stoking Trump’s ego, these policies secure for him the monetary support of the fossil fuel industry, big pharma, etc at the expense of the rest of us and in defiance of truth.
9
It's clear and has been for a while that trump is running our government as a TV show, a "reality" show. There is a high percentage of his staff that are "acting" as professionals and that includes trump himself " acting" as a President. Unfortunately the people he is dealing with world wide are professionals no matter how nefarious they are. he thinks this is all a game of Monopoly and that in the end the other players will be dazzled by his genius , pay him the rent due and he will be the WINNER. The truth is that world politics can be a deadly game and sometimes being a winner is just staying alive. Ask the Kurds, they can attest to both life and death as an outcome.
3
An excellent summary of the core pathology of Trump, at least as it pertains to the profession of being the President.
A corollary would be the prescient essay entitled "The Death of Expertise" published in the Federalist (perhaps ironically) in 2014. Look it up online.
Jefferson talked about well-informed citizens as the key to a free (and secure) nation. I'm paraphrasing but I suspect that's better than Trump could do... or understand.
3
Mr. Bruni. As always spot on. I was guilty of dismissing the Republican candidate in 2016 because he had multiple bankruptcies, thought it's OK to grab a woman inpropriately, and was bad reality TV. And I obviously missed the successful intervention of Russia in taking over our voting system. How could this candidate win? Up until this point in my lifetime I have always voted for the best candidate. Party did not matter. Right now it apparently doesn't matter because our democracy and voting system has been hijacked.
4
As someone who also has the good professional fashion sense to wear a bowtie with a three-piece, I greatly admire Mr Kent.
4
While I know it is not the most optimum solution, it appears the only one besides the alternative - voting them out of office. Since voting them out of office, basically en masse appears too elusive/gerried/rigged/etc., the most optimum solution in my mind would be - making the job of elected representative less appealing. There is clearly something so beneficial to the most corrupt and ethically challenged that they will say and do anything to retain the job. Whether that is salary, prestige, attention, power, and a lucrative lobbying career after, or a combination of all of the above, something is clearly not working to attract some of the worst humans to the profession. So, change the job duties, description, salary, and the like so that we can get a better class of people in there. Truly ethical and truly focused on the people's business. Is it an eye roller, the idea? Most certainly. But I don't see any options on the table at the moment to fix this crisis of government.
1
It is truly painful to see the Republican congressmen attacking these two valuable men who have given so much honest service to the US. But now so many GOP congressmen worry more about winning their primary races (since in most districts the final outcome is predetermined, at least by party) and thus we are treated to the sight of grown men and women contorting themselves for the least good and the poorest service they can offer their country.
If any good comes from this impeachment, I hope it includes more conversation about Big Data super-charged gerrymandering and the damage it has done to our political institutions
3
There's a very good reason Trump disdains professionals and professionalism. Professionalism implies a dedication to a job, or a set of values associated with that job, i.e. something other than him.
5
While the impeachment "inquiry" hearings were going on, Trump appeared with Erdogan of Turkey who is Trump's kind of guy. It's one thing to have a Trump Tower in Turkey and another to have a strong man like Erdogan in charge of the country - in case a prosecutor needs to be fired or something like that.
And just in case it should come in handy, Trump sounded the retreat bugle for our troops in Syria so Erdogan could move in and "clean out" our allies and dump a bunch of nettlesome refugees in the freespace. Now, here they are at the White House backslapping and yukking it up.
This impeachment 'inquiry" should really be about what kind of country we are going to have and if republicans have any self respect left at all. We are at a crossroads and we can continue down the hard path of doing things that promote our good name and our historical reputation for freedom and democracy or we can take a hard right onto the path which leads to fascist downfall.
8
I am grateful and applaud the non-elected professionals who are not terrified of the next elections — these are men and women who have dedicated their careers to serving the welfare of our nation, much like our military.
14
I was captivated by William Taylor and his unwavering and unflappable testimony today which lasted close to 6 hours.
I still can't completely feel my larger than life butt, however, that too shall pass.
One of the key elements which was so clearly illuminated today was the rancor AND contempt not only Trump but all of his minions have for people of integrity, honor, dedication to public service and honesty.
I keep thinking of that line in the movie, "A Few Good Men". In this case, neither Trump nor members of the GOP "can handle the truth". That truth was extremely evident in today's hearing.
18
Trump hates professionals because he's a Russian agent and they know it, and can expose him. Period.
11
Devin Nunes rates a special meme for his wait-for-it phrase: "But guess what!"
It really amped up the suspense for me. I was hoping to call before midnight for $49.95 a month and a set of Ginsu knives.
13
I am very glad that the world is hearing this testimony. My country's government is so badly corrupted at this point that it's probably not going to matter to the Republicans. Probably, nothing will happen and the people currently in power will remain in power (this is painful to me as an American).
But the truth is out there now, on the international stage. People all over the world are free to view it and come to their own conclusions. On an international level, they know precisely who they are dealing with.
16
Donald Trump is a man who ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great. He had no desire or intention to lead this nation, only to market himself and to build his wealth and power...... He never expected to win the primary. He never expected to win the general election.”
— Michael Cohen
Testimony before the House Oversight Committee
Trump, the reluctant President, is running his administration exactly as he ran his business. Surround yourself with sycophants, discard professionalism, and attack anything that doesn’t feed his narcissism. The significant segment of voters who ignore this conduct are damaging the integrity of our governance.
14
I just have to add one kind of off-topic comment: I absolutely LOVE Frank Bruni's description of Stephanie Grisham as"peerlessly nasty". Up until today, I wasn't sure what words are most apt for her level of disdain for the press. Thanks, Mr. Bruno!
20
The Trump phenomenon is everywhere. On 60 Minutes I watched the CEO of JP Morgan smirk his way through an interview, boasting of his bank's 500 million dollar loan to Detroit ( he made over 30 million in salary last year). As I have said hundreds of times since 2016, we are getting what we deserve. A country founded on slavery, an American Empire based on stealing anything and everything from as many people as possible, is finally seeing the beginning of its decline.
12
I am a fan of Mr Bruni. This is spot on. Mueller is disregarded, even by sane Americans, precisely because he was entirely professional and declined to play the game and debase himself.
6
It's obvious Trump is a qualified neophyte when it comes to politics and so too the current slate of Republicans. The problem may be and it won't surface till later, the infiltration of the GOP and their supporters by Russian intelligence services.
6
Watching Trump enablers makes it easier to understand Germany's descent into fascism. How educated, mostly rich and powerful, influential politicians can support some-one who so debases our constitution is tragic. They swear an oath to uphold and defend the constitution and today that oath means nothing. Power is what matters to them and they epitomize the dangers of " Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" These elected officials are selfish and dangerous and we elected them. How could we as a country end up with people like these, what the heck is wrong with us? There is hope though. Thank goodness for the career civil servants who are putting their careers and livelihoods on the line. Thank you for having the strength of character to show us what real patriotism looks like. Will the Republican electorate listen or are they like their elected representatives. Will enough of them decide to put country first. Sadly I doubt it, not if they continue to watch Fox news. Hard to imagine that Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity will ever turn on Trump, and because of that our democracy is in danger.
20
Arguably, the funniest moment today is Gopper reps, swearing they won't watch the Hearings because "they're boring."
Ok, it's also boring to watch the bailiff tow your car away for non-payment default. Oh and so is stopping at stop signs.
14
Not sure it will doom his presidency.
1
I don't know the usage of the word "anagram" in this article.
2
45 is inherently a liar and con man based on evidence through his entire life. He respects no one, particularly those superior to him in character and intelligence.
12
What a vile individual Stephanie Grisham is!
And here I foolishly believed we could not sink any lower than Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
17
Trump’s contempt for professionals? In a word, ENVY. He knows he’ll never be one. Not jealously, envy. There is a big difference. His emptiness has been his driving force since forever.
6
My cynicism regarding politics became a permanent part of me when my first vote for a president was cast for Adlai E. Stevenson in 1952.
I am still amazed and ashamed that so many US voters do not want an intelligent president.
Occasionally one does squeak by only to be blocked in congress and booed by public ignorami.
Perhaps the one facing impeachment (better late than never) has given them what they want. Can they see the real live results of their choice?
Resentment of the educated and responsible leads only to self-defeat. Political choices made on this basis reveals a lack of understanding and of wisdom, which is the same thing.
Voting against a candidate is also foolish if you don’t realize the true nature of the candidate you choose. The true nature of the one being impeached has been evident from his campaign, if not earlier.
When you believe the opponent would not please you, look harder. Sometimes the only good choice is the lesser of two evils!
We have seen in our country very few honorable and capable statesmen for a very long time. I can name two but leave it to others to consider.
It’s such a thankless job. What optimal candidate could not find a much better, more satisfying position?
7
If the best the Republicans can come up with at these hearings is the vindictive Jim Jordan then help them.
And someone should tell the untidy Jordan to go to a charity shop and buy a jacket.
7
@Ben Luk
Too "elitist", I guess.
2
OMG ; this article is so devastatingly accurate.
Trump is a destroyer of so many people, some of whom chose to interact with him, others who had no choice. I am sad for the latter, less so for the former.
The Republican Party could end this dangerous nightmare if they so chose; if he was no longer President they would have less to fear, but before long he will take them all down in his inevitable sinking ship of amorality.
5
Like every rich person I know, Trump believes that professionals only work to earn a paycheck, that they are "takers" rather than risk-takers like him and should be treated like serfs to do his bidding. Plus, their honesty holds a mirror to his venality, so he justifies himself by looking down on them. After all, money is such a simpler measure of success than morality.
4
On November 13, Jim Jordan was asked to remove himself from his place of employment; that request came from America. Deep down, he knew America was right, but he also knew that some day he would return to her. With nowhere else to go, he appeared at the home of his friend, Donald Trump. Several years earlier, Trump's many wives had thrown HIM out, requesting that HE never return. Can two corrupt men share a prison cell without driving each other crazy?
#TheOddCouple
9
Many dyxlexics of his generation suffer from deep inferiority complexes. Dyslexia was considered to be stupidity, and children with learning disabilities were mocked and disparaged, even by their parents.
To take revenge of those who saw him as dumb, he needed to compensate by having his own "universtiy". He needed to outwardly outdo people of real solid worth, because internally he could never even grasp the mental worlds they inhabit.
Most probably he bought his degree, as he is clearly unable to read more than one paragraph at a time and will fail at any test of reading comprehension beyond the 6th grade level.
The anger, jealousy, frustration and hatred he harbors towards his intellectual superiors have no bounds and will never be fed. This is a hole that will never be filled.
South American dictators had often persecuted intellectuals, just like Erdogan does today in Turkey. Real brains are a threat to small controlling ignorant people. Instead of learning anything of content, Trump learned the art of bullying and intimidation, which he had by now perfected and embelished into an expertise.
Even if we do not have a state run by philosophers, as Plato envisioned, the modern world cannot afford to have ignorant leaders, driven by an insatiable inferiority complex and vengeful spirits.
6
@trolley
Trump's generation and contemporaries are old now. They'll have died off within a decade.
Don jr is equally oafish but he's essentially ineffectual.
4
There are many brilliant and hardworking dyslexic people. Trump is not one of them.
5
Let's not forget what these professional "professionals" have actually done. Many of them, even now, are the same foreign policy experts who bought the WMD Iraq hoax. Many of them "own" in their careers the shame of Iraq and, potentially, the shame of Ukraine. To get the real story on Ukraine, we need to go back to 2004, when Yanukovich was first elected president. Protests in the streets. Then, Orange Revolution -- widely advertised to be operating with US CIA-State Department backing. The Ukraine Supreme Court invalidated the result, and Yuschenko became President in second election. Then, Yanukovich ran and won in 2010. In 2014, Yanukovich again was dethroned by a coup, protests in the streets and widely advertised backing from the US CIA and State Department. A lot of our "professionals" today were also our "professionals" then, in 2014. Everybody expected Hillary to step into the driver's seat in 2017, and nothing would change. They were shocked, abruptly thrown off-balance by Trump's election. To get at the truth in Ukraine, we need to start in 2004: what did our "professionals" do, and how did they behave between 2004 and 2010, 2010 and 2014, and 2014 and 2019? We need a deep research, and we do not need to so profoundly kow-tow to these "professionals" that we ignore the need to get to the truth. I am surprised that anyone familiar with the Bay of Pigs fiasco and the Iraq WMD hoax would endorse backing the "professionals" in CIA and State, sight-unseen.
2
@mitchell: And what does all of this have to do with Trump’s illegal actions? The current professionals’ testimonies all support the whistleblower’s story and then some. They are revealing the ugly truth about Trump and his minions. Yanukovitch was a corrupt Russian shill, all too willing to undermine the fledgling democracy in Ukraine and allow Russia to take over there.
Trump is very upfront about valuing personal loyalty above any other qualities - that is, almost by definition, the antithesis of what professional8sm is all about.
3
Trump has his narcissism, but he also knows that no amount of studying will raise him to the level where he could have a ballpark meaningful conversation with experts. The easiest way to save face is to pretend that he ‘don’t need no experts’. The problem is that the rest of the world understands that no earthling possesses infinite knowledge on all matters, and snickers at him both to his face and behind his back.
7
@Louisa Glasson
Well said Louisa.
Looks like he brought up his children to be dumbbells too. Not one appears at all bright.
Say hello to James Henry.
2
Waiting for the end of first day of hearings.
Trump is not fit to shine Kent's or Taylor's shoes.
Apples and an Orange.
11
He has contempt for true professionals because he is barely an amateur.
8
Blessed are those who do not see yet believe. To those who believe in His name: who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
That Trump behaves like a 3-year-old spoiled brat is not nearly as disconcerting as the blind loyalty and support he enjoys from millions of Americans.
12
Half-wits get vicarious pleasure from seeing well educated career professionals get fired, and none of the half-wits that put Trump in office comprehend what was wrong his phone call. “Read the transcript!” He yells, because he knows they won’t, and they won’t understand it if they do. Firing every disloyal traitor involved in the witch hunt is draining the swamp, and not firing them would be an obstruction of justice.
But these are minor details. What is going to happen after Trump has been impeached, he again loses the popular vote, and the Supreme Court decides that the electoral college is justified in handing him a second term? (Don’t look at congress, they can’t even enforce subpoenas...) So yes, among other things, Trump fires all the professionals, but more importantly, despite everything, he is likely to be re-instated in 2020.
5
We can only wish these people for whom Trump holds such contempt were 'true professionals'. They are wealthy white elitists who are not smarter or harder working or more honest than the poor, just lucky to have been born into a wealthy family … The 'true professionals' should be disposed of ...
1
When Trump refers derisively to the "Deep State", he refers not only to seasoned professionals, he is using code to refer to the rule of law.
6
It's dooming his presidency? Certainly his presidency is, and has been from the beginning, a disaster, but this is a strange way of putting it. From a personal standpoint, his presidency is a booming success. He's survived more scandals than any president in history, and his favorability rating, while nothing to brag about, has not suffered at all, and he remains a better than even chance of winning reelection. In fact, many now fear that if the Democrats don't find a candidate outside the lackluster field they have assembled they will certainly lose.
That's a lot of nitpicking for one odd phrase in an otherwise excellent column. I'd suggest removing it from the headline. If anyone is doomed, it's us, not Trump.
4
An insightful column! Among his many raw hatreds, Trump despises people who are actually good at their jobs.
10
Mr. Kent & Ambassador Taylor, thank you very much for your service to this country!
13
So then, you prefer Yahoos who run roughshod over principles and discourse to solve diplomatic problems. Guiliani, Trump, Pompeo,,, Do you think that they pursue American interests abroad? Or simply their own? What were the ends that this group were after?
3
Trump has contempt for professionals because they not only refuse to follow his inept and corrupt instruction, they also refuse to remain silent of it and it is that silence that Trump demands. Trump has no idea what professionalism or even loyalty is, he instead only requires silence and their vicious attacks on whomever Trump says is his enemy - the White House is in desperate need of leadership.
2
Trump's contempt for true professionals? Today's hearing reflected the entire Republican Congress's contempt for true professionals.
281
@Sherry
...also facts, logic, honesty, morality, integrity and respect for the law.
Other than that, they are fine.
23
@Sherry Hear, hear!
1
My congressman is Brian Fitzpatrick, PA-01. Before his election to congress he was a respected FBI agent with international experience. A professional. Since his election he has been quietly supportive of Trump, to my dismay.
I hope he reads this column , Mr Bruni, and wakes up!
Thank you for speaking the truth.
11
No chance. Fitzpatrick is just another cynical pol, more focused on relection than reflection. Party over Country.
4
Donald's disdain for competence, education, professionalism, accomplishment, probity and honor is a reflection of his insecurity. He can't compete. But he also can't lose with grace.
Worse, when the Senate fails to convict, Donald will only double down on his egregious behavior.
Can he be impeached twice?
7
@Occupy Government
Yes. The Constitution places no limit on the number of times a president may be impeached.
5
In my experience, people with large and fragile egos and little actual skill rarely value professionalism, precisely because it threatens them in some way. I once had a superior at work who was like this: he became incensed whenever he perceived that someone else's professional care for the work, however warranted, might be counter to his wishes and the image he wanted for himself.
This kind of insecurity and volatile temperament becomes dangerous in proportion to the amount of power that person possesses.
7
I do see an upside with all the sadness going on - it is truly a wake up call which indeed helps our evolution. Peace to us all in our personal part.
2
Oh Mr. Bruni.
"Arrogant, unscrupulous yahoo" is so apt it brought a nanosecond of joy.
12
The problem with the Democrats is that every time they have one of these hearings, the Republican's out lawyer them every time.
3
Disagree, the Republicans simply out-shout, out-dramatize the Democrats!
6
Sometimes I find myself wondering if Trump would have been able to rise to success in any career other than commercial real estate.
While he entered with a ton of resources and advantages, I'm not sure he has the skills, work ethic or temperament to have been able to establish himself in another professional area, from law or medicine to education or even a skilled trade like auto mechanics.
I know a lot of real estate agents and brokers, both commercial and residential. While many of them are perfectly ethical and competent people, I've noticed the field seems to draw a certain personality type: the know-it-all who talks a big game about how hardworking and/or successful they are (even though they often got their start due to parents paying their bills while they established themselves, while other agents were working multiple jobs) but mostly land clients and cash their large commission checks because of connections or access rather than expertise or actual effort. But that doesn't keep them from posting daily on social media about "grinding" or "success" every time a listing falls into their lap.
Imagine literally anyone in literally any field that would be able to act the way he does and not find themselves without an income in pretty short order. It's hard, isn't it?
6
The career professionals can develop faulty assessments from familiarity or identification with foreign clients, as Vietnam experience attests, but that's preferable to a form of narcissism so advanced it disregards constitutional structures and underlying values. And these particular professionals are the best recent example of how the 'deep state' pilloried by Bannon and his ilk actually are the keepers of constitutional values when the electorate chooses an aspiring dictator. The average voter couldn't find Ukraine on a map; we're fortunate to have better informed people handling diplomacy. Winning an election, whether wholly on your own merits or by manipulation and disinformation, does not exempt you from criticism grounded in fact, any more than strong 'beliefs' suspend the operation of scientific law.
8
Among the many unpleasant adjectives one can use to describe Trump, the one I feel most defines his approach to the presidency is petulance.
He's the spoiled whiny baby who never had to grow up because his parents made sure he wouldn't have to, who nobody liked but whose position forced those around him to pretend they liked, who surrounded himself with people who would only ever tell him what he wanted to hear. He made it to his current age without ever having to suffer for his petulance and he isn't going to change now. The professionals who he so hates infuriate him the same way the NY elite who didn't invite him to their parties infuriated him. He thinks he deserves whatever he wants because he's just so special, and hates anyone who dares to point out his mistakes or shortcomings. To call him a child is an insult to the vast majority of children.
10
Talk to people. Get out the vote.
Let the states put Trump in prison as Pence can only pardon him for federal crimes.
Hopefully, much will be written about this disgusting period in American history and the American people can learn from their mistakes.
Personally, I am ashamed to be in the same universe with the man.
8
It has nothing to do with education, dedication or professionalism. Trump has spent his entire life lying, stealing and betraying, and his number one way to get away with it is to demonize anyone who challenges him.
10
I hate to make a cliche comparison but....
A certain mid 20th century sociopathic authoritarian of Germanic decent surrounded himself with sycophants and virtual illiterates as well. His closest confidant was his chauffeur.
Read Eric Larson's "In the Garden of Beasts". The parallels to these modern times are chilling.
9
Wasn't Taylor sent to replace Yovanovich by Trump (his administration)?
Bite the hand that feeds you. THAT is a quid pro quo.
So, if you work for someone, you need to just knuckle under and support them, even if they are doing something illegal?
Arguably, Taylor was doing them a favor by risking his reputation working for the Trump administration. It helped them to be able to get a known, competent, and experienced person to take the job.
3
@waldo
Taylor works for the United States.
1
Many of us are of the opinion our President is an unqualified disaster (I'm being painfully polite here). What really disturbs me, however, is how so many politicians defend him.
My Representative, Elise Stefanik got herself on TV this morning and will no doubt be on the front page of our local papers. Are she and others so worried about offending Trump and his supporters that they won't be re-elected if they show some independence?
I remember watching Watergate in high school. Most Republicans in Congress today don't appear to have any of the integrity those in 1973 possessed.
246
@KS I know and admire your area of New York. My condolences on your having her as you rep in Congress. I was in junior high school during Watergate. The Republicans then had been through the Depression and World War II. Most knew it wasn't all abou them and their careers.
31
@KS
Hopefully, she will lose your vote.
There has to be a point where Country and Constitution come before Party.
13
@KS
I thought Stefanik sounded great. Democrats have had full control until now. Glad to hear from republicans.
Bipartisanship, right?
1
The "professionals" who brought us a series of disastrous wars based on false information, bailouts and middle class decline. Not exactly a bang up job. Trump or no Trump, there no need to give an entrenched bureaucracy a pass.
3
@K
There's a huge difference between professionals and profiteers.
Teachers, doctors, lawyers, electricians, plumbers etc are all professionals.
Trump, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and their ilk are all profiteers. In it for the money only.
4
The oath Senators and members of Congress take loosely phrased binds them the protect and defend the Constitution. Nothing ambiguous or complicated about the pledge. Loyalty to a man or political party not mentioned or valued by the oath.
Loyalty to Trump by folks like Lindsey Graham reflects a greater truth. Trumpism like cancer left unattended threatens the patient. The GOP the infected host dead on the autopsy table. Policies trashed, beacon on hill snuffed out, and principle a quaint relic of the past. No man above the law applies sometimes. Trump remade the party now based on fear and loathing. The new bumper sticker you have no choice but to vote for me. DJT
1
If the American voters want an entertainer who will tweet away policies hiring firing and attacking our institutions Trump suggests just on leader he and he alone must rule unquestioned. Trump will fit the bill.
1
Another fine piece Frank. Thank God for the professionals. They are patriots. But do the troglodytes really care? And the Republicans are relying on the ignorance of the electorate. In defence of America, keep fighting, digging, and piling up the "Obstruction of Justice" points.
3
We let Trump personify things that are actually the DNA of being a republican for the last 50 years.
Everything El Trumpo is they have been that and more for several decades. We need to remember this so that we do not forget that removing him is not the end of this process of fixing our government but rather the first step in a very long process of holding hardened criminal republicans to account for the things they have done to this country over the last 50 years.
5
Trump's willful, prideful ignorance goes a long way to explaining his loyal supporters. He decided as a child he was too smart for school, smarter than any teachers, a genius in fact, and defiant about it. There are millions of uneducated people in the US with exactly that attitude, and Trump has given them a new voice.
8
What the Dems desperate effort to find something (anything!) to derail Trump's Presidency and of course prevent his reelection next year will achieve is the complete and total destruction of the left-center core of the Democratic Party.
The entire 'impeachment inquiry' is nothing more, than a bad circus act; no hard evidence of any wrongdoing, everything based on hearsay, second hand info and an anonymous whistle blower (whose testimony is suddenly no more needed?).
Btw, the Goddess (HRC) spoke on BBC last night and accused Trump of considering going to see next year's 'military parade on May Day in Moscow'.
Says it all about her knowledge of the real world.
And she was Secretary of State.
Pathetic.
1
@waldo He has said he wants to go to Russia for May Day.
3
And if Trump has said he’s considering going? Is that also somehow HRC’s fault? Does he get the blame for anything he does?
1
Trump has contempt for all independent thinkers. He doesn't trust people who think for themselves. He detests being challenged by people who think. Awareness of his own inferiority in rational thought, he hates those who excel at what he lacks. Short form: head case with an inferiority complex that, ironically, is accurate.
5
It's apparent after the Jordan grilling that Mr. Taylor isn't a professional at all. Just another petty, never-Trumper, deep-stater. We voted Trump in to get rid of these guys. We'll deal with him during Trump's second term.
@bfree
Sorry to dash your hopes. Trumper will never see a second term. But can you guess how he'll look in an orange jumpsuit?
1
FYI AND a Trump appointee!
3
@bfree
We must have watched a different hearing.
Unfortunately, I fear that the more nuanced, complicated, abstruse points Schiff is raising are going to fall under the blows of the GOP hammer that Zelensky, himself, never *overtly* voiced feeling pressured.
This nation repeatedly voices not being able to follow complicated ideas and it doesn't deal with subtleties. The talking points today and sound bites are going to be theirs.
2
@AhBrightWings
The GOP was never going to accept anything not complimentary to Trumper anyway. So who cares what they say.
You underestimate Americans!
1
Additionally, the act of rejecting professionalism and professionals, is what allows Trump (and Kelly Ann and the rest) to spin their own fact-free fictions. By sneering at those who actually know something, they enable their most ardent followers to believe in any and all Trump fantasies.
5
Unfortunately the experts on the Ukraine in the State department and elsewhere seem
to have got it wrong,experts in Britain went out of their way to tell the electorate that
Britain would return to the dark ages if they voted to leave the EEU.Then your own great economic expert
assured us all that were Trump elected the World stock markets would crash.Not always
listening to experts or ignoring their advice as some do is not always bad especially when
they step into the realm of making policy where they do not belong.
Air Medal (Valor) and Bronze Star (Valor) versus "bone spurs" and avoiding service in the military. Modesty, accuracy and truthfulness versus incessant lying and grandiose exaggerations. Who to believe? The choice is self-evident. Marshall Onellion, formerly Captain, USAF, 1972-78.
10
It's also dooming the Republican Party.
Though, I admit, they seem to like it.
Go figure.
3
He's afraid they know more than he does. And that they will not be his gophers. As many of those he first chose were not. Now he has his lawyers like Giuliani of course and also someone like Devin Nunes...he is there to obstruct any progress and I am sorry that he was allowed to take part.
1
Ah, the penultimate example of the devaluation of expertise, a trend that's been growing all my working life in local government. In no small way it's been responsible for the shrill nature of public discourse that will continue and probably even ramp up no matter the outcome of the hearings or the election of 2020. From the cowardly faxers a generation ago to the anonymous know-it-alls of the Twittersphere, where the answers to everything are explainable in twenty words or less, just give us all a break. You've nailed it here, Mr. Bruni.
5
It's not just Trump who has "contempt for true professionals." Rather, that attitude pervades most of the Republican Party, as well as most of the Rightwing Media Cabal.
In fact, most of Trump's base of The Deplorables feel that way too.
They hold contempt for anyone who works with their mind, not just with their hands. To them, farmers, machinists, plumbers, linemen, truck drivers, soldiers, and the like are the only people who do "real work." Meanwhile, doctors, teachers, lawyers, pilots, engineers, accountants, television producers, realestate agents, office clerks, sales managers, game wardens, computer programmers, insurance adjusters, etc., etc., are all just lazy, overpaid elitists.
Unless of course, they themselves depend on that kind of job. In that case, they only hold contempt for people who do those jobs if they live in a Blue state.
Let's all stop wasting our time trying to understand Trump, the Rightists, and The Deplorables; stop trying to explain their behaviors. You can't understand/explain contradictions and hypocrisy; just call it what it is.
8
Tools for making mischief are now beyond anyone's imagination of fifty years ago. The Internet allows unprecedented opportunity to enrich or destroy everything and we've yet to develop a safe and sustainable means of containing it. Mr. Trump's legacy is that of a calculating carnival barker who stumbled into the US Presidency and used Twitter and Internet media to disrupt and corrupt the presidency.. Our good fortune has been federal employees who finally saw the damage and have sought to minimize it. Most critics of bureaucrats know very little about them and ignore the truth of those who proudly fill the ranks of civil Service. Michael Lewis "The Fifth Risk" Details the damage of Mr. Trump and the bureaucrats who devotion to public service protected the country. We should be grateful to the professionals however flawed they do the work what most of us would never attempt.
8
This article is really well written. Beyond the importance of the message, it's also great writing. Nice job!
4
This is totally off the rails. The President, yes, even Donald Trump, is responsible for foreign policy, not the "professionals." Did Vindeman come forward because he thought something illegal was going on, or because he knew his superiors did not like the policy choice? Who can say? Why Democrats have chosen this particular route to impeachment I will never understand. There are tons of evidence of his violation of the Emoluments Clause. Why haven't they followed this path instead of hanging everything on a phone call?
2
Thank you for clearly articulating an essential aspect of this wrecking ball loosed on our democracy. Ukraine is the new Berlin, and most of our fellow citizens don't realize that.
3
Many people in this country don't understand that public service is a professional position. I think this disdain diminishes the respect public servants deserve. Not all are perfect but to say that politics and public servants are all corrupt is abhorrent. This presidency in and of itself should prove that an outsider is no panacea, particularly one who doesn't understand government, policy, history, or institutions.
4
Double CO2 and Earth's temperature goes up 3 C. This was first calculated using pen and paper, 60 years before electric computation was invented. The answer is still 3 C. Indeed, with about two terms of 'Atmospheric Physics' under your belt, and a spreadsheet, you can do this purely equilibrium calculation yourself. You'll get 3 C.
Why do so many people believe it's somehow 'elitist' to do that calculation themselves? Why are the professionals who keep doing that calculation, and keep getting 3 C for over one hundred years now, so widely dismissed by the public? Shortly, for money. It makes someone a ton of money for the American public to think that it's 'gut' knows more about complex problems than the people who have made it their field of expertise. 'There's a sucker born every minute' is a means of getting wealthy, but it only works if there is actually a sucker born, or propagandized, every minute. For this reason, nobody ever made money telling the public to trust in the experts, the professionals. Doing so cedes power to the public. When you fleece someone, first you must get him to a place where he thanks you for it. And to do this to one specific field of expertise, it helps to first destroy public trust in all fields of expertise: much like you must first turn over, or till, a field of plants before you plant one specific crop . And this is the purpose of Faux News and the other rightwing media sites, to destroy public trust in expertise.
6
Interestingly, I had just read the Nicki Haley article this morning before I updated my computer to today's issue of The Times. I think Miss Haley, and others like her, need to reassess their publicly stated opinion of Trump's intentions and the Constitutional severity of the charges. This is not just some perfect 'business deal' Trump normally employs to further our interests. It is a disastrous abuse of power that has implications for two democracies...both apparently struggling at this time.
6
"Both have served Republican and Democratic presidents, and even after decades of interacting with them both, I could not guess how either of them votes.”
- I bet I can guess how they will be voting in 2020.
4
"True professionals" give sober accounts of the FACTS. "True professionals" do not participate in political schemes. "True professionals" have a clear view of what the best interests of the United States are. All of these reasons and more are why these "true professionals" work for Republican & Democratic administrations. It's called "policy continuation".
2
It is interesting to read this column, and compare to Rudy Giuliani's "The Case for the Impeachment Defense," in today's Wall Street Journal, in which Giuliani argues "My client’s call with the Ukrainian president was innocent, and the House inquiry is a travesty."
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-case-for-the-impeachment-defense-11573605427
Giuliani concludes, "Politicians of both parties should insist on fairness. That necessarily includes defending the right of political opponents to have their say before the American people -- even President Trump."
Did Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer. really just propose that Trump testify before the American people -- under oath? Amazing. I don't recall seeing him listed among the GOP witnesses.
7
@Sharon Stout
Oh nooo, PERJURY TRAP!
The problem with our now huge democracy may be one of simple organization. The top-down regulation/control from our federal government, national media and corporate culture are collectively undermining our democracy and driving the divide between the "halves" and "halve nots" here. We need more bottom-up processes to offset these dehumanizing and socially disruptive trends. Europe has both instinctively and wisely found ways to protect their societies from destructive, open-market forces. We too, with our great natural and human resources, should protect ourselves from capitalism's "free market" and build ourselves back, from bottom up. If we look to instruments of the corporate establishment (like this paper) for guidance we are done for.
2
Why is Castor continually hectoring Taylor about mindsets he cannot possibly know? How many times can Taylor state that he's not privy to the president's thinking about policies?
It seems to be lost on Castor that he looks like a jackass.
3
Speaking as a true professional, I have news for Frank: There are lots of "true" professionals who deserve contempt, much like there are contemptible people in other walks of life. That means that Trump's is right some of the time.
A blanket approval of professionals is no less mistaken then a blanket condemnation of professionals.
One class of "cooky-pushers in striped pants" who deserve our contempt -- and anger -- ones who think that they were anointed to save our democracy from its elected president.
Some of them are snowflakes in the State Department where they leak stories to the NYT about how Pompeo is lowering their morale. (Real professionals don't whine). They sometimes need to reminded that our foreign policy belongs to us, not to them.
Others are at high altitudes in the FBI and Department of Justice where they let their loathing of Trump influence their professional judgment.
And others sit on benches where, egged on by "true professionals" in the quality press, they wage a ceaseless guerrilla war against the White House because they think they answer to a higher authority than our democratic leaders.
For all his faults, it is Trump who has to clean up the messes left by true professionals in our trade relations with China, in Europe where our NATO allies refuse to live up to their responsibilities for defending themselves, in Korea where years of neglect led us to a madman with ICBMs.
Real professionals don't forget that they are servants not masters.
3
@ Ian Maitland
Yes, your last line sums it up “real professionals don’t forget they are servants not masters.”
Does that also apply to Mr. “Only I can fix it.”
1
@Ian Maitland There is absolutely no truth whatsoever to anything you contend. Do you truly believe that Trump has done nothing wrong, committed no crimes, and that the FBI, DOJ, CIA, grand juries, federal judges, trial juries, and now the State Department, are all engaged in some gigantic conspiracy to take down Trump?
1
@Ian Maitland "ones who think that they were anointed to save our democracy from its elected president."
Your statement is not quite correct. It should say "ones who think that they were anointed to save our democracy FROM THOSE WHO ATTEMPT TO DESTROY IT EVEN IF IT INVOLVES its elected President."
It is called the OATH OF OFFICE. Look it up sometime. Also look up the words Patriot, Loyalty, and Service to County while you are at it.
1
It does not take a sociologist to figure this one out...The Trumps were Bronx born grifters who wanted to show the Manhattanites a thing or two about making money and thumbing their noses at the well-heeled, well educated, upper class brags across the East River. Trump senior passed this prejudice on to his son Donald...and the rest is history about the gaming of a system of business schemes and extrication through bankruptcies that left many good people laying wreaked in their wake.
5
This is why in the struggle between Arrivistes vs. Foreign Service the diplomats always win, because they have a clearer picture of what they're doing, and why....
1
I have been following today's impeachment hearing testimonies and read the declassified version of Trump's call with the Ukrainian President where he clearly asks Zelensky to investigate Biden's son. I conducted business briefly in Eastern Europe and recognize Zelensky's uxorious, acquiescent tone and language, especially how the next prosecutor general "will be 100% my person." The 100% statement is a common expression among people seeking political and business favors. Zelensky is dying to get a meeting with Trump and will promise anything, and Trump is dying to get dirt on Biden's son for reasons clear to anyone with a working moral compass.
10
"Government is the problem, not the solution" has been the mantra of the Republican Party since Ronald Reagan. This is simply greedy Republicans' disdain for regulation on unfettered capitalism, and has been our ordinary working person's struggle for 40 years. I expect those who legislate to be professionals, as much as my surgeon or airplane pilot. I do not want an unprepared, unintelligent rank amateur game show host at the helm of the greatest nation on earth.
9
Thank you Mr. Bruni - you made a crystal clear case for Bloomberg’s candidacy. The diametrical opposite to sloppy, unprofessional Trump, and good to propel America forward.
1
Trump may have above average native intelligence but his intellect is shallow, he does not reason well. He simply cannot understand information that professionals offer and he feels lost when they explain things to him.
Trump manipulates people’s feelings to get what he wants. He’s good at that.
3
Trump only wants advisers who agree with him. That is why he said he consults with himself. Professionals derive conclusions from assessing facts. Facts don’t necessarily agree with Trump. This is why trump does not like professionals
5
This article is perfect, Mr Bruni
Thank you for your lucid writing and hold-no-punches reactions to the actions of this unprofessional tyrant-wannabe (and his minions) in the White House
9
If there were any justice in this world, then trump and anyone he cares about (if there ARE any such people) should receive medical care at the same level of education, skill, responsibility, thoughtfulness, and professionalism that he seems to prefer in managing the life and health of this country.
4
Trump has incredibly insecurities about his lack of intelligence. As such, he can’t stand anyone smarter than him.
And since he is by no means smart about politics or economics or science, he rejects anything the truly smart people say.
3
This nihilism ala democracy. "The people" are being turned to despise intelligence, science, and yes, expertise.
Who benefits from this? How does this happen?
Money does not require much intelligence. And in an age is telling us that our manic pursuit of money over everything else is perhaps putting us in grave danger, the interests of money, like a corned dumb animal, hate and despise anything that threatens it.
Because Trump is not the author of this. for generations, those who worship at the altar of money have hired and rewarded people to spread this message of hatred of intelligence. And entire media empire -- Fox and Murdoch -- is built on this contempt. And of course, there are the religious fundamentalists, for whom anything other than servile ignorance has long been a lodestar.
Trump is merely someone who is reaping this harvest.
What is distressing is that meanwhile, our intelligentsia fritter away decades, and there are no leaders coming out of our universities. But that is an issue for another comment.
3
Trump doesn't hate professionalism per se. It's people who know something and refuse to support his ignorance, lies and incompetence who gall him. It's people of integrity who won't be corrupted, who have scruples, who refuse to play the sycophant--those are the enemies of a demagogue and corrupt monster like Trump. He is the hideous opponent of the constitution, of the rule of law, of decency and doing right by the country instead of himself--just what the founders feared most.
That his demagoguery is capable of winning over the gullible, ill-informed and bigoted among us is the most frightening thing about this venal destroyer of the American experiment. Republicans in congress are "professionals," yet they continue to support and enable him in this corrosive enterprise of his. Trump is fine with such morally destitute professionals in the political class.
5
Anyone who has spent a decade or more in business management has come across a few Donald Trumps in their career. These are the people who lied their way into their positions and then proceed to surround themselves with people even less qualified for their positions than they are. It never ends well and if a business is filled with too many Donald Trumps it fails. Unfortunately in this case it’s not a widget manufacturer we are talking about but our country if you are not frightened by this mess then you are as incompetent as Trump.
6
"Trump’s Contempt for True Professionals ... is dooming his presidency."
Aw, what a shame.
Trump doesn't want competence. He wants obeisant yes-men (and yes-women, though often of a different calibre of what "yes" means...). His mantra of "only the best people" is such a gross fraud that even the GOP is nauseated by it. They hold their noses when they bow to the would-be monarch Trump, because he holds the keys to their kingdom of guilted robber barons and bigoted, self-serving minority voter disenfranchisement that keeps them in office.
The crux of this is that the professionals, such as Taylor and the others who will be testifying in the open this week, are truth tellers, and that is a mortal threat to Trump and his cesspool swamp creatures. Trump can't handle the truth.
But truth will out, as Shakespeare wrote. It will be people such as these professionals who will save the nation, through their dedication to it, and their immutable patriotism, values unknown to Trump. Watching the demographics of our country change, it is clear that we are seeing the transformation of America into the land of true liberty and equality it can be, instead of the morass of incompetent greedmeisters and rank, partisan amateurs we see in the Trump administration.
This delivery from Trump's evil can't happen soon enough.
2
You just don't understand a stable genius who rules from the "gut" ("I've got a good gut"; "I alone can do it". Think of all the money that can be saved without all those pointy-headed intellectuals and their facts, research, education, and "science".
Please do not dignify Trump and his maladministration with the label "tragedy".
The Trump administration is an abomination. Period.
7
Trump is a wanna be dictator, and he acts like all the dictator's
in history. His problem is that he is President of the most powerful
democracy the earth has ever seen. His problem is that there are a lot of "true professionals" that want to keep it that way.
Trump carelessly sprays contempt over professionals who have the courage to hold the rule of law over a cult of personality. But this is a side effect over his contempt for the truth. When events conflict with the narrative he would prefer to market, when his own conduct is at odds with the image he wishes to portray, he banishes the truth to Siberia. Everything is phony, fake, rigged, unfair, a witch hunt, until it aligns with his own flexible facts.
Trump's distrust of professionals is his way of protecting his ignorance.
3
And it’s the left’s worship of credentialed status and professionalism that’ll lead to another term of Trump.
Was the fact that “Hillary, the most qualified President ever!” lost to an idiot reality TV host not enough of a wake up call? Was one CEO after another being sent up on MeToo or going under for some other form of malfeasance not enough? Was hearing our generals advocate for never ending war in Southeast and now Southwest Asia not enough?
Look, I get it. The thousandairs who feel like millionaires who make up most of your subscription base live on the myth of professional competence. It’s how they justify their toil, their place in society. They know who they really are - people who don’t really call the shots, people who can’t afford the WSJ - but it’s better for them to tell themselves that they’re more than this, that they SHOULD be calling the shots, because of their rule-following professionalism and “hard work.” Are they competent? Sure, enough to stay on the upper bounds of salaried wage slavery.
But are they actually that smart? Are they actually leaders, or more like lemmings? Having worked with plenty of middle-brow types with more work ethic than raw intelligence, I’m pretty certain that most of the professional class are neither that smart nor particularly visionary or effective leaders. They do love their job and status security though! There’s no question about that.
But when it comes to professional worship, maybe it’s time to give it a rest.
Our hopes have to rest on these dedicated professional's patriotism and their disgust of an administration destroying all that they have built and believed in.
The republican legislators are a lost cause and in league with those that would destroy our nation.
1
There is no remaining logic with trump supporters' thought process. Experts in any field (especially science) are suddenly suspect; the unenlightened our muse.
Iif a trump supporter is diagnosed w/cancer, will they ask trump what his gut suggests, since 'so-called' experts are only lefties? No, they'd scramble for good care, like we all would. If everyone in the entire nation pointed at one best cancer doc, but it turned out to be Nancy Pelosi's cousin's half brother's wife, would you turn away and go die if trump gasped about a deep state? No.
Republicans would turn to experts to get answers, just as humans have always done. A person who has studied the Constitution for many years knows MORE than an actor in 'The Apprentice'! No one seeks a stupid man at the top of a mountain.
All seats of learning, all studied discussion, all academics, all universities except Liberty, all progressive ideas open for discussion ---- all of those things are not only useless to trump, they are a threat. He wants to tell people how it's gonna be, based on his personal gain. He does NOT want enlightened America; the one upon whose Bible he swore.
Just think! Learned wise people and talented craftsmen have been contributing to civilization since the first book was written. We STILL recognize great thinkers like Aristotle. When did trump's ugly gut triumph over the gathered wisdom of our founding fathers?
2
Tell that to his faithful base. Especially the Evangelicals, who praise their righteous Lord on Sundays and their shamelessly amoral Trump on weekdays.
5
Trump is inherently lazy and unintelligent compared to the professionals he has come up against while in office, both in his cabinet and in the professional realm of dedicated government employees. He demonstrates his lack of intelligence and laziness every time he misspells on Twitter, misspeaks at a press conference or interview and lies when he does not know the basic information on any issue he discusses. Who knew healthcare was so complicated? Who knew that building a cement wall from one end of the country to the other was impossible because of geographic and physical barriers? Why don’t the other leaders like to hang out with him at the G7 Summit?
Professionals intimidate him because they reveal how incapable he truly is, and his ego cannot handle it.
1
Beautifully written analysis of a 'PERFECT' failure of a man who is totally unable to comprehend the true meaning of what being a professional means. A wise man wrote ' You can fool some of the people some of the time but you can't fool all the people all of the time '. !! We will eventually see the pathetic creature behind the curtain as in the wizard of OZ ..!
Trump's corrupt dealing with Ukraine is similar to what he's done for decades (in business, with women with whom he had affairs, etc.); it's "the Art of the Deal". "You do what I want and I'll give you something of value". No doubt those often involved illicit, or certainly disreputable, agreements (e.g. paying off porn stars not to talk), but whether or not they were illegal probably didn't matter to him; what mattered was completing the transaction.
After 2016, he just continued this corruption when he moved into the WH, not clearly understanding, nor caring, that his actions would be much more carefully scrutinized and had to follow stricter federal govt guidelines (as well as the Constitution).
Trump is America’s drunk uncle, pontificating at the Thanksgiving table. He believes he can make his opinions into America’s policies, even when there’s no factual basis for the direction he wants to go. And he values loyalty above competence, because competence stands in the way of foolish ideas.
Impeach him. Send America’s drunk uncle home. He should never have been invited to Thanksgiving dinner.
1
TRUMP'S CHARACTER Was formed by a grandiose, lawless father, who turned his monstrous son into a grandiose, narcissistic horror. So flawed were Donald's abilities, that Fred had to bail him out of his business failures during the course of a decade, to the tune of $1 billion. Now that Donald is destroying the US, guess how's on the hook for bailing him out of his cataclysmic, destructive, terrible, horrible, no-good, very-bad, pathetic excuse for a presidency? If you guessed the US taxpayers, you'd be right! Trump has grabbed power by creating a vacuum. His most dangerous failures involve refusing to fulfill his oath of office to preserve, protect and defend the US Constitution, by intentionally understaffing his administration, which means that his bogus gaggle of sicophants, all selected for their ignorance and destructive powers, have effectively eviscerated the government, leaving it vulnerable to Trump's megalomanic depradations. Nature abhors a vacuum. Trump, by filling the vacuum he has created, has inflicted his abhorrence on the US government, laying our nation at Putin's feet, as a sacrificial offering, most likely in order to silence Putin's knowledge of Trump's crimes. How cheaply We The People have been sold out by Trump. If he is professional in any sense it is in that applied to Paul Manafort: Trump is a hardened criminal who has not learned anything from his wrongdoing. In other words, he acts awfully, as one with an Antisocial Personality Disorder.
3
If you work in the federal government and don't like the duly elected person's policies, you have one option.
Quit.
This insubordination and undermining of a duly elected President's policy while leaking to a compliant media is what coup's are made of since the beginning of time.
And the people aren't stupid (as much as Pelosi and Schiff think they are).
Even when Pelosi pulls up short and suggests a Censure motion instead of impeachment impeachment...she's not going to be given an ounce of respect...though the 95% of the media who contribute to Democrats will sure try to create that narrative of a woman who's only doing the 'right thing.'
Best remember..if you shoot at the King..you best not miss.
And this is coming from someone who abhors Trump.
You people have gone insane. Literally..insane.
1
@Erica Smythe
OK first of all Donny John is not the "King" and no one is trying to shoot him. Those who choose to defend that man need to get past the persecution complex. This is not persecution, its not harassment it is due process.
The only one trying to undermine anything, like the foundations of our republic and the rule of law, is the present occupant of the oval office. He, his cabinet and his enablers in congress are the one ones attempting a coup. The push back is coming from true patriots.
Trump is indefensible. I would suggest that the Professionals with centuries of collective experience in service to our country and our allies are not the ones exhibiting signs of insanity.
3
Nikki Haley, Trump's erstwhile ambassador to the UN, is the latest Trump satellite to turn from a seemingly, or potentially, thoughtful and rational person to a shameless Trump toady and, like her puppet master, a knee-jerk gaslighter, declaring on the "Today" show that Trump is both" truthful" and a good listener. Pretty obviously she wants Pence's place on the upcoming ticket and is willing to become the female Trump in order to get it.
7
Trump's base doesn't want a functioning federal government run by professionals. They're getting exactly what they want in Trump in that regard, except when these "unelected bureaucrats" get in the way.
Trump's base is never going to be swayed towards impeachment because of what a career government official says.
2
If we are honest with ourselves, we know the intentions and true meaning of Trump statements and actions. He is compelled not with a dedication to the Constitution, liberty or the rule of law. He has displayed a long history which we have been able to observe prior to these public hearings. Almost in every instance Trump statements, and actions before taking office and after taking office have been intended to promote Trump. His dull and perverted view of the world is an outrageous thing to witness. No other President of the United States has been more deserving of impeachment.
3
The sad truth is that republicans hate integrity of all sorts. They hate scientists and veterans, school teachers, and just about anybody else who won't sell their souls to them. In this they reflect the same "values" as the oligarchs that feed their coffers. America is not a republic: it is an oligarchy ruled by monsters gradually prying themselves away from the constitution that prevents them from ruling us with threats of violence.
4
@Rocketscientist
Man, this such an extreme conclusion that I'm tempted to become a Republican just to prove it wrong... but only a little bit.
1
You can equally turn that around and call it the professional's contempt for Trump.
1
I have a SLIGHTLY different take.
Trump clearly has a very strong tendency to appoint persons who are unqualified and inexperienced in the area they're appointed to work in. This results in staff that have no code of professional ethics, no knowledge of prevailing practice, no awareness of the negative consequences that result when standard, established practices are not followed. In addition, a person appointed in this way is very much aware that they hold their job solely because of a "favor" from the President.
After an entire team of such persons is assembled, it's very easy to suggest inappropriate actions should be carried out. The staff, lacking the knowledge and professional ethics that SHOULD be present, are often willing to go along.
2
If I were 40 years younger, I would look at Ambassador Taylor and think, "I want to be like him. I want to be in the foreign service."
But I'm 63, and I think, "Why don't we get people like this in Congress?"
8
Surprise, surprise. Everyone loves our professional class and federal bureaucracy in this establishment forum.
The unsophisticated voices of the working class and less educated are few and far between here and, not surprisingly, looked down upon. Here's a news flash, many of us actually favor more government involvement - just not at the federal level. Local industry, local agriculture and local government is the path to sustainable prosperity across all of society.
2
@carl. All of which requires local taxes, anathema in many rural and small towns.
I totally agree that home-grown solutions are very important to the mix of helpful policies, but good luck getting local taxpayer support. My rural area of Virginia is solidly Red, anti-tax, but sees no problem getting half of their public school funding from the state capital. Easy to be anti-tax when someone else—primarily those devilish Blues in the Washington suburbs, Norfolk area, etc.— are footing the bill. Then there’s federal aid to farmers. Not an ounce of gratitude.
4
@LMT
This is because both parties, for their own self-serving reasons, discourage the distinction between local government and taxes and that of the federal-level. Furthermore, overall attitudes about the merit of government are driven by self-fulfilling prophesies that need to be broken. I lived in both VT and NH where there's a huge difference in views about the value of government and taxes that effect the state-level. Dealing with the NH state gov't can be an aggravating experience, especially compared to VT's. Their lack of state sales tax has a lot to do with this. But this only drives further antipathy toward taxes, a viscous circle.
As far as your (if I may) knee-jerk views about farmers, very few of America's farmers receive crop insurance, ethanol credits and other Farm Bill beauties. We have to compete AGAINST these subsidized agribusinnesses that benefit from this federal aid that they manipulate our political process to get. THIS paper, Paul Krugman, convince the easily convinced that farmers and even all rural people are great hypocrites (or "wards of the State", PK) and responsible for the horrors of our country. Farmers are not social parasites... if anything we're the HOST. They use the high level of subsidies associated with POOLED farm income figures to claim that most farmers in America are on the dole! The VAST number of farmers in America have small-acreage farms, often needing second jobs, and don't see a cent (at least directly) from any farm subsidy.
1
@carl. Thanks for responding. I’d quibble over “knee jerk,” as I have heard the attitudes from local farmers’ mouths. The old definition of welfare seems still true: welfare is what the other person gets; mine is deserved. Far too few people show gratitude. I’d be a bit more sympathetic to the usual rants about taxes if the the loudest were not simultaneously receiving benefits. Again, I witness this with some regularity.
Farming has been consolidating for a good century, as have so many other enterprises. Agree that small, local outfits of any type have a tough go of it. I believe it was Warren Buffet who said, yes, there was class warfare and his class was winning it.
All true. Another alarming point is how easily Trump has been able to dismantle professionalism in government. I wouldn't have thought that expertise could be gutted so thoroughly across so many agencies in just three years. This points to a weakness in the civil service system that future presidents of both pairs should address.
4
Brilliant, clear, absolutely and tragically true. This presidency is a disaster and disgrace for this country for most Americans, whether they realize it or not.
10
Trump is a version of a ridiculous Facebook viral photo come to life. "Repost this by midnight or Mark Zuckerberg will delete all of your photos!" Millions of people will repost it because they have no idea how things actually work, but the internet said so and they don't care to figure out if it's true or not.
Pizzagate, Russian collusion illusion delusion, flat earth, every politician is corrupt, anti vax, AOC advocates eating babies (yes its a thing), birther conspiracy, climate change is a hoax, Soros funds all anti-trump protestors, it was a perfect phone call...
People believe these things because someone they like said it and they kind of felt that way anyway. Meanwhile, the professional tried to break out a chart and explain how this was their specialty in college and here's a mountain of evidence. But it's easier to call them corrupted by grant money (seriously?) than it is to listen to them because the things they're saying go against preconceived notions. If you try to debunk or defend with facts then you're part of the conspiracy, and they've moved on to the next lie while you're still trying to defend the last.
Trump has contempt for professionals, but so do the majority of people who vote for him. That's why they voted for him, in fact. And it's why he'll likely get elected again. Professionals are like parents trying to explain why you should eat vegetables, and trump and his base are throwing the broccoli on the floor to eat fast food slathered in ketchup.
13
“The foul mash of mendacity and paranoia at the core of Donald Trump” - brilliant writing.
10
There is a long strain in America, going back to the Continental Congress, against professionals of any type in government. The ideal then, as now, was to have a constantly rotating casting of honest yeomen running the government - people (eg, White, landowning Christian men) who had some interest in the Commonweal but probably no direct experience and would soon go back to running their farms (an underlying sumptuous was always that these individuals could go back and forth to some government responsibility but still hold onto their real lives, and that they’d be wealthy enough to be able to take extended time off and still expect there would be something viable to come back to). Their primary obligation was to their private concerns, not to government. They didn’t necessarily have experience or expertise. But they would be easy to bribe and control or at least soon gone. For similar reasons, the young nation eschewed a costly standing army of professionals and chose instead to rely on a well regulated militia. By now, this has all developed into a conservative horror of professionalism in government, as well as misinterpretation of the Second Amendment, hence the endless wailing about fraud and waste, the deep state, and government workers and their unions. Trump capitalizes on this, but he is only the latest in a long line to do so: Republicans as a group do not want anyone telling them what they cannot do or get away with.
2
Leave us not forget that among the professionals Trump most hates (and fears) are journalists. The reporters who are committed to the standards of their profession -- not the right-wing liars who populate Fox News and right-wing radio -- believe deeply in fairness and accuracy. They believe in telling the truth. No wonder Trump considers them his enemies.
7
How will it doom his presidency? His base laps it up. His GOP enablers justify it.
Trump's contempt for professionalism got him elected and keeps his supporters fired up. It goes hand-in-hand with his -- and their -- contempt for the truth.
10
Good points, Mr. Bruni, an astute reading of Mr. Trump’s personality.
I’ll add that Trump’s attack on professionalism is a hallmark of authoritarianism. Umberto Eco’s seminal essay, “Eternal Fascism” is instructive.
4
Professionalism is more often an obstruction to social change than a driver.
Louis Anthes, NYU, PhD, JD '00
2
@Louis Anthes
Right on.
Trump has contempt for knowledge itself. His money shields him from reality. He thinks he can simply make it up.
5
Perfectly stated. Perfectly.
4
These "true professionals" are an interesting mix of about 30% actual professionals acting in the best interests of the nation, 40% incompetent and tenured hand puppets of special interests, and 30% political hacks who actively undermine any elected official not sharing their worldview.
In this case, those "professionals" who are doing the whining are the same ones responsible for an endless stream of foreign policy disasters over the past 18 years.
These are the people that Trump was elected to bulldoze out of Washington.
More power to him.
i would argue that Trump's disdain for professionals mirrors the electorate's disdain for professionals. This was crystalized with Reagan's pronouncement that "government is the problem." Hence buzzwords like "the deep state" The ironic thing is that as a group the american public is largely clueless about how their government works, how the global economy works, foreign policy etc. So the combination of ignorance and contempt for expertise leads to the rise of clueless people like trump. The future does not look bright.
5
President Trump used $400 millions of US Govt Funds to recruit Ukraine Govt for criminal work for his Re-election campaign. The American people must decide if such criminal action of President Trump is OK, or not. Simple. The peoples of the Free World are watching.
8
Mr. Bruni, you are half right and the part where you're wrong terrifies me. Trump has total contempt for true professionals, the rule of law, people with a strong moral code -- of of which will be on display in the hearings. But to say that it's dooming his presidency denies the terrifying reality that this buffoon might actually win again, backed by a cowed and corrupt GOP. Destructive, amoral, corrupt, conniving, less than stable and far less than a genius -- his backers, fired up in an us-vs-them standoff, still scream for his Crudeness in Chief. So talk about his disdain for so much of what we hold dear. But don't be naive about how doomed he might be. Saving our country will be a battle.
7
Trump and many Republicans yearn for a return to the spoils system no matter what they say about "draining the swamp." The continued denigration of science and fact, as well as the dismissal of professional opinion, is ruinous for our nation. The motives of Trump and Republicans have been laid bare for all who are willing to see. Neither are fit for office.
4
We are witness to the plunder
Our country torn asunder
Dismantled by the madness of a clown
Now we face our darkest hour
The vandals have the power
And everything we’ve built...
They’re tearing down
3
As President, Trump quickly demononstrated the Dunning-Kruger effect: “a cognitive bias in which people mistakenly assess their cognitive ability as greater than it is.” Or, in Dunning’s words, “those who are incompetent … have little insight into their incompetence”.
Trump adds a new fillip to Dunning-Kruger. He is so incompetent that he’s incapable of recognizing true competence. Of course, his narcissism just adds to the mix. Even a creature so lacking in insight as Trump may notice when a professional he meets fails to praise him.
5
"But it’s really his way of excusing his ignorance, costuming his incompetence and greenlighting his hooliganism." You left out gaslighting the citizenry.
3
Trump values loyalty, not skill, because high skill implies independence - and Trump demands subservience. He will buy fealty if he has to. Trump has done this his entire working life. Thus the low calibre cabinet appointments in this administration we have seen from the beginning - he wants yes men, not people who can challenge him with an adverse opinion. It points directly to the insecurity Trump has - he cannot accept to be surrounded by people whose knowledge threatens him. But a professional confident in their position will not sell his loyalty to anyone, and will use his/her dedication to defend the truth. The 'crisis of professionalism' that defines this White House is a battle of the hard rock integrity of members of the civil service versus the slippery charlatan cronyism of Trump.
191
@Rick Morris. I would suggest Trump values silence
@Rick Morris
Well said!
1
What do you expect from a president consumed with fears?
He's afraid of his own tax returns.
He's afraid of billionaires who obtained their wealth legitimately.
He's afraid that the truth about Melania's highly questionable EB-1 "genius" visa will be exposed.
He's afraid of every journalist not affiliated with Fox.
He's afraid that his base of loyal supporters will abandon him.
He's afraid of every single person who has ever filed a lawsuit against him.
He's afraid that the outtakes of "The Apprentice" will be released.
He's afraid of the women accusing him of sexual crimes and defamation.
He's afraid of the NY city and state attorneys general.
He's afraid of Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi.
He's afraid of Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
He's afraid that one day, the name "Trump" will be ripped off every building that carried the name. (In NY, Trump's name has recently been removed from all 6 buildings that once featured it.)
5
The reason Trump has been successful in convincing millions of American citizens to vote for him is because he has been able to channel the fear first raised by President Dwight Eisenhower about the concentration of power, nearly 60 years ago: "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist." Substitute "bureaucratic-professional" for "military-industrial" and you have the key to Trump's popularity.
American's aren't stupid. They know their tenuous hold on freedom depends on their ability to question authority. Although Trump's high crimes and misdemeanors may be impeachable, they are peanuts compared to the daily destruction of individual lives by the unfettered exercise of overly-concentrated power by monopolistic government and industry.
1
Trump’s Contempt for True Professionals:
It’s driving the impeachment inquiry. It’s dooming his presidency... it's his most likable quality
Trump can't bear anyone more competent than he is. That explains both his lasting affection for his family and his systematic winnowing of his appointments, in which anyone with a shred of competence is speedily replaced by a partisan nonentity.
The only professionals he respects are professional brownnosers, and he has done his best to fill the administration with them. Heroic efforts have been made to keep key posts staffed with people whose IQs exceed their golf scores; but it is a losing battle.
It is time for the GOP to man up, and rid itself and the country of this disgrace to the Office of the President .
3
Trump's presidency is not "doomed".
Nothing is doomed, even the Democrat Party or the New York Times or even MSNBC or CNN. And of course our Republic is working exactly as designed.
We will survice your (NYT) attacks on Democracy and the
voters of the USA, who in their informed wisdom elected Donald Trump. Those attacks are like in MacBeth, sound and fury signifying nothing.
Well, the Electoral College elected Trump. The voters preferred HRC by a comfortable margin.
6
Contempt for professionals is a mark of our society, and is causing great damage. Contempt for public health and medical professionals, who emphasized the safety and life-saving effects of vaccines, drove down vaccine rates and threatens us all. Contempt for environmental and climate scientists has caused us to risk the health and survival of our planet as we know it. The real problem with Trump overall is that he is the product of an ignorant society [that cannot read and understand, or will not read and understand (e.g., Mueller report, science)] that rejects experts and chooses ignorance over expertise.
The environment that chooses ignorance over expertise is a fertile field for racism, bigotry, fascism, and offers countries like Russia great opportunities.
3
What a great time to read "Anti-intellectualism in American Life" by Richard Hofstadter. If someone could pick up where Hofstadter left off, which was I believe 1963, this current administration would have to be the lowest point for intellectuals in US history, or at least one of them. This is what we get for having such an uneducated populace. A buffoon like Donald Trump who couldn't pick out the countries in Europe or the Middle East on a map somehow has enough political capital to repeatedly disparage career public servants, experts in their fields, with no fear that it will put a dent in his base.
281
@Patrick I agree completely. I recall a few years ago in Iceland, I was asked what was going on with Trump. I described it as the rebellion of the no-nothings. But the real dynamic is occurring in the split inherent in populism which disdains intellectualism, and intellectualism, which often writes off the concerns of those who can't articulate their misery. The irony always about populism is that those on the short end of the stick continue to stay on the short end of the stick because the reins of good government require skill and intellect. If this all were analyzed in some Hegelian way, we're seeing a synthesis, i.e. a recognition that the political center offers more than pure elitism or Trumpism. Hopefully the seeds of Trump's political destruction will occur sooner than later, but we'll be left with those who still need to think.
19
@Patrick
Thanks for the reference.
I have despaired over the years at the resentment (fueled by fear, as you say) shown by many people for education and intelligence. Actually it is not formal education which makes the difference in choosing competent and responsible leaders but honesty and integrity.
In the highest office of a nation or other vast institution, however, the value of much knowledge seems obvious.
8
Trump doesn't know very much about anything so he has to pretend he does. He's not a smart person but has a giant ego. He's too insecure to have any "true professionals" around him. He never has had. He shows pure contempt for knowledge. He takes advice only from those whom he is confident know very little, like himself. Trump's uses the word "fake" to describe many things, the thing it describes best is himself.
1
Stephanie Grisham is also a member of that large group of unelected bureaucrats.
1
As we are all focused on the TRUMP SHOW, what further damage is his administration doing to our democracy, to our citizens, to the world? Impeach and remove. Peace.
1
Thank you for these astue observations. As the impeachment hearings begin this morning, I feel deep gratitude to the true professionals who uphold our democracy.
1
What do you mean : "abuse of power"
How could such a nice business man like Trump, who is the most disintersted person on earth, who gives his own money to his Foundation, who cuts taxes for those billinaires who are kind enough to "give" work to those not lazy enough to live out of "other people money", how such a man such a good , fantastic extraordinary man, just because he makes deals with dictataors or obtain their help to build his hotels, or to "get dirt" on his oponents, or becaus he feels free to grab women's pussys, or shoot anyone on Fifth Avenue could ever "abuse power"
He is entitle to do whatever HE please,s and it is the will of the American people that he just canot ever "abuse HIS power"
Get it?
1
Dooming his presidency? He’s going to be re-elected.
You forgot a few, Frank. We are having a crisis in our hemisphere, in Bolivia and Venezuela, and in Chile. It would sure be nice to have the combined 60 years plus experience of P Michael McKinley, who recently resigned in protest, and who was a Latin American specialist, and retired former Asst Sec of State William Brownfield, who was Ambassador to Chile, Venezuela and Colombia and head of the INL bureau (narcotics). Trump chased them away.
1
This is a great column. It will never be read in Trumpland because their minds are irreversibly made up; and reinforced in the echo chamber of Fox.
1
The only members of the original Trump cabinet that remain are Rick "I'm out of here" Perry, and Ben "Where am I" Carson.
2
Read Times Pick comment by David from Brisbane. This tells you why both the headline and the thesis of this piece are dead wrong. The current Man was elected precisely to get rid of “professionals” in Washington. The masses of people reflexively blame government for all of their troubles. Reagan was the first to fully grasp this, and the destruction of government has been the subliminal agenda of the political right here ever since. Positions are not filled? Excellent! Less government! What the masses fail to see, but the current Man absolutely knows when he says he is all that is needed, is that less government means tyranny. Without rule of law and good governance, strongmen leap in and make all the rules, and simply murder everyone who doesn’t comply.
The professional class as a whole, in government and everywhere, is in the crosshairs.
“The so-called intellectuals have been taking advantage of us our whole lives!” rants Bob Ewell in Broadway’s To Kill a Mockingbird.
So, far from damaging the current Man, all the developments only add to his image as the destroyer of the deep state. Absent some enormous revelation, he will be keeping his current job past 2020. And if he lives, and avoids any really big error, he may even follow in the footsteps of his Chinese exemplar and abolish term limits. But only for Republicans.
2
"Trump slyly markets his anti-professionalism as anti-elitism and a rejection of staid, cautious thinking. But it’s really his way of excusing his ignorance, costuming his incompetence and greenlighting his hooliganism."
This anti-elitist "foothold" combined with his being a businessman who would throw a wrecking ball into the system provided a narrative that allowed his chaos approach to shift to a much more positive label of "force for change."
We are all living with the corruption, deceit and vanity of this masking of fairness and competence with destruction and arrogance.
1
Frank, don't pull any punches! Spot on and unfortunately true.
1
Public servants honorable. Donald Trump not.
4
Thank you, Frank Bruni — we know how many millions of pages of analysis have been written about Trump and yet this is the first time a journalist has articulated this particular aspect of his personality — something I sensed but never put into words or crystallized. He has to be the most ignorant president who has ever occupied the Oval and you have hit many nails on the head about his attitude to professionals and professionalism. He himself is SO lazy — will not bother to inform himself about anything. He doesn’t care enough about people to ever do that — the antithesis of professional.
3
Here's to Mr. Bruni. A true professional!
2
Trump's election and continuing popularity among a minority of Americans are proof that there's always been a market for snake oil salesmen here. This might have something to do with the fact that the quality of one's education in our nation depends to some extent on the financial position of one's parents.
"Radical unelected bureaucrats"?! His cult of followers will believe anything, it seems.
2
Describing Stephanie Grisham as "peerlessly nasty" gives Kellyanne Conway short shrift.
6
We are lost.
4
Trump would fail as an employee of any respectable corporation for a number of reasons - he’s dishonest, a bully, unwilling to learn, knows it all, disrespectful, refuses to accept responsibility for his mistakes, self-serving.....completely incompetent and unprofessional.
American democracy will not survive four more years if he remains in office.
5
"hostile to any set of values that places personal glory below other ideals." Precisely! Thank you, Frank, for this.
Trump apparently has no concept of an ideal, or enterprise, bigger than himself, much less *serving* such a thing... what professionalism is all about.
That, and his belief that money buys respect, make him contemptible. All the rest is just what we'd expect from such ignorance.
2
When you say abuse of power you're talking about how the Democrats colluded with foreign governments to dig up dirt on their political opponent, and then to use the false dirt to get a FISA warrant to spy on Trump's campaign, US citizens. Yeah, trying to peg Trump for exactly what you did won't work. It makes every dem look like a complete hypocrite.
1
This is an extremely fine article, obviously well researched. It shows Trump and his greedy sycophants for what they are...solely in this for what they can get out of it. Trump is, as he has always been, a puffed-up loudmouth who rarely speaks with honesty and regards 'truth' as personally-definable property. It is impossible to know or compare perhaps but one wonders what percentage of Trumps's days are actually spent in honestly executing his oath of office. He doesn't apparently read briefing 'notes' ..one wonders now if he receives them. He is surrounded by sycophants who look to enrich or build their own fortunes and reputations. Increasing reports suggest he throws tantrums when faced with truth or contrary views. He will likely go down in history as the worst ever President...but at what cost to the country and its citizens..and to the world in general?
4
Absolutely true.
Trump grew up believing that wealth = success. The only people Trump respects are those who are richer than he is therefore he has no respect for those who he sees as failures (ie all those who work for him, work for others, can't work etc). Poor people are the ultimate example of worthlessness as poverty = failure (if they weren't stupid, they wouldn't be poor).
As wealth is the only true measure of worth, that means there is no recognition of any other worth eg intellect, professionalism etc. Certainly, there is zero respect for those who serve others as nurses, carers, teachers, government workers etc.
This also explains why he is so afraid of having his taxes/ wealth revealed, as it may well be that he is far less wealthy than he has claimed and that is the only thing that would shame him.
3
Trump is desperate and scared out of his mind. The lies and the cheating have caught up with him, his nothingness has been exposed.
And all the while Republicans stand by saying nothing, doing nothing. They should all be impeached.
6
Not only does Trump view these true professionals with contempt, he is totally flummoxed by them. They have "integrity", a concept he is incapable of grasping.
Self interest and greed Mr. Trump lives and breathes. Integrity does not compute.
4
Trump has shown contempt for nearly every person in his life whether it's a family member or someone who does work for his companies or for the country. His lack of discipline is not an asset to the country. His arrogant stances do not mean he is correct. He can shout louder than anyone in the room that climate change isn't real, that all immigrants are dangerous, that all who oppose him are incompetent hacks but it doesn't change the fact that he's wrong.
I never thought I'd think that W was a great president. Well, after watching Donald J. Trump ruin things for nearly 3 years I've been forced to revise my opinion. W looks like a genius in comparison.
2
To be a true professional in any area or subject requires years of had work, hard work and the humility to learn from those who know more about a subject then you do. True professionalism does not come from bragging that you know more then someone who has studied a subject for years and brags about how smart they are and how much they know. Above all it takes years of hard work and discipline. Trump has never shown any of these qualities in his life. Is it any wonder, Trump despises anyone who has dedicated their lives to the discipline and had work in takes to become a true expert in any field,
Trump is a professional liar and con artist who his made a career of spending his fathers fortune, without which he would have been a bankrupt failed businessman decades ago.
So is it any surprise that Trump hates and despises anyone who has actually succeeded in business or any other field through their own hard work and discipline?
2
Simply being surrounded by professionals doesn't help if the President doesn't take their counsel. Had Trump surrounded himself with truly professional people from the beginning, he might have been able to better implement his scorched-earth policies, or he might have been removed by the 25th amendment or otherwise impeached by now.
As it stands, we have an incompetent President backed by an uncaring Republican Party whose members have turned their backs on their sworn oaths to protect the Constitution from threats both foreign and domestic. His malevolence and incompetence will help get him impeached. It should be a slam dunk, but if anyone can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, it is the Democratic Party.
1
It’s all about how the boss looks. Anyone who has ever worked under a bullying boss knows that the boss’s own insecurity is at the root of the abuse. It’s an untenable situation for the professional because in order to keep your job you must do your work competently while desperately trying to make your boss look good. He is threatened by your competency because your success might just outshine his star power. Make just one mistake and you’re a scapegoat for all his failures past and present. Every bully that ever was and will be is at heart a big coward.
“Unbidden guests are often welcomest when they are gone.”
William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1
2
Contempt would be in the realm of rationality. A decision based on experience.
Trump won't acknowledge others' existence. His is a closed universe, a black hole.
These hearing will either save the country or witness the GOP continue it's ignorant destruction of society and the planet.
I'm reminded of the Warren Commission or the 911 Report where the government reinforces it's own selective-ignorance and lies by putting complicit evil men in charge of the truth they play so loosely with in their effort to dumb-down the populous and turn US against each other while they steal Everything and watch us fight each other over their continuous lies.
This hatred of "professionalism" embodied in Trump goes much deeper than him. He's just the latest and most vicious standard bearer of an American anti-intellectualism that has flowered in the age of pop media, cable "news" , amateur podcasts, solipsistic blogs the hideously democratic internet where everyone with a computer is an expert, and the real experts lose their jobs.
2
A lot of us knew Trump would be a terrible president, but with the right people around him as guides and advisers, he might manage to carry out the demands of the office with some measure of competence. Unfortunately, we underestimated his overwhelming narcissism and pathological egotism, as he shoved aside those who were knowledgeable and experienced and gathered the most obsequious and flattering instead. If impeachment doesn't rid us of this dangerously self-absorbed POTUS, the nation may be doomed.
The President is simply a mirror of his supporters to whom facts are not accurate unless they agree with them. All else is fake news.
Yeah, they deserve it. The country has been completely directionless and had absolutely abysmal foregin policy sine the end of the cold war.
Frank wants us to respect people because of their job titles, even if they perform an absolutely terrible job.
1
Trump is a true professional:
he brainwashed us to see
that lies are a confessional,
the one that sets us free.
Trump is the master of the deal:
he has convinced us all
to shun the facts and what is real,
that truth will make us small.
Trump is the best at marketing:
just watch the GOP.
They chose the one most sparkling,
the one best on TV.
Trump’s touch is magic, witness this:
most Senators he turned
to think that servitude is bliss
although they’ll all get burned.
Trump is a true Republican:
a symbol of the past.
A fossil, un-American,
taking its final gasp.
1
The problem is that Trump is trying to run the country as he ran his real estate business. He arrogantly wants to issue orders, no matter how crazy or corrupt, and force everyone else to obey.
Giuliani should be subpoenaed and held to account for his calculated secret dirty work for Trump in the Ukraine. What Trump hates is people who have ethics, morals, and who respect the law. Those are the qualities that we respect "true professionals" for. Trump is a naive, unqualified, political operator. He totally lacks the knowledge of how our government and democracy work.
It’s pretty clear that Trump has never learned the intellectual discipline which all professionals must learn to become competent. That’s the kind of thinking needed to work through difficult and complex challenges with reason and facts, real confirmed facts. It’s sometimes called working through a problem.
Trump likes to rely upon his stable genius to present him with the perfect solutions, as he likes to present it. He has no patience nor skills to actually reason to sound conclusions. Professionals are likely to find fault with his conclusions and that is annoying.
But through many bankruptcies and civil suits his ability to assess and to manage risks proves that his stable genius is just lazy acting on impulses.
I was very lucky in my professional life as an attorney, lived among professionals both as colleagues and clients. When I had "bad" news, I set forth my reasoning and was believed.
Trump's minions (toadies?) have no such luck.
In the recent interviews with Nikki Haley, who appears a true believer in a Republican future, I can only think back to the French actress Arletty's riposte during her trial for collaboration after the Liberation of 1944, "Mon coeur est français; mon cul est international." (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arletty.) Haley's version would be "My heart is Republican. My soul is opportunistic."
That goes for most of the once-honorable GOP as well. They put party over Constitution, and are so far up Trump to be evident in a colonoscopy.
@Carl Ian Schwartz
That’s a very generous version you attributed to Haley, but I agree.
Definitely like Arletty’s quote better. So much more ... colorful.
excellent piece. trump despises them because he knows that he isn't equal to them. thus, his juvenile insults. what an embarrassment he is.
It's got to be driving Trump bonkers that all of Schiff's witnesses look like they've been sent over by Central Casting. "Lights, camera, action!"
This is nonsense.
Not in that it is untrue. It is absolutely true.
It is nonsense in that it implies that Trump is an outlier, unprecedented, a black swan.
No.
Trump is the apotheosis of 40 years of Republican politics.
Starting with Reagan (at least), the Republican Party has seized and held power by denigrating knowledge, expertise, and science.
All examples of government expertise and effectiveness are ignored. Any instance of government incompetence and corruption (except by Republicans) are trumpeted as evidence of the uselessness and malevolence of government.
Now the Republicans have their Perfect President. A man who is trashing the entire US government and all of our allies, while embracing dictators around the world.
He will probably get away with it, too, aided and abetted by a servile Republican Party and the alternate reality spun by Fox News State Television.
2
So...our country is not run by elected officials and an engaged citizenry? We're run by professional managers???? OOOkay. Got it.
All true, but nothing new, Mr. Bruni.
1
The Dunning/Kruger administration is a global joke and an American tragedy.
1
"Trump slyly markets his anti-professionalism as anti-elitism and a rejection of staid, cautious thinking. But it’s really his way of excusing his ignorance, costuming his incompetence and greenlighting his hooliganism."
Amazing paragraph--it captures the essence of this man and his presidency. He sneers at professionals because he can't hold a candle to them, knows it, and thus fears them.
The only way to counter their knowledge is to attack their motives. The only defense he has is a cynical, mendacious offense.
Even more important, Trump may be able to fool his base beguiled by his cult of personality but he can't fool career professionals. He knows it, they know it, and hopefully by the end of the hearings, the American people will too.
1
In sincerely praising this opinion piece, dare I borrow a favorite word from You-Know-Who? "Perfect" summary.
Dooming his presidency, what a joke. He’s been an unbelievable success, even with all the underhanded tactics of the Leftists. He will prevail again.
1
It's natural. The highly qualified professionals remind Trump of his inadequacies, his flaws, his limitations. For a narcissist, to witness so many people superior to him in so many ways is like facing hanging in public every day. Trump does not just hate those people, actually, he hates himself, too. Constant lying, constant bragging is his way of hiding and patching over his limitations and failures.
In reality, Trump is worse than that. He's a weird, screwy character, if not partly insane. The reason the country does not want to consider these aspects of his persona is that such admission would put so many of his followers in a bad light. We just don't want to admit to ourselves that half of our voting populace got bamboozled.
3
I keep trying to convince myself that this abomination of a president provides a clarion lesson in the fragility of the American Experiment that we will learn from. Pray God the 45th President will be removed in a legal, Constitutional way soon.
2
Mr. Bruni, a brilliant analysis. Thank you.
Taking the argument one step further, let us consider the Republicans. They pander to Trump's vanity, spending their lives searching for some way to excuse his offenses. Their kowtow genuflection to the great one exposes them as something other than professionals. They are, at the end of the day, incompetents.
The world is too complex to suffer fools. Time to clear the decks.
4
Yes, all the president's mendacity; his pompeos and millers and barrs..
Trump will win because he is a cartoon wrestler and this nation is no longer serious, just petty and angry.
1
Republican hypocrisy has reached the abyss. This is a party hijacked by a grifter who are now in thrall of him. Only the most credulous would believe that had Obama attempted to bribe and extort a nation in exchange for dirt on Romney, congressional Republicans would be screaming for his impeachment and removal. But because such acts were committed by a Republican president, congressional Republicans attempt to sabotage the hearings instead of having the integrity to admit that Trump's malfeasance and contempt for the Constitution clearly warrants his removal from office.
1
But I believe we all know that is only half the story Mr. Bruni.
Trump did not invent the fiction of the "deep state".
That has been a republican steam dream for years.
The republican zealots who breathed life into Trump can line up at a car wash, dip themselves in cologne, scrub, scrub, scrub until they are raw.
They will never be able to rid themselves or the republican party from the stench of Donald Trump and his associates.
It is their own venality, stupidity and treachery that will finish them off.
2
“Stephanie Grisham, the White House’s peerlessly nasty press secretary...”
Perfectly put.
2
I remember many a pundit and opinion writer stating that "Trump will grow into the office". Ordinary people, the voters, never had such hope or unrealistic expectations. I guess this would come under the "You can fool some of the people all of the time, you can fool all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time". Those people who are fooled all of the time seem to be those who voted for Trump and the Senate Republicans who feign to support the President no matter what corrupt practice he engages in.
I am hoping that the Democrats have another bunch of "accidental heroes" who also show up and tell the truth.
Of course he would denigrate anyone who believes in duty, who has a conscience and the courage to speak out and tell the truth.
He thinks of them as fools.
Here is hoping that Trump proves to be the biggest of fools.
1
NYC Real Estate is the original swamp from which Trump mastered his unethical chops. An cutthroat, deeply corrupt environment that is the antithesis of "true professionalism".
1
Those "true professionals" are nothing but mindless bureaucrats who would be better off in a closed cubicle checking boxes than in any kind of leadership position.
1
Professionalism? Of course Trump exudes professionalism. Everything he touches is professional . . . Well, professional in the sense of being a purveyor of falsehoods, lies, and deceits, professional in the arts of the con, bigotry, and self-aggrandizement, professional in base ventures like bribery and bullying, and professionally demonstrative in the abilities to destroy our norms, our environment, and our constitutional order. So, yes, Trump and his minions are all well skilled in the professions.
The egomaniac in the White House has a message for professionals in the federal government: Unless you demonstrate complete loyalty to me and my tremendous staff, overlook anything that doesn't pass the smell test, and do exactly as we tell you to do, you be humiliated in public, demoted, and, at the time of my choosing, fired. He wants them to know that he is the professional-in-chief, the final authority on America's domestic and foreign policies. This attitude is hailed by his followers as the reassuring trait of a strong leader who knows how to deal with liberal know-it-alls.
Trump is a lightweight, a flimflam man who has racked up more failures in business and life in general than successes. He knows it, and suffers from a massive inferiority complex. That is why he hates true professionals -- because he knows he will never be one of them.
5
Those “true professionals” were responsible for the deaths of almost 100,000 Americans in Vietnam, Korea and Iraq. The higher ranks of our Federal Bureaucracy are no more “professional” than those in our largest corporations. Anyone who has served at high levels in both major world class corporations and the US government surely knows the word “professional” is not often used. Pres. Trump doubtless has more limitations than usually found in our Presidents. But a healthy disrespect for the “professionalism” of senior government officials may not be one of the more important. When we talk about “professionals” we ought remember there is one group of Americans for whom the term applies. That’s our military pledged to “duty, honor, country”.
A Pindaric Ode Upon Potus
Question not the unmatched wisdom nor
Underestimate the bravery and strength
Ineluctably displayed by our Dear Leader!
Dagger-like, his steely, well-honed tweets
Penetrate his nerdy enemies’ anxious brains,
Rouse his faithful base across the length
Of the homeland he maketh great again!
Question not the intention of his call to
Ukraine! And if impeachment comes
O say can Ivanka be far behind?
Thanks for this essay. The bottomless corruption of Trump can glaze us over like a donut. I appreciate the author who can boil this nightmare down to its essential elemental core. A lack of “professionalism”. All the nasty little nicknames, the careless tweets, lies, lies, lies. Indiscriminate, selfish, dangerous lies. Let us all hope that in 2020 “professionalism” will once again be a requirement for the presidency.
1
But if you go over to WSJ, they are howling about this unprecedented, unwarranted attack on a great president. On top of the lies about climate change. Going from WSJ to NYT is like two parallel universes. One doesn't matter to the other. It would be amusing if it wasn't so frightening.
1
It's not hard to figure out why Trump hates people who actually know what they're talking about. And yes, it dooms his presidency in terms of what he might accomplish for the country. But his job is not the same as his presidency. It's something he may very well keep for another term thanks to our ridiculous Electoral College and his flunky enablers in Congress and the courts.
1
Trump wanted to undo all that Obama had done in 8 years. He wanted to stand out as a president, one up on Obama. Well here you have it, President trump now has earned a medal for being the 4th president facing impeachment enquiries. He should be happy Obama never achieved that status! Lol
1
Trump is Trump: the logical outcome of 40 years of Republican mendacity, sedition, vilification, venom and demonization alongside the racism, bigotry, end justifies the means, and utter contempt for democracy that is the Republican Way. Trump just blurts out loud the kinds of foul stuff ALL Republicans say when the bourbon is poured and they close the doors at the club so theY know the help is out of earshot. Yes according to that great paragon of Republican values Mitt Romney: 47% of we the American people are takers mooching off billionaires like him. That’s what these people tho k of us.
We have had it with lying gaslighting Republicans. People are fed up with their nonsense. In 2020 they will be GONE.
2
He is a grifter and will be imprisoned for fraud.
How bout mike Pompeo?
"Trump slyly markets his anti-professionalism as anti-elitism and a rejection of staid, cautious thinking. But it’s really his way of excusing his ignorance, costuming his incompetence and greenlighting his hooliganism."
Perfect, Frank!
It's beyond contempt for professionalism, it goes down to having no regard for someone who has skills to accomplish things and do them well. Remember, this is the real estate guy who regularly stiffed the members of the skilled trades who actually created the structures with his name on them.
All of his accomplishments are due to being given wealth, then doing anything to make sure the money and recognition went to him.
He bankrupted a casino, but was the one who got out with the money.
He built a fake school, so much for caring about actual
education.
He let an addled veteran give him the Purple Heart the vet got by actually getting wounded. Trump's response? "I always wanted one of those". Not if he had to earn it.
He pretended to honor veterans for puttign their military training to use in service to the country, but the charity drive, which netted millions, was another scam, benefiting Bone Spurs, not the veterans.
Professionalism? Skill? Not his thing.
1
Trump is ignorant and emphasizes loyalty to him over loyalty to the Constitution. I don't trust anything he says, and at the heart of things, he is a snake-oil salesman when he has a captive audience.
I am glad true patriots of this nation and the State Department have defied him and stood up to him.
The anti-intellectualism strain of American politics is almost as old as the country. There have always been ignorant Americans who distrust people they see as smarter. They respect force and money (perhaps the same thing) but understanding and knowledge are soft skills that are not to be valued or trusted. They finally have their man in the Oval Office, He plays to their sensibilities. He gives them palatable explanations suffused with a generous portion of dishonesty. They are not bad people but they have given us a very bad president.
1
Trump's one skill is an instinctive grasp of how people relate to him. So he knows definitively that accomplished people look down on him as an ignorant, crude, pretentious, boor. His only response, because he has no other possibility, is to insult or hurt them simply because they see him for what he is.
Trump keeps saying he has a right to "face his accusers".
Yet he refuses to testify under oath to answer even one question by his accusers.
Cowardice: a trait wherein excessive fear prevents an individual from taking a risk or facing danger.
2
"the foul mash of mendacity and paranoia at the core of Donald Trump" Kudos to you Frank, what an apt description of the zeitgeist of the Trump years. Perhaps it will someday serve as the era's epitaph. But it seems to me the hatred of professionals is just what we should expect from our bully boy reality TV Prez. Perhaps the root cause of bullying behavior is anxiety to protect the ego. The bully knows he's not smart, capable or attractive - so he silences or better yet banishes anyone with any intellect, knowledge of capability - so they can't make him feel like such a loser. Of course Trump can't stand to have professional capable people on the pubic stage - the contrast makes him appear just as he really is.
Contempt for professionalism is part of Trump’s psyche, but contempt for our rule of law is also a part. Heck, contempt for anyone or anything that refuses to acknowledge his dominating persona, as he does from a true Narcissistic’s impressionable mind. Actually, one word that defines him is ‘contemptuous’. Justice will be served. The day of reckoning will come.
Donald Trump's disdain for professionals appears to be a reflection of his own lack of integrity and self respect. The demonizing of others is the true sign of an inability to deal with them in any reasonable, authentic fashion. Spinning webs of lies and stories too fantastic to be believed is his daily script.
Trump's speech at the Economic Club of New York today is a bookend to this article and another clear endorsement of his preposterous idea-less chatter. It was beyond disturbing. His cheerleaders and closely held sycophants of back channel governance are driving our country right off a cliff. May the professionals and those of sturdy backbone and ethical compass come forward at a critical opportunity.
2
Perhaps the ultimate complement is being publicly character assassinated by the "very stable genius" occupying the Oval Office!
1
All I can say is . . . "Amen, brother. Amen."
2
trump has contempt for anyone smarter than him. A conman is eventually exposed. It may take some time, but I believe truth still matters. Our world doesn't run on lies and those that continue to follow and support the liars will eventually become irrelevant and disappear in the dustbin of history.
Note that the professionals are testifying in public, under oath. The Trump cabal is hiding behind tweets, Fox News and “absolute immunity.”
4
I retired from the U.S. Department of Justice in 2011 after a career of 34 years. I worked as part of a staff of career employees. We had years of institutional knowledge which served us and our clients-our fellow citizens-well as we made decisions.
I served under Attorneys General appointed by both Republican and Democratic administrations. My privilege was to serve, to the best of my ability, our Constitution.
I say it again and again and again.
The USA is split between two groups of people. Those that believe in and respect being highly Educated, and not merely highly trained, and those that think they need none of that.
These groups will not compromise. We are as polarized as in 1860.
The show in Washington will not resolve anything. It is going to take a big shock to the system for the groups to wake up and compromise. I for one do not think that is going to happen. I think we are headed to outright authoritarianism or a Civil War so that one group can destroy other.
The fact that Trump is an idiot and can not see what is going on means that he, along with the rest of his part, are leading us all onto the path to hell.
2
What a waste of all that tea!!!
Has the revolutionary war which freed US from a monarchy been in vain? If you look at the US now it looks like England in the 18th century. A monarch at odds with parliament, who bestows favors, brings unskilled cronies into government, has short lived favorites, who seems keen to ensure the succession of at least one of his children, and believes as George 3rd did, that contrary views have no merit.
It might have been better for the US if it had never fought the wars of independence at all. You probably would not have had the civil war ( with its lasting scars) as being a colony of the UK slavery would have automatically been abolished in the 1830s. You might have ended up, as has Australia and Canada, with a constitutional monarchy, with great limits on the power of the sovereign and a sovereign legislature.
Perhaps its time to rethink the constitution.
4
@Liz Barry : Please watch how American democracy - tested to its limits right now - will come through this as a stronger democracy than ever before - and without a constitutional monarchy. With all due respect, please do not compare apples - US constitutional democracy - and oranges - a constitutional monarchy. We will prevail as a strong, constitutional democracy and I am proud to be an American...no matter what!
1
@kkm Thanks KKM. I wish I shared your optimism, but from afar, your democracy looks irreparably damaged. I hope you are right.
I long for the day when Trump is no longer in the news.
3
But if your plan is to weaken America internally by fanning the flames of racism and income elitism, and to weaken it internationally by treating allies rudely...
Hugh
Wishful thinking.... that anything can convince Trump supporters of how mean, mindless and mercenary Trump.
1
Frank Bruni is spot on. However i would like to add one Trump issue as important. That is envy which goes along with greed. This comes from America just after WWII when lots of envy was present and tons of greed. My Grandfather and Donald Trumps Father knew President Trump's father. They were in the same business - Real Estate. I think Jules, my grandpa liked Trump but word is that Trump was somewhat standoffish and full of avarice which passed to Donald through the years. Both I and Trump spent time in military school - in residence to allow our parents more time. I think both os us envied those who stayed home for high school or even middle school. At suh schools there dwells a kind of envy and greed foundation - not for money but for love and attention. i was twice orphaned and for that worse off in those categories, Donald Trump is like so many boarding school "brats" envious, initially afraid in our first year, and ready to find a girlfriend where there were no girls at the time!
A correlative problem is the automatic privileging and valorization of college degrees and other awards that are given intrinsic value. Just because someone is a West Point graduate doesn’t intrinsically mean anything about a person’s ethics or thinking. Just because somebody went to Harvard does not intrinsically mean anything beyond being part of a network for better or worse. The uncritical way in which these things are thrown about suggest that if you don’t have a Harvard degree reception you are a lesser person.
For instance in an article just recently in the New York Times lieutenant colonel Vindman was described as being “Harvard educated”. He has his college degree from the State University of new York at Binghamton. The department of defense did send him to Harvard for a masters degree. That is not what we mean when we say someone is Harvard educated. Is LTC Vindman less of a professional, less of a soldier, because he went to Binghamton? I don’t think so. It sure seems that way when the New York Times allows him to be described as “Harvard educated“. This may seem like an unrelated issue, but I think it strikes at some core reasons that while we have anti-intellectualism, we also have shallow intellectualism that is part of a celebrity culture that pervades everything in this country now.
There is no "he said, she said" need for reporting. The president is guilty of impeachable crimes, and that it is the proverbial bottom line.
Trump's lack of professionalism has at least prevented his administration from accomplishing much. Most achievements, like the big tax cut and judicial appointments, have more to do with the maneuvers of the Republican Congress and Mitch McConnell than Trump's leadership. Beyond that, there's his "wall" which isn't getting built, no new infrastructure plan, no attempts to improve the healthcare system, lots of tariffs which are mostly harming the economy, NAFTA's joke of a rebranding, and general chaos in foreign policy. His biggest accomplishments are destroying what he can of the Obama years, nothing more.
2
Unfortunately, the GOP lost their way after the 2008 election. In 2010 election cycle they voted in the Tea Party. It would thought they simply had a fever that would break and they would return to the common ground. Instead they continue to shout, grunt, and contort their faces into scowls. It's 2019, at a Veterans day parade, one Trump supporter, a veteran, foamed at the mouth about serving. And how he serve so that people had the right to protest, yet he was mad that American citizens, some of whom were also veterans, were protesting. The gentleman never made the connection that he fought for Americans to protest yet when they protest then he becomes upset and calls them "Communist."
The dooming of the presidency is assured, the problem we are facing is the dooming may not be fast enough to thwart irreparable damage to our reputation in the world, relations with our ally's, and oh yea the environment we live in.
1
Ignorance and non-disclosure agreements RULE!
1
"In fact Mueller stands out as a consummate professional, so much so that he politically neutered himself". Yes, and by doing so he torpedoed his own investigation much to the delight of Trump & C°. I prefer the professionalism of William Taylor, but will he survive the Senate hearings?
1
“Trump’s disregard — no, contempt — for professionalism is in some ways an anagram of his aversion to norms, to tradition, to simple courtesy..”
Yes, and it further plays out as an admission of his own shortcomings; intellectually compromised, professionally inept, hard to like, impossible to trust and completely unworthy of anyone’s respect, let alone his own. Everything he wishes he was, he isn’t, and he knows it.
His angry, victimized flailings are a certain mirror into the one thing he probably suspects; he’s an impostor, handed the levers of great power of which he has no idea how to harness.
How this small man ascended the White House is a national, and global, tragedy.
Thank you for reading
1
Right on the mark Frank. Trump is a guy who plays a doctor on TV and then thinks he's a doctor in real life. He has gotten away with so much corruption his entire life that he truly has no moral compass. Not to mention that he knows absolutely nothing about everything.
4
His contempt for professionalism is evident in other areas as well-- He hires lawyers who seem to not understand their ethical or professional obligations, and ends up firing the ones who do. He hires doctors to find bone spurs when he might be drafted but who will publicly condone his fast food dinners and lack of exercise as commander-in-chief. And let's not get started on the accountants he seems to hire to avoid paying taxes. And then there is the press-- he has torn down the fourth estate by recasting professionalism ("telling the truth") as bias. Recasted every slightly criticism as partisan. This is the real danger of Trump and what he has done to the Republican party, the presidency and the country. He should be impeached for it. And then every Republican who is now supporting him and lying for him should be voted out of office.
5
Although officially (de jure), Donald Trump is the 45th president, in reality (de facto) he is conducting a mock presidency, incorporating elements from reality TV, organized crime, and Fascist Italy.
3
You know I'm suffering from Trump-fatigue...the level of incompetence in this administration is staggering. All of his A-Team advisers and cabinet members who have tried to advise him with sound, informed decisions about policy have either resigned or have been fired. Trump is now working with 3rd-rate political hacks that are allowing the rule of law to be thrown out the window, thus undermining this country...How is it those who enable him, believe that ONLY he tells the truth and everyone else is lying? It's like a blind mass hysteria that I can only imagine was like when Hitler or Mussolini came to power. America open your eyes...What was different about the prior years Ukraine got their aid to help fight Russia? Why during an election year did he push so hard to get Ukraine to investigate the Bidens? The US State Dept and the US Defense Dept both signed off on the Ukrainian crack down on corruption....But Trump ignored his own agencies, instead relied on Giuliani's conspiracy theories to commit a crime. This isn't who we are as a country.
5
In visiting the DC area five years ago, after being away for nearly 25 years, I was shocked by the sprawling development and wealth around the city. I didn't get downtown to the poorer communities, but it would be my guess than the situation there remains dismal. This consumptive largesse, combined with social abandonment, at the very seat of our country's government is disturbing to this rural American, just passing through. I have to assume that the Chesapeake Bay fisheries is not the basis for all this vibrant wealth and development, but rather taxpayer dollars coming from people throughout the country who apparently can use it, along with their local governments, much more.
3
Trump and his Republican sycophants are not just anti-professional, and thereby anti-ethics and dishonorable: They're completely shameless. Listen to Rand Paul's shameless rant equating the well-intentioned ousting of a corrupt Ukrainian prosecutor with what Trump did: attempting to bribe a foreign government to open an investigation into his personal political rival. They're all willing to lie to your face and have no shame at all.
2
Trump's biggest contempt is for the US constitution . His sincere love is only for Putin. Main problem with Trump is that he has no education. He is ignorant but rich. He is a spoiled son of rich real estate businessman. He is never a honest person He is a pathological liar . He does not like any professional and intelligent person. He loves crooks like Roger Stone, Giuliani ,Putin etc.
2
His marketing of anti-elitism isn't at all "sly"... it is the red meat he feeds his raucous crowds, What is particularly maddening is the silence of the professionals in the business world who should be publicly damning his conduct but fail to do so for fear that he might be replaced by someone who favors more regulations and higher taxes. Such action by a POTUS would lower profits for their corporation and lower earnings for them. Better to sit silently while Mr. Trump undercuts the professionalism of those who work for the government.
5
True/strong/exceptional leaders are not the people who know everything (or "know more than the generals"). True leaders are those who know what they don't know - and also know how to seek advice from credible experts (rather than right wing conspiracy websites). Trump is clueless about how to lead and the resulting disasters will be with our country for many decades.
9
I have great news.
I just find out Juli Briskman- who gave Trump the middle finger in 2017 on VA highway- and was fired for it, had just won a seat on her county board of supervisors.
2
@morGan
Oh wow, that's great news now all those people who are struggling to pay their rent don't have to worry!! Thanks for sharing!!!
Read anything about the government before the civil service system was instituted and you can understand exactly what Trump wants, and a lot of Republicans. Public jobs were the rewards for political supporters. The office holders controlled the bureaucracy, not the laws and certainly not the people who had not been loyal supporters of the office holders.
But Trump has a second reason to oppose professionals, he has no convictions and he considers rules to be obstacles not the means to assure calm order and predictability upon which people may live and prosper. He has been a millionaire since he was eight. He buys his way out of the kind of difficulties which most people must confront themselves. The kind of hard work and accumulation of knowledge and skills of professionals has been nothing that he has had to acquire because he could buy it. To him any skilled person is just a servant for him or a nuisance.
3
Brilliant Op-Ed Mr. Bruni. Keep this kind of writing on the front page NY Times.
5
You make a great case. Unfortunately, at least 40% of voters are playing "heads I win, tails you lose".
They've been -- and are still actively -- inoculated against the disease of facts. And, they've been told, and thoroughly believe, that anyone who opposes Trump is a Deep State, elitist, "fake news" , faux patriot -- a bemedaled wolf in sheep's clothing.
Let's hope that the impeachment hearings move the 2% of undecided swing state independents to vote against Trump in the next election.
No Trump supporter is likely to change their mind, regardless of the damning testimony from trustworthy professionals.
3
Thank You Frank. You have nailed it precisely. The self anointed smartest man in the room is definitely the dumbest.
4
Trump prefers sycophants and toadies. People he can bully and manipulate easily.
8
Trump had no political office before being elected. He came in from the cold. There were previous presidents who had a similar background. Eisenhower and Hoover come to mind. But they had to deal with other nations, and had to be political. Trump has never done this, and worst of all, is not interested. The nicest thing I can say about Trump is that he is not fit for the job. But bear in mind, Trump wants "yes men and women", not discussions. So people like Taylor are a burden for Trump. More serious is that the GOP supports Trump down the line. Someday (I hope soon!) Trump will be gone, but the GO will remain. To me this is a far bigger problem.
3
Like or not, it's the point of his Presidency. It's easy to understand the rage that drives this ideology when our lives are steadily deteriorating from day to day, year to year, misplaced as that rage may be.
2
Yes, the President, to a large extent, gets to set US foreign policy, as many here claim.
But he cannot break the law.
He cannot, except under very limited circumstances, disregard appropriations enacted by the Congress. He cannot solicit or accept the aid of a foreign government for his political campaign. He cannot tie the delivery of military aid appropriated by the Congress to a foreign government's digging up dirt on his political opponents. He cannot violate treaties, which according to the Constitution are part of the "supreme law of the land."
The Constitution provides a remedy for what Alexander Hamilton called in Federalist 65 the "violation of the public trust." And the House of Representatives is pursuing that Constitutional remedy.
As Mick Mulvaney famously said a couple of weeks ago, "get over it."
3
Yes people who have spend decades getting education in and then working with a specific thing know more than a random guy with a completely different area of expertise. However, in the right wing universe people who are experts (know things) are part of a nefarious conspiracy (unless they tell those people exactly what they want to hear).
That doesn't mean that experts are always right, it simply means that they are more likely to be right than those who know little or nothing. If I need my plumbing fixed I don't hire an electrician or some random guy off the street. And if the plumber didn't get it right I wouldn't hire an electrician to fix my plumbing next time. If I could invest my money in something that has a 70% chance of making a profit or something that has a 50% chance of making a profit I will go with the greater chance.
3
The craven and small-minded denigrate others because of their own personal inadequacies. The gracious and visionary lift others up and lead with wisdom and civility. I don't want to live in a country dominated by the first. I hope and pray daily we will soon again live in a country lead by the second.
10
Public financing of elections.
Term limits.
Outlaw professional lobbying.
Today is political theater. Our elected officials are embarrassing.
8
It's still hard to believe that people looked back over Trump's dishonest business practices and the pernicious lies with which he launched his political career and believed he would rise to requirements of the presidency. His contempt for expertise, governing standards, and democratic values was fully on display throughout the 2016 campaign. For example, “If I win I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation...." The professional politicians in the GOP must have understood who they were dealing with, and they welcomed him into the fold anyhow.
6
Donald Trump swore to uphold and defend the Constitution, and he has betrayed that oath over and over again as he has obstructed the oversight by Congress.
His main goal is to nullify the rule of law in his pursuit of the destruction of the Constitution.
7
Who sets US foreign policy? Career diplomats, or the President of the United States?
This "impeachment" should be a clinic in how the federal bureaucracy works to legitimize itself and protect itself, even to the point of claiming jurisdiction over policy to the exclusion of the president. And it's a clinic for how Democrats, some Republicans, and the media exert themselves in protecting THAT status quo.
1
It's telling how far a guy with thick skin and a loud mouth can go. Being white and being male definitely work in Trump's favour.
2
Trump is a con man. He always has been. He is in way over his head at this point, but, like the narcissist that he is, he cannot admit to a mistake let alone to defeat. He will go down tweeting loud nonsense.
I don't care what takes him down at this point, he just has to go.
14
Yes, he's a narcissist but I think he is also one of the most insecure beings I've ever seen. The reason he never stops talking (as evidenced in his constant tweets and hours-long rallies) is that his silence inspires self doubt. His constant noise allows him to block out the fact that many (if not most) are smarter than him and he cannot abide the professional and experienced employees in the government. They accentuate his stupidity and ignorance.
5
It's only dooming his presidency **IF** he is held accountable, and all signs from the GOP suggest he's going to get away with yet another crime.
Let's be honest. The people being hurt are the citizens of this nation and the wider world which suffers his insufferable policies. And we're not just being hurt; our democracy is being destroyed.
Until and unless this man is held fully accountable, the forces of corruption, greed, and our appeasement of those two chronic conditions have won. That makes all-- save him, his sycophants, and GOP cheerleaders-- losers.
With each passing day, I'm more convinced it is going to take everyday people who've finally had enough taking to the streets to bring about justice. If the GOP fails to do its job, we just may end up like Hong Kong and Bolivia.
8
Bruni thinks Trump is dooming his presidency. First, he is already president. Second, the press is all about the next election being a close one. Third, look for this article on the humor page one day after the next election.
Professionalism of any sort, generally implies that you have worked long and hard, and can demonstrate proven competence and integrity.
This is a man who hasn’t put in a single hard day’s work in his entire life.....
3
I think that this is not as deep as many would have us believe. Trump and his cult do not know what they do not know. The fool doth believe that he is wise. That is Trumpism in a nutshell. Trump is wealthy and that has him believe that he is somehow superior to those possessing lesser assets. His following herd tend to be unhappy people who again believe that they have the answers that the bureaucrats don't.
Ignorance reigns and nobody gets wet.
6
And the people who slavishly defend Trump do so knowing that he is an unrepentant and proven liar and cheater who bullies foreigners to sully fellow Americans. The lack of ethics and lack of patriotism among his devotees is sickening.
7
Amen.
1
All this just ties back into the faux patriotism of the American right. They use their narrow and dim version of patriotism as a cudgel to derail any opposition. However, they have true contempt for those - left, right, and center - who do put country over party. They once hid behind and even fetishized men like Mueller, Vindman, Taylor, Mattis, etc. Now they're suddenly "human scum" (Trump's words) and mythical, all-powerful, "deep state" operatives. Trump and his minions at Fox love symbols, anthems, and tanks; someone please let them know that isn't patriotism.
As Krugman recently put it, Republicans only pretend to be patriots (just as they pretended not to have access to the depositions they were supposed to be attending)
8
I agree with this article completely with one caveat. I don’t think Trumps disdain for the professionals has to do with anything other than that the professionals, don’t, won’t,aren’t interested in headlines. To someone such as Trump, press, good or bad, is essential to life. A narcissist cannot understand not being in the spotlight.
6
It's fear of professionalism. Trump is an idiot and a crook. Professionals scare him. And will one day put him where he belongs.
6
Mr. Bruni:
You spoke the obvious truth in this article - thank you for stating it so well. I admire your style. Why this obvious truth isn't obvious to all the supporters of President Trump remains a mystery to me. He's like a Pied Piper of sorts, without the musical talent, and most of the evangelicals are lining up right behind him. As a Christian myself, I am perplexed, troubled and scared about the outcome, should this impeachment process fail. I fear for the presidential election of 2020. I fear for our great country. I pray for America.
6
Mr. Bruni. It's become a cliche for me now as a 74 year old Vietnam Era Vet now retired when people say "Thank you for your service". Service to our nation and not Trump or any dictatorial president works on many levels not just the military. But it's a dedication to serve our country that Trump and his supporters reject and that's why they sent him to Washington as if putting him and his gang in power will somehow "Make and Keep America Great Again".
Mr. Bruni you represent the exact opposite of this insanity with your truthful comments here and on CNN.
Thank you, Mr. Bruni, for your service.
13
There used to be something called a “gentleman’s C”, something you gave an incompetent rich kid in school to avoid labelling him a failure and incurring the ire of his parents. Nowadays there are other ways of covering up the intellectual limitations of the 1%. One is a theory that “a good manager can manage anything”, without having any expertise in the project he is managing. I had a boss like that once. Trump is another. They don’t think expertise and professionalism means anything important.
7
Great article. I think all the points were hit - right on the mark. For goodness sake....the country voted in a "bad actor" and by that I mean...he's not even bothering to act out the role of President well. At least if he'd hired 100 great professionals to help he could have added the window dressing to the whole operation. In hindsight he should have hired Ivana his ex-wife. She might have been one of his most competent comrades. Maybe she was offered a job? But was too smart to take it. Good luck America.
11
This contempt was extremely easy to predict and no one should be surprised by it. When any individual proudly and publicly states that he is "an extremely stable genius," we shouldn't be shocked when he acts in accordance with his beliefs.
12
It's not just Trump that has contempt for professionals. It's also entrenched in his Cabinet and other political appointments and demonstrated in their actions. Pompeo is just one highly visible example. What goes unpublicized is that the disabling and gutting of so many agencies directly hampers or precludes their providing essential services to people across the nation; farmers, military, social and medical safety nets, international programs, and on and on. What ever administration succeeds Trump is going to be facing a lot of damage repair and will likely need a modern Marshall Plan for rebuilding the U.S. And one of the first steps should be rejecting his enablers who sit in Congress.
14
To quote Winston Churchill "Success is not final. Failure is not final: it is the courage to continue that counts".
We may never know the value of Trumps presidency until it becomes a memory but in that memory the nation can reflect upon the professionalism that Trump has brought to the oval office. The corruption that has been exposed and the media biases along with a full understanding of what public colleges are cramming down the throats of our young. It has been many decades since I could say am pleased by the performance of our current president. This impeachment inquiry is just "witch hunt 2.0" in the eyes of over 60 million people including myself and lets not forget that James Comey was considered a "True Professional" until he turned on Hillary. I hope all have a blessed day!
2
Are you familiar with Trump’s corruption? His phony university that ripped off vulnerable people? Or his fake foundation, that he plundered for his own use? I’m not familiar with the corruption trump has uncovered, but his own crimes are well-documented, clear and deeply troubling. Seriously, look into it.
1
@Tom Baroli
There is good documentation of corruption on both sides of the isle. The problem is the left went after Trump before he even took office which proves partisan bias is being used in this impeachment inquiry. If you don't believe me why would the media spike the story in which the foundation of this inquiry is based on, Biden? Familiar with the story about the little boy who cried wolf?
The author and many commentors here seem to believe that educated, cosmopolitan people of society, like themselves, do not have the vices of ordinary people. Some NYT depictions of Republicans, Trump supporters, rural people, farmers, the working class - the other - are fair and accurate, but not ALL of them. Of course, less sophisticated people of society also have misguided views of those different from them, but they are more inclined to KNOW this. There is a level of uncertainty, humility and, in fact, objectivity that helps them as modern consumers of information designed to control their consumer and voting habits. Call it horse sense or wisdom of the masses, but our representational democracy needs it. There's a fine balance between the dangers of too much influence from the 'viscitudes of the masses' and too little input from them, like in a bureaucratic plutocracy, the direction our society is moving toward. Rather than push for THIS we need to push for broad-based liberal education, imo. The divide between the "haves" and "have nots" of society is growing and this article celebrates the ones who need it least.
3
And yet, there they are, the republican senate, standing behind him. The war on government started by Reagan is finally being won by the Trump administration with the full support of the Republican Party. Think about that! It boggles the mind. The greed and meanness that boils under the surface of civility is roiling out in the age of Trump. We can also attribute this success to Newt Gingrich's redefining of political comity to the take no prisoners politics of this era. I now am forced to ask myself, "Do we really have a country anymore."?
16
Years ago, before the whistle blower act, I worked for the Federal government as a contracting officer in the Department of Defense. A tough job and I earned every penny of my small salary. We were there, not for the money, but for the love of the Country and to do our best in our little part of it to help it move smoothly. It did not matter who was in the White House. Workers were encouraged where they saw it to call out fraud, waste and abuse. I cannot imagine that that policy has changed.
My point is, it does not matter where you work in government. When you see something wrong, ie: fraud, waste and abuse, it is in your dna to call it out. Our government, except for very limited things is designed to be an open book, this is why we have three co-equal branches with two which judge the executive branch on different footings, one political and one legal. Executive privilege in my opinion is codswallop. Except in the case of top secret situations, there should be no executive privilege. All of those workers have sworn their allegiance to the Constitution and not Donald Trump. Anyone who works in the executive branch subpoenaed by the Congress should be compelled legally to testify under oath. If I were Congress, I would request an emergency ruling in front of the SC, lest this happen again.
12
@Bill -
I would agree with you up to a point. Executive privilege has a place in our government. The concept is designed to prevent Congress from continually looking over the President’s shoulder when they are trying to determine what policy the Executive branch is going to do. To give enough slack that the President can do his job in directing the government. After they have already decided what they are going to do and start executing the policy decided, executive privilege should not useable. If the content of what was discussed is classified, it should be handled as such. But those procedures do allow Congress to perform its duty of oversight as there are protocols for sharing classified information with Congress.
1
The real tragedy about Donald Trump -- and why I feel sorry for him -- is that his Narcissistic Personality Disorder prevents him from accepting the word of others and trusting people around him. Moreover it forces him to seek people who tell him what he wants to hear. Narcissists seem only to be capable of accepting people and information that flatters them or fits a narrative they are compulsively forced to tell and feeds their overly exaggerated positive view of themselves. I am disappointed our political leaders are not taking his disorder into consideration and treating him accordingly -- and with compassion. I realize it is hard to be compassionate to a person with a Narcissistic Personality Disorder because they are often vindictive and spiteful, as well as focused almost exclusively on themselves. But had Congressional leaders read the DSM V description of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and managed Trump accordingly, they may have spared him and the nation much pain. My "hopes and prayers" are that the GOP realizes the psychiatric issues of our president and uses that as a defense of him. It would save the nation a ton of drama and help us deal with the situation we face today: a nation paralyzed by an extreme narcissist while we have much more important things to deal with including climate change, the national debt, infrastructure, electoral reform, healthcare, social security insolvency, etc.
5
Someone with narcissistic personality disorder should never be given much power since they will of course abuse it. But once they have been handed power, what can be done? Attempts have been made to manage Trump, all eventually unsuccessful. He has a terrifying amount of power, and almost all Republicans have buckled under rather than feel his whip. It seems the only thing that can be done is to try to take that power away from him, hence the impeachment.
The underlying fact about Donald Trump that accounts for this and much else in his behavior is that he has always had a severe learning disability (recall that getting sent to military school in the 'Sixties pretty much equates to a diagnosis of ADHD today).
Trump's hatred for professionals of any kind simply goes back to his hatred for teachers, because any context in which he is required to absorb information simply showcases his inability to do it. This is the core humiliation for which he has devoted the rest of his life to getting revenge.
And this is an attitude he shares with a great number of his fellow Americans, which probably goes a long way towards explaining how his support continues unabated despite the never-ending train wreck of his administration.
For Trump supporters, incompetence isn't a bug, it's a feature.
10
This article hits it on the head. I recently watched Jack Ryan and commented on how the characters are deeply professional, which is the exact opposite of the WH occupant.
We need Jack Ryan as president.
1
The Harrison Ford version perhaps, [SPOILER] The Season 2 Amazon Prime version kills a bunch of people in the Venezuelan presidential palace for no good reason.
@Marty - We need to stop looking to fictional TV characters for leadership.
1
Kelly, Mattis, and McMasters, three distinguished military officer who each took the military code of honor, "a cadet will not lie, cheat, steal or TOLERATE THOSE WHO DO".
Pre trump association, each of these men were considered to be the honorable men, the code they took, and the hopeful ADULTS in the WH. Each took exit from this corrupt administration and now remain silent. Except for a moment of hilarity from Gen. Mattis at a formal gathering or the mild comment from Gen. Kelly about having yes men close to the president. Assuming they are privately disgusted with trumps corruption, yet, it fell to to others to step forward, sacrificing personal threats to bring truth to power.
Gentlemen why do you "tolerate lies, cheating and corruption" from the president you once served?
9
Actually, the impeachment hearings may serve the purpose of showing the country that there are competent, intelligent people doing their job in the govt. People that show true patriotism (minus the little flag pin on their lapel). I doubt you'll hear them talk about politics. They are smart enough to convey facts, just the facts. Yes, there are a lot of feds like these folks working in Trumps "swamp". And they probably take their day one oath seriously..
3
I say, let's get rid of all the professionals who work for the US government, starting with the professional pilots who guide Air Force One through the skies. Let's have a true Trump supporter like Giuliani do the piloting. Then, let's get rid of the people who cook the president's food, including the professionals who make his cheeseburgers. We could install Mulvaney as "acting" chief cook and bottle washer. For the Cabinet member voted the worst in Gail Collins' recent poll, Bill Barr, a special, well-earned honor: he gets to replace the professionals who clean the White House toilets and keep them sanitary. For those who think that professionalism means elitism or snobbery, let us not forget, it is the professionals who actually keep the US government functioning, and I'm including the people who process Social Security applications, manage our national parks, make sure our medicines are safe, keep planes from crashing into one another, and teach the children of our military members. Pres. Trump faces a real problem as president. It is not just that he does nothing well, except deceptively manipulating other people. That has been the case his whole adult life. What's different now is that unlike a usual snake oil salesman, unlike Prof. Harold Hill until he reaches River City, unlike Trump the real estate baron, Trump the president cannot sneak over to the next town, the next piece of property he wants to develop, the next bank he wants to con into lending him money.
10
The question remains - why does none of this seem to matter to his supporters? His base and most republicans are standing by this very poor excuse for a president. Why?
9
on the Normal Bell Curve half of it is on the negative side. that accounts for venally- destructive Republicans'attachment to the worst human being to ever reach power in this country.
Spot on Frank. Donald Trump's presidency reminds us of why we place our trust in professinals, be they diplomats, lawyers, doctors, engineers, etc. - because we seek their professional judgment. Judgement is a hard-won attribute, acquired only after years of experience, and only after learning from the inevitable mistakes made by oneself and others. And this is where Trump is an utter failure. First, he does not value judgment, he values loyalty. Anyone, even a dog can model loyalty, but few men and women possess judgment. Second, he rejects the very possibility of making mistakes much less learning from them. Having rejected those with professional judgment, he has condemned himself to perpetual complaint about those that serve him. It is hardly surprising that loyalty is his prized attribute. What else can a person without judgment offer him? And surrounded by loyal toadies, is it any wonder that in his world, he is the only one that matters? But he does know the baser instincts that motivate human actors and he pushes those buttons even as Always-Trumpers do not realize they are being played.
6
I'm am truly worried about the United States ability to survive this presidency.
12
indeed the question is cHave we survived it thus far?... I'd say No, we have not we are no longer who we had thought we were before Trump poisoned us.
1
Trump’s true handle is ‘easy money’. By hook or crook. He never got rid of the swamp because he is the swamp. If we learn nothing else from Trump’s escapades, it is how do we procedurally and profoundly eradicate the process that allowed him in the door in the first place.
4
Trump’s narcissistic personality doesn’t allow for acknowledgment of others. That would somehow diminish from his frail psyche. As a matter of fact, if Trump wasn’t pathological, he might have developed human connection and all the other necessary skill-sets to make him expert at something. The only thing he’s been expert at is playing a sort of character in the media. His “business success” has been nothing more than investing his inherited wealth, sometimes with favorable outcomes, but often ending in bankruptcy. Ironically, it has been the expert types he despises that have had the knowledge to actually get things done on his behalf. Unfortunately many have learned that they have to sue him to get paid.
4
The last thing I am worried about is Trump's presidency. To the contrary, I am worried about the democracy he's destroying, the NATO partnership he's wrecked, and our inability to throttle his environmentally ignorant decisions.
Every organization, whether a corporation, volunteer, school board, boy scouts, etc., has a procedure to remove leadership no longer suited the task. But our removal process has been hijacked by AG Barr, Moscow Mitch, Pence and the republican cabal. No matter how many felonies Trump may commit, his cabal is determined to retain power at any cost. And don't count on congress. Feckless Pelosi can't even get people to testify, how will she ever remove Trump from office?
Our foreign policy is in tatters, Trump's policies & decisions are exacerbating Climate Change whereas we should be mitigating it, the economy is weakening and the worst is yet to come when Trump unilaterally decides the 2020 election is "postponed" until he's certain he can win (which is never).
Think it's not possible? Look at the last 3 years, and then decide if America has had enough and is ready to demand his removal along with the co-conspirator republicans who ignore the irrefutable evidence, and thereby aid and abet.
3
A lot of us don't think much of the politicians and government workers you call professionals.
1
@Lee Irvine
Since a lot of "you" seem to disparage the rule of law, actively support corruption and moral bankruptcy and the country's possible descent into chaos and authoritarianism, a lot of us don't think much of you, either.
2
Mr. Bruni is right, of course, as usual. And it is important that the public understand that these remarkable civil servants are true professionals who do not in any way fit the "deep state" caricature with which Republicans are trying to label them.
But, I've had enough with articles such as this one that try to understand Trump. I don't care why Trump behaves the way he does. Maybe it's his contempt for professionals as Bruni offers here, but maybe it's his innate narcissism, maybe it's his racism or misogyny, maybe it's the fact that he was coddled from birth, or maybe it's something else or all of these things. For me, it is enough to know that Trump is simply a bad dude in actions and words.
We should no longer be focused on finding explanations for Trump's behavior. Rather, we should focus on finding antidotes to Trump's behavior, which, fundamentally, means BEATING HIM IN THE POLLS next November.
3
My favorite quote about leadership: "It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." Harry S Truman. Trump represents the exact opposite of this idea, demanding credit for everything that is done and as a consequence very little gets done. He's an incompetent amateur who insists on trying to lead in everything instead of relying on professionals with competence and experience. When confronted by his own failures he blames everyone but himself, especially the professionals who have been prevented from doing their jobs by his self serving actions. Trump is the perfect example of failed leadership
3
Trump’s contempt for expertise resonates well with the widespread contempt many of his supporters have for education and the ‘elite’. This is the stubborn minority that thinks evolution by natural selection is just a ‘theory’ and is open to conspiracy theories (like the notion that the Sandy Hook massacre was ‘staged’). It’s the crew that will ignore the evidence of his malfeasance based on who the witnesses are against him. Certainly evidence — if more was needed — of the bankruptcy of our education system.
2
It's easy being smart. Go to school, observe, study, get good advice. Or learn the buzz words and fake it.
Wisdom comes harder, requiring time, interaction, dedication and useful experiences.
Our statespersons are not only smart, but also typically wise. Our political appointees and elected reps may be smart, but still lack the wisdom to do the best thing.
trump is so small yet smart, that he fears and loathes anyone wiser than he. It's true that he has unmatched wisdom, since few people can match his low levels of it.
1
In addition to your commentsGo back to his initial staffing of senior posts and recall how shoddy the vetting process was. Also notice two prominent classes of recruits: people who had profoundly questionable preparation for the jobs that he nonetheless gave them (Ben Carson, Betsy DeVos, Stephen Miller, Javanka) and genuine professionals who wagered that their skills would be critically necessary — and thus highly valued — and that Trump would surely rise to the established codes and expected conduct of his office.
Now look at how many of those professionals (James Mattis, H.R. McMaster, Gary Cohn, Dan Coats) are gone. And tell me whether Trump has ever had the epiphany that the presidency is, in fact, a profession.
Our president has hired each and every one of them. From the "great generals" that he hired and chose and are no longer working for him to the rest.
This remains a very scary time for our country. May the impeachment inquiry proceed post haste.
1
The best analogy of the Trump administration and all the inexperienced political hacks Trump has appointed is a contract to build a house. You finally have the down payment and you hire a general contractor, but instead of the general contractor hiring reputable, experienced framers, electricians, plumbers, etc., the general contractor hires buddies who have never worked in home construction. Your house will never be built. That’s the situation we face today with Trump and his incompetent staff. He has appointed people for their loyalty, not their professional credentials and thus we have a government in which chaos reigns and a president who is free to pursue self-enrichment at the expense of the US with no brakes on his misuse of presidential power.
Mr. Bruni,
I think this is one of very very best pieces. I especially like your paragraph, "Trump slyly markets his anti-professionalism as anti-elitism and a rejection of staid, cautious thinking. But it’s really his way of excusing his ignorance, costuming his incompetence and greenlighting his hooliganism."
Among all Trump's faults I don't recall this being pointed out, and if it has, certainly not as starkly. If anything can shake a Republican this piece can. I've got it bookmarked and on its way to my Republican Congressman Doug LaMalfa.
Many thanks.
4
It's all part of his Dunning-Kruger disorder; he can't stand people who are better than he is, like Barack Obama, and wants nothing more than to destroy them. I wish more people had listened to the mental health and political PROFESSIONALS who spoke out against Trump before he was elected, but too many of Trump's supporters have the same biases against education and professionalism that he has. The question we all need to pose to ourselves is, why do the uneducated and unprofessional have the upper hand in our political system today?
1
In addition to contempt for expertise at anything, Trump has no concept of honor. Because he is bereft of it himself, he does not respect it nor see the need for it in others. 'You think we're so innocent, George? ((Stephanopolis))"
2
I think it is about time that SOMEONE from the press point out to Stephanie Grisham that she too is an unelected bureaucrat. The difference between Ms Grisham and William Taylor is a that Mr Taylor has spent the past 50 years serving this country with the utmost professionalism and devoid of an political entanglements.
Ms Grisham’s career has spanned 3 years, most of that time peerlessly defending, praising and sometimes explaining the significance of FLOTUS’s fashion and decorating choices. Ms Grisham has parlayed her “professionalism” into the position of Presidential Press Secretary. Since however Ms Grisham has never held a press conference since becoming Press Secretary, I might suggest she is woefully under qualified and/or woefully overpaid for said position and perhaps should consider herself lucky that Shawn Spicer preceded her in that position. Her performance to date as press secretary is only slightly less embarrassing, leaving her comments on anyone of Mr Taylor’s stature moot. She should consider herself lucky that she fits in nicely with her cabal of White House misfits.
3
“Dooming his presidency”. Is Frank Bruni in possession of information that the rest of us don’t have?? I remember Hillary’s fans declaring Trump’s doom three years ago. How’d that work out?? Thanks, but I’ll wait for the results of the election before I declare doom
Would our president choose surgery on himself with a non-surgeon?
Or defense of himself with a non-lawyer?
Presumably not.
Trump uses, and I use the term advisedly, professionals when he needs them for his own self-interests.
If the word "hypocrite" didn't exist, it would have to be invented to describe him. Heaven, or perhaps Congress, help us all.
2
Having run a small organization I have thought all along that Trump's disdain for aides that know something would be his undoing. What concerns me most is in my organization, and I had very good people around me, mistakes were made, but, they were small and correctable. In an organization as big as the U.S. government, supervised by thugs, white nationalists, grifters, and out and out incompetents, that mistakes would, which even now are being compounded, will be catastrophic. You get a small sample of what I talking about with climate change. Not only do we have no one in charge of this problem who knows what they are talking about, but, we actually have individuals in power pushing an agenda in direct opposition to what the science is now telling us. Even more frightening, these catastrophic events may only start appearing in his second term---and then, we are really headed for a Mad Max scenario.
2
After hearing NPR interview evangelicals nothing any body says will keep them from voting for him, one said we just about have the judiciary locked up he doing a great job. It is not just him it is the power I guess to not sell cake to a gay person it would also seem the GOP and its followers don't care if they break the law laws after all laws are for weak people. They should all go to jail for not protecting the Republic.
3
Career public servant here.
There is often a healthy, if sometimes tense, dialogue between political appointees, whose very ignorance can be a spur to innovation and good policy changes, and career people, the best of whom are actual experts, and know what works and what probably won't. The executive branches of federal and local governments need this dialogue because they have the very hardest and most complex job in governance, which is to achieve outcomes that balance the interests of everyone. They have to resist the temptation of short-term pseudo-gains in favor of building long-term healthy and adaptable service-delivery systems.
Since Reagan, however, those of us who've made our careers in the executive branch have been increasingly devalued. The softer contempt manifested by importing methodologies that work only in the profit sector, the forced public-private partnerships, and the sudden policy lurches led by "mavericks" who want to "blow up" established institutions have been the norm for many years.
Trump is only the most vicious and ignorant of many critics.
6
After the election of tRump I was devastated but thought that the professionals in Congress from the GOP would serve as a check on him because they had the interest of the country, first.
Boy, was I wrong.
So, the question is...what does tRump have on them (provided no doubt from Putin)?
1
It was the long time "professional" people working at the FBI and CIA and the DOJ who hatched the Mueller hoax, for only one example. And so you expect Mr. Trump to believe that all such professionals are magically now trustworthy? How naive can you get? From the very beginning, even before his presidency, Mr. Trump was considered a dangerous man by many in DC. I suspect that he was immediately thought of this way similar to why Shirley Chisholm was also considered dangerous, in her time, and by the same disgusting mainstream media. She, too, was viciously slandered. She had to deal with two fronts of attack, for her gender and her race. But both Mr. Trump and Ms. Chisholm, to use her famous phrase, were "unbought and unbossed."
1
Lest we forget, bear in mind that Trump is empowered by a contemptuous Government of the People party. The chief operatives of the party have cast their fate with Trump; apparently because of his ability to enfeeble the national government.
"Stephanie Grisham, the White House’s peerlessly nasty press secretary, has sought to discredit Taylor’s account of the pressure on Ukraine’s new president by saying that he belonged to a cabal of “radical unelected bureaucrats.”"
Why is it that that phrase alway pops out from Trump's allies, and staffers whenever he faces serious legal jeopardy over this or that?
"A cabal of radical unelected bureaucrats"? In Trumpland, conspiracy without evidence is always the first attack, feeding presidential paranoia and giving him attack lines to use at rallies.
At this point in his presidency--I sometimes hesitate to call it a presidency, because this man spends most of his time inhaling FOX News--we are dealing with true crazy that 40% of the nation blindly parrots.
The patriots and professionals we'll soon see testify have shown true courage--but when the 40% and Congressional Republicans live in a parallel crackpot universe, how many citizens will believe them?
6
The phrase “ radical unelected bureaucrats “ sounds like a translation, another gift from the Russians. If Fox “ News” magically went off the air for a year or so, this country would regain the adult ability to discern and analyze facts. Our people have become addicted to the adrenaline rush of conspiracy theories. Bolton was right about the drug deal, and the billionaire dealers keep us hooked on crazy stuff, the new opiate of the people.
You said it yourself, Mr. Bruni: Trump never wanted to be President. He simply wanted to be called President.
6
Took a look at Hannity tonight - he was yelling “circus” at the camera and pushing for Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan to stay with his pal.
Fascinating that Hannity and Fox - experts in tabloid circuses - are talking about serious impeachment hearings from a legitimate, segment of government in their Murdoch tabloid expertise.
3
"...after decades of interacting with them both [William Taylor and Marie Yovanovitch], I could not guess how either of them votes.” This is the definition of the consummate government professional. And why this president is the clear and present danger to the United States of America.
12
Of course he has contempt for true professionals.
He has contempt for the courts, the Constitution, the Congress, people he hires, people he fires, anyone serving or had served in the military, anyone not white, anyone not richer than he.
It is a long, long list of people he has contempt for, so why not true professionals too?
7
Donald Trump always thinks he's the smartest guy in the room. He is not by any stretch of the imagination.
5
Yes. A grifter's gotta grift, and a bully's gotta bully. Not remarkable. Remarkable that he was elected, of course, but what's utterly dismaying is the support he gets from Republicans in Congress. They seem willing to burn everything, including the truth and the rule of law, to save the guy. In bad faith, or for fear that they be annihilated by the other tribe.
This did not start with Trump, it can't have. And the entire trajectory in undistinguishable from that of a nascent dictatorship.
4
Forty percent of Americans reject professionalism too. And that forty percent rules the country because the constitution and gerrymandering etthat minority rule over the majority.
There will be no reckoning
4
Trump learned hot to cheat as he tried, and failed, to claw his way into the very top of the New York real estate market. So, instead of success, he substituted endless bragging, unending self promotion and kept several platoons of lawyers busy fighting off lawsuits brought on by his shoddy business practices. (He was even sued by one law firm whose job it was to deal with all the lawsuits against him).
Here's the biggest problem with an explosion of lies cast across the skies like 4th of July rockets: eventually, the lie becomes the man. The liar loses touch with reality, even forgets he is mortal and has faults. Trump, by his own hard work at constructing the big lies about himself, has built a mental trap, no escape. On all sides, the "greatness" traps him in his own private asylum. He cannot learn, change or grow.
Those who slog their way into and through government, having earned advanced degrees at noted universities, do so without the expectation of fame, great wealth or even ordinary recognition beyond a good service mention at a retirement ceremony. Many love the work they do and many take deep satisfaction in the idea that they do, indeed, make a difference for their country. These are real people with a deep commitment.
Does Trump hate them? It can be said that Trump hates everything that isn't Trump aside from his daughters, his multiple wives and the women he bedded. Civil servants are just tools, things, to him to be manipulated like any other object.
8
Trump is the President of the United States, elected by its citizens. He has the power and authority to fire every bureaucrat in the State department. Apparently he should do so immediately.
Trump’s Presidency was doomed the day he got elected.
3
What is not brought up by Mr. Bruni is why Trump gets away with his manifest unfitness for.... any position of authority and responsibility, not just the presidency. And, that is because his core of support is made up of similarly incorrigibly ignorant people who resent others who are actually accomplished and dedicated professionals.
Like Trump, they demand that their world view, their reasoning, their cluelessness be respected. Sorry, not sorry. Their views, arguments and knowledge base is only entitled to due respect. Which is: Not much.
3
This contempt for professionalism is cover for Trump's own deep insecurities. He's known all his life that he's looked down on. He's been a joke for decades. He's had to force himself into whatever circles he's ever been accepted into. He is well aware of his own failings, and professionals only serve as comparisons to his own lack of any qualification to do anything. So, by surrounding himself with incompetent lackeys and yes-men, he stands a better chance of looking capable. (The most notable incompetent yes-man is Mike Pence. Trump couldn't have anyone in the 2nd spot who might outshine him, so he found the least probable candidate he could.) Trump usually shows a shocking lack of self-awareness, but in this regard he knows himself very well. He's ever on guard and never wants to give the public a chance to compare him to someone who truly knows what they're doing.
1
Who is the Chief Executive and Commander in Chief?
The President or the "True Professionals?"
Who sets policy?
Who is the boss?
Who is insubordinate if executive orders are not followed?
And who supported the "Resistance" in 2017 after claiming that not supporting the elected President would be traitorous?
Good grief.
1
Trump has contempt for true professionals because he will never be one.
He's jealous of them.
3
Dishonest Donald is a professional swindler, a racketeer. He has been able to get away with it for so long by using the legal systems expensive requirements to shield himself from at least a thousand small contractor lawsuits. Put out for bids a project on a hotel with his name on it, contract for work, when the job is done, not pay, and force the contractor to sue. Agree to settle for half saying the work was not as agreed on, even after passing inspection. Small contractor has bills to pay, cannot afford to wait a year or two to get to civil court, has to settle. This is his business plan, it is common and persuasive, it is racketeering. His fake university was sued under the RICO act, his bankruptcies have been swindling of the investors, and robbing the retirement plans, paying himself to manage the bankruptcies.
He tried to blame Deutschebank for the losses on the Chicago Hotel, said they were responsible, did not want to pay the mortgage, just a swindle. But keep in mind it is the Republicans that are part of this, follow the money, they are no better than he is, they are swindling you, the taxpayer, the wage earner, you will pay for this. The GOP politicians will walk away with their pockets stuffed with your debt.
4
Look, you can't assume Americans actually want competent leadership. 60+ million Americans went to the polls in 2016 and voted for Cadet Bone-spur. Today, roughly the same number of Americans are perfectly OK with his mis-management of the country. They don't care if his army of incompetents sabotage a government they believe to be unnecessary, oppressive or "corrupt." For them it doesn't matter if the country functions well. Just as long as they can clutch their bibles and guns ever-more-tightly and stick it to the coastal elites, they don't care. Competence for them is a roadblock in breaking things.
4
"Trump slyly markets his anti-professionalism as anti-elitism and a rejection of staid, cautious thinking. But it’s really his way of excusing his ignorance, costuming his incompetence and greenlighting his hooliganism."
You can embroider that on your pillowcase and pass it down to successive generations to describe this terrible human being acting as President, who mocks and disrespects everything that is honest, decent, ethical and lawful.
Why? Because Bad Boy Trump knows it sells to a group of self-pitying, resentful people, who have been passed by and forgotten by the world economically, socially, and politically.
Resentment, even hatred, for professionals is one theme in JD Vance's book "Hillbilly Elegy." Yesterday NPR interviewed a group of evangelicals about Trump, some of whom echoed this resentment of being ignored and looked down on by society until Trump came along and paid attention to them and even gave them what they wanted.
Yes, they mostly didn't like Trump's behavior, but no other recent president as done for the evangelicals what Trump has done. Though Trump is not religious (an understatement), he and the Republicans are pushing an agenda that evangelicals have long sought to impose on the nation. They called it "religious liberty," which is the negative right to discriminate against those people who offend their religious teachings (a long list) and the right to have prayer in the schools.
No matter what Trump does, they vow to vote for him again
3
One characteristic of a profession is self discipline and another is service in the public interest. Trump is clueless about both.
4
Hillary Clinton ran on established policy and was the polar opposite of Trump on pretty much every issue. However, she was not elected President, no matter how much foot stomping and posturing has followed. We have an election next year and yet, there is not the predicted confidence that a professional politician will replace the 'clown' in office. The roster of candidates are all deeply flawed, in spite of being carefully promoted and protected. The professional policy makers are in a twit and yell Fire at every tweet - the sky is falling. So. Elect someone who reflects your ideals and approach. Impeachment is the wrong road to go down and it will end up hurting the very people who are in favor of it. What ever has happened to my beloved Democrats? Pull it together and stop being petulant.
2
Why denigrate democratic candidates, they have all been real public servants, unlike the money grubbing criminal taking up space in White House.
3
Joyce Vance, a former United States federal attorney write yesterday, “No one prevents a witness from testifying who can exonerate them.” Exactly! The fact that Trump has ordered all of his sycophants to not testify, to ignore lawful subpoenas is evidence that he is indeed guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors! The Republicans can argue, put up smoke and mirrors, lie and tell talk tales, but the truth always surfaces!
4
It’s too bad that it took you so long to add your considerable voice to the heights of this creep’s depravity. I’d like to say better late than never, but, you could have done so much good if you had gotten real on this sooner, instead of endless columns on fear of trump and how this toddler would whine, kick and scream. The real fear is what he has done and will continue to do when he manipulates those who are afraid of standing up to bullies. Glad you seem to have joined the side of the angels. welcome aboard.
2
Given that trump is a man who got everything from his daddy and given his very long list of failure, is anybody surprised that he hates expertise and professionals? A man who thinks his "gut" is equal to years of study and training. He is indeed the perfect leader for Jackpot America, Lottery Land of the Free.
2
This president has gotten away with everything so far because his sycophants and enablers in the GOP, either because they are scared of him or of his unmovable base, are determined that it is party over country. This impeachment inquiry followed by a vote in the House and a trial in the Senate is a real test for America. The question is: who will survive this trauma? We, the People or a corrupt and inept president. The world is watching...I trust the officials signed up to testify this week and next week will do their job and will be truthful under oath. Will the Republicans will be as truthful with Americans?
2
This contempt for professionals is what makes him so relatable to the throngs of worshippers at his rallies. It's an old trope - the revenge of the regular guy who thinks he can do anything because he doesn't take the time or have the educational wherewithal to realize that something is beyond him. It is the same fuel that feeds the ire against "elites". And, sadly, this country is loaded with uninformed, undereducated and intellectually lazy voters who are all too willing to bring a sledge hammer to a problem that requires a scalpel and years (and sometimes decades) of training.
2
Our democracy was founded after we revolted against the tyranny of a king. Our people do not seek to be ruled. Donald Trump seeks to be our king, with no accountability for anything but his ignorant whims. The only thing he actually likes about his job is the fame, attention, ceremonial trappings, and the mindless adoration of his “base,” or rather, his “subjects.” The actual job, not so much. He knows he is an imposter, and so does anybody else with a scintilla of reason.
3
"That story is the collision of a president who has absolutely no regard for professionalism and those who try to embody it, the battle between an arrogant, unscrupulous yahoo and his humble, principled opposites."
Though here I refrain from comment on any specific instances
of the failures of "professionalism," the failures have become so widespread---economists, lawyers, police, FBI, college professors/administrators, climate scientists, to cite a few general areas of which we are all aware, one can easily understand why a general disdain has arisen.
For an extended discussion, see Social Sciences as Sorcery. Many "professionals" have abandoned disinterested work in favor of advocacy. Thus often leading to the feeling, "you can't trust anybody."
Frank -- When you write: "Trump slyly markets his anti-professionalism as anti-elitism and a rejection of staid, cautious thinking," you give him too much credit. He's a boor, through and through. His words and actions prove it every day.
2
It's all very simple. First rate people hire first rate people. Second rate people hire third rate people.
3
Trumps contempt for professionals is due to his inability to read or watch anything of substance that might cause him to have an original thought. He cannot tolerate there are people more intelligent then himself so he denigrates them and tears then down. What we have here is a true narcissist who must be the center of attention at all times. Very sad state of affairs.
4
It's simple. It's not about contempt for professionals. It's that professionals get in the way of his private deal making. That's why he prefers his family or personal thugs for making deals with other countries. The pros would object to his cronyism and attempts to consolidate personal power at the expense of liberal democracies around the world.
The guy is a straight up criminal.
1
Incompetence, nepotism and selective-ignorance will bring down the industrial military empire built on lies with the help of the GOP; histories most destructive empire.
Professionalism is for the little people who’ve had to scratch and claw their way to expertise, while spoiled rich children have this quality bestowed upon them by implication. They’re not our social betters for nothing, after all.
Excellent article and one I totally agree with.
2
His contempt for "professionals" and "elites" is the essence of his popularity with his cult.
They like him because he gives them scapegoats -- but mostly because he gives the finger to fancy-pants elites (i.e., "people who know things").
That's pretty much consistent with anyone anywhere whose popularity is called "populist".
There has always been a vein of small-minded anti-intellectualism in American life. It is now running the country.
3
The true professionals of our so called Deep State have kept the world "right" for decades despite the flawed errors of Republican Presidents and appointed department heads. We need to all thank them daily for their profound wisdom. A prime example being how they both predicted and managed the Arab Spring so as to minimize disruption in these vital nations. Thank you Deep State !!!
There are several psych-oriented explanations for millions of people's capacity to like a president whose heart is essentially a bank and a throne. One of them is that their baseline approach to subjective and objective matters (e.g., politics, science) is emotionalized attitude. Their feeling underlies and supersedes their perception. A fact -- quid pro quo, for example -- is emasculated by their emotional need. A fascinating subject for therapy, a disaster for our nation.
2
Where’s the part about this dooming his presidency? All I see are the true believers who would still support Trump if he shot a man on 5th Avenue. Unbelievable.
2
The Jacksonian are back in power.treaties mean nothing. Our word means nothing. All’s fair.
2
a wonderful and lyrical screed, imbued with precise detail.
1
I agree with every word of Frank Bruni. It’s too bad that there seems to be absolutely no pushback from the White House press corps against the outrageous smears and putdowns of Stephanie Grisham and her out-of-control boss.This is the kind of language you expect from the presidents of banana republics. Donald Trump has completely debased the office of the presidency and no longer deserves the great deference shown to that office.
2
This President respects nothing and no one, professionalism included. The only thing he notices, and very literally idolizes, is power—or exhibitions of it, real or fraudulent. History will judge this our lowest point.
2
People who always do what's right, not what's easy are always a thorn in the side or a burr in the saddle for those who don't. Mr. Trump is king of the integrity misfits.
2
"But Trump’s war on professionalism and professionals is also its own distinct theme in his business career, which is rife with cheating, and his political life, which is greased with lies."
That's not fair.
His personal life is also rife with cheating and lies. As wives one through three could tell you.
3
I really couldn't care less that Trump disregards or treats with contempt professionals within the government.
What I care about is his contempt for democracy and the rule of law. He is a criminal who must be impeached, convicted and sent to prison.
Let's stop with the fringe issues about contempt for professionals. We're far past that as an issue we should worry about.
2
You're right, Frank: Trump has pretty much lost the "professional" government class. So, I guess that means he's doomed -- sure to be impeached and certain to lose the election?
1
And as this willfully and profoundly ignorant president continues on his quest to bring American democracy to heel, his unshakeable supporters continue ( to paraphrase Isaac Asimov) to proclaim that “his, ( and their) ignorance is as good as the knowledge of any trained and educated expert” whatever the field.
When Trumpers speak contemptuously about “elites” they really mean “the educated.”
3
This impeachment is going to implode on Democrats. The Ukraine President has stated he felt no pressure & no quid pro quo. There wasn’t anything in the transcript. These so called professional civil servants are actually deep state abc assets planted with the sole purpose to bring a sitting president down. The left has called for impeachment since the day after the election just because they suffered an embarrassing loss with a horrible candidate. The Clintons have never made an honest penny in their lives, basically all extortion & quid pro quo and literally deposited into the Clinton Foundation. Schiff is quite possibly the worst person that could have led this inquiry. He has up to 15 documented visits to Ed Bucks house too.
3
@JOSEPH The Ukraine president and his staff were aware of the pressure being put on them to do Trump's bidding. This is factual information found in the impeachment inquiry testimonies. The transcript that Trump did release (he never released the entire transcript) includes him telling the Ukraine president, "I have a favor to ask." He asked the Ukraine president to publicly announce an investigation into Biden. Regardless of what Trump says, facts are facts.
2
@JOSEPH thanks for sharing and exposing standard Republican taking points, it’s good to know what the other dude is thinking.
Message to the professionals who are the "deep state":
Thank you for your service, especially given the current person in charge of the executive branch. By and large, you are avatars of professionalism and service, and I cannot overstate how much I appreciate that.
4
I, like millions of others around the world, will be paying close attention to your impeachment proceedings. Like them, I need to know what America and Americans are. Are they best represented by their Commander-in-Chief? Or do the quiet, honest professionals better exemplify the American way?
We urgently need to know.
2
At his core, Trump is obviously a very insecure person. As such, he abhors those whose character and achievements are evident. And it is much the same with his "base", at least those not in support solely for the tax cuts. They are the left behind, some because of factors beyond their control, but too many because they, owing to choices in life, are ill prepared for the modern world. Their anger, their frustration is palpable, but misplaced. Trump will soon be history. But those in his base will not. That is the challenge for our nation. Nothing good ever comes from anger. Only destruction.
6
What we do not need is political hacks ignoring the expertise of people who have been dealing with situations through multiple administrations, of both parties. These are the people some call the "deep state". They are people who have devoted their lives to service to country, when they could obviously been making much more money in the private sector. True, not everyone in government rises to this level, there are plenty of apparatchiks in government, but these are not the people we are talking about here. These are people who have been immersed in their areas of expertise for many years, and their knowledge should not be dismissed. A good political leader will use their knowledge to craft a smart path through a situation, but will do so for America, not simply their own re-election. Mr. Trump is not a good political leader. He is not a good leader, at all. His trail of failed businesses show that full well. It should have been entirely clear where he wanted to take the nation when he said he wanted to run it like a business, sadly like his businesses.
5
Trump’s “war on professionalism and professionals” is apparently the very thing his base strongly approves of, and why Trump has resonated so powerfully with that thought system. How can that sort of thinking/approval be dealt with, when they only choose to listen to lies? Those who perceive that their only recourse is to resentfully drag everyone and everything down to their level rather than pulling themselves up by the bootstraps have spoken, and Trump is their hero. They are not interested in the truth, and can’t be bothered to look into the inevitable consequences of their actions. It apparently just feels good to pursue the course of action they pursue. If getting ahead seems to difficult, then better to make sure we all go down the tubes, I guess. In the end, whatever Trump does is what resonates with them and nothing anyone says or does makes any difference, certainly not those who have devoted their lives to honestly and bravely serving our government. What possible meaning could that have for someone with little education or morals, and no hopeful future to look forward to? The people who read the New York Times already know Trump is a bad choice to lead the free world but there doesn’t seem to be a way to reach those who have chosen to believe otherwise.
6
This is what happens when you elect a man who knows everything, and who is disinclined to listen to anyone else.
It has nothing to do with "professionalism" as much as it has to do with one following one's own concept of absolute power.
Because in reality, that's all it's about.
In the course of his time in the White House, Donald Trump has made certain that his word is the rule of law -- which is basically why he has no problem stepping over the Constitution and the mores of socially accepted behavior, while surrounding himself with those who do not question his will.
This is about as far from the meaning of Democracy as you can get.
And now this is America.
3
Two Proverbs come to mind. "Whoever refuses correction is their own worst enemy, but one who listens to reproof learns sense." Proverbs 15.32 "It is wrong to show favor to the wicked, to deprive the righteous of justice." Proverbs 18,5 The truth of these ancient words of advice stand before us in the WH. Our hope is that the corollary of these actions and attitudes comes to the WH soon. We need a POTUS who listens to reproof (i.e. expertise, professionalism) and favors government employees who possess honest integrity.
3
Trump seems to reflect a fairly common American distrust of the career bureaucrat, the technocratic expert, the Ivory tower thinker, and so on. For the Baby Boomer generation that tossed so much support behind Trump, I can't help but wonder how much of this is rooted in the legacy of Vietnam. After the war, and even in some circles up to this day, there's been this dubious narrative that common folks were led into a war justified by wonky foreign policy theories and lost due to the mismanagement by bloodless technocrats. Despite the fact that everyday Americans repeated voted into power presidents happy to pursue the war, showed support for the war, and happily vilified anti-war activists, the idea that a bunch of elite politicos and egghead number crunchers deceived and betrayed us seems like its a permanent component of Boomer thinking about government.
Given how many people in this country think Trump is just great, you have to wonder how many of our institutions are staffed and run by folks who aren't professionals and have no respect for professionals. One might start by looking at the owners and administrators of for-profit "colleges and universities." Many of the Silicon Valley start-ups are run by the same sort of "don't bother me with the facts" sort of people who manage to convince banks and investors that they can make millions by believing in their pipe dreams. This mentality is widespread and indicates a general degradation of fact-based business and political policy making.
2
Competence that does not involve a bank account is well beyond his skill set....Look, we spend a whole lot of time and energy trying to explain this man. Very good, educated and dedicated people get shoved under his bus on a regular basis. And we shrug , accept it, and allow him to conduct himself like a well dressed carnie grifter with a large streak of tyrant that grows larger each time he does this.
It is always their fault and he has a well practiced attitude of contempt and dismissive insults to justify how he openly slanders anyone who is not a member of his adoration cult.
Somewhere along the line, Americans forgot that electing people who represent the best of who we are or strive to be is what the world admires.
He built his career on questionable business practices and routinely cheated smaller contractors out of their payments in his multiple trips to bankruptcy court. The fact that that was okay with some voters speaks to a deeper problem than we have yet to face.
We do not aspire to be better, to represent finer values , embrace integrity as something of deep value.
We have given up any fantasy of being the beacon of hope and living with dignity.
Trump didn't do that.......WE DID.
2
"There is no limit to what a man can accomplish if he doesn't care who gets the credit." (Truman)
I suspect our foreign service leaders would agree, so long as "woman" was added.
It is the antithesis to DJT.
3
Trump promised - an oxymoron in itself - that he’d hire the absolutely best. Not only did he avoid professionals, he had an unerring knack for employing those who had a proven interest in dismantling the institutions they had been selected to lead. And let’s never forget the Republican Congress that rubber-stamped virtually all of Trump’s miscreant malefactors.
5
A moment I savor occurs when a Trumpie criticizes a statement by saying "That's just your education talking."
My response is "I hope so." As opposed to the willful, or criminal, ignorance that will go on display later today when the Republicans attack the House Intelligence Committee witnesses.
4
Trump's ignorance mirrors that of his supporters. It is the envy of the C and D students against those "elites" who got good grades and went on to have successful careers. I for one am sick of having to kowtow to this know-nothingism--Joe Biden take note.
7
So we have two tribes - two choices only? Who are the "professionals" who brought us Iraq and its non-existent weapons of mass destruction, Reagan's Iran- Contra that sold embargoed weapons to Iran to fund the Contras in Nicaragua, the Gulf of Tonkin fake news premise for Viet Nam vs the Republicans gerrymandered corporate funded minority rule "led" by the the malignant personality disorder narcissism of Trump ( an untreatable disorder).
You need to include the real answer - that Democracy is at this point sadly rigged. Senators bought. Laws actually written by their corporate masters.
As Gore Vidal said so well ...."we speak of greatness"
I believe Mr. Bruni has the situation backwards.
It is the so-called "true professionals" that hold Donald Trump in utter contempt.
The True Professionals behave mostly as High Priests of the Orthodox Church of Bureaucratic Authority. Donald Trump is the Heretic. They will burn him at the stake, most assuredly as the Mandarins of the Chinese Empire brought the Emperor under Their control by burning down the Palace.
The True Professionals have no goal beyond the protection of Their Priveledge. Status Quo. Stay the Course. "Thats not how we do things around here".
Just as nothing gets done in Congress, unless the True Professionals shuffle paper from one office to the other......So the President cannot accomplish anything if there is a True Professional whisper campaign raging behind his back.
4
@Wherever Hugo with respect, that was a hyperbolic ramble with no facts presented. It was, however, an opinion of an opinion piece so facts were not needed but sure would add value and credibility t what you said.
2
Who and what is a 'true professional'?
Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning showed far more bravery, honor and patriotism at more personal and professional risk than any of these career U.S. diplomats and military officials.
Until the whistleblower smoked Donald Trump out into releasing the July 25, 2019 'transcript' they all had been content to remain silent on a scheme that had been carefully concocted and crafted for months to extort the President of an American ally Ukraine. By holding back military aid, a White House visit and attendance at the inauguration of the incoming new President of Ukraine.
The continuing silence of Mike Pence, Mike Pompeo, Rick Perry and Bill Barr along with all of those who have followed Donald Trump's orders to refuse to appear to testify before House Congressional committees with jurisdiction investigating this Ukraine scheme are the acts of true professionals.
Whether or not you are a professional is not relevant. Ethics and morals are human characters and traits that have nothing to do with our jobs aka professions.
The cliché that one man with the truth constitutes a majority is apropos here with respect to putting duty, honor and country first.
Inaction and silence while looking the other way as the path of least resistance and not rocking the boat can easily be justified as being a true professional. That has been the excuse used by Rex Tillerson, James Mattis, John Kelly and H.R. McMaster.
1
@Blackmamba Snowden and Manning definitely took personal risks. They also violated their oaths and did not report the issues through their available channels. I agree with your thoughts on inaction by Trump staff. From what I have read of the testimony, the government professions outside of Trump's staff have been anything but silent and have been reporting issues up their chain of command and via the whistleblower process, which has helped get the impeachment process rolling.
1
Trump was chosen by his followers to destroy the web of career professionals that are glue that holds the government together. The GOP and Trump have branded everyone who represents the rule of law or steady government as elites and thus deep state. But in the end it is a power grab by the GOP as those who profess loyalty to the corrupt Trump are given immediate entrance to Trump's inner sanctums. And those who question this power grab and corruption enter the outer circles of traitors to Trump. The GOP tried to drown the government in a bath tub and having failed that are relying on Trump's inept corruption to do the trick.
2
Forty percent of America and Putin put Donald Trump in the White House. He was not prepared to lead the free world and he still isn't. In fact, he wants to be a dictator. It is his goal. I hope this impeachment inquiry at least slows him down on that path. Trump is a no-nothing, insecure and childish beneath his hubris. He covers his insecurity with arrogance, bombast, and amorality. It is all starting to fall apart on him. Trump may well go down in the history books as the man who ended the American experiment and turned this country into a dictatorship. I hope not. But it's heading that way.
3
Why would he ever need to consult a professional? He knows about everything better than anyone else, don't you know?
1
I would not call it “contempt” so much as “fear.” Trump, the consummate con man, is in mortal fear of the truth, which by definition is the opposite of a con.
3
Unfortunately, these seems to be only a symptom of a much broader cultural issue - rampant anti-intellectualism. It is easy to complain about government, academia, etc. because in real life there are no easy answers to complex issues. So it is just easier to criticize everything and this has been amplified by Fox News and the like. Trump supporters appear to love him precisely because of his incompetence and somehow they don't hold him to the same standard or even expect him to fix things or actually govern. I find it baffling but this ethos has got a grip on most of country. They don't appear to understand that their end game will only lead to the erosion of America's prominence in the world and reduced opportunity for us all.
4
Trump, alas, is not alone in his contempt for a professional civil service. Too many Americans--and people living in Brisbane (David, NY Times pick)--share it. It's a battle that has gone for nearly two centuries between civil service advocates such as Carl Schurz who sought a professional civil service, working for the public good, which might well make mistakes, and grifters such as Trump who would make the government into their own private satrapy operated for the personal benefit of them, their family and friends.
3
It's Trump's devotees who worry me. Those who think he's God's appointed one and excuse him as if he's the second coming of King David. God help us all.
4
@Lolly they have a very narrow view of god. Can’t look beyond their noses.
"..excusing his ignorance, costuming his incompetence and greenlighting his hooliganism. He rejects professionalism because it tempers self-promotion and forbids such grandiose claims..."
This is so well written and so true. Great analysis of the chaos that never ends.
4
Sure Trump relies on professionals. The same way a race horse owner relies on a top veterinarian to secretly inject his horse with pain killers and amphetamines. The same way a Mafia Don relies on professional killers to "influence" the competition. The same way a dictator relies on his Generals to conquer territory. The same way a construction company relies upon a professional inspector to pass inferior work and materials. The same way the accused relies on lawyers to intimidate.
Roy Cohn was a professional. G.Gordon Liddy was a professional. Machine Gun Kelly was a professional. Heinz Gudarian was a professional.
Trump fires the professionals who say "No". He uses and discards the professionals who say "Yes".
2
trump's expertise in anything is minuscule ergo he must denigrate anyone who appears to have any smarts whatsoever.
1
So what, then does it say, that enough Americans voted for him to make the 2016 election even close? That around forty percent of the country still supports him?
2
@Dryland Sailor These State Department officials most certainly do not work for Donald. They work for The United States of America. And when they see our president blatantly breaking the law (using your tax dollars to extort a vulnerable ally for personal political gain), they have not only the right, but the obligation to speak out. Enough with the Republican taking points about "a coup." If free and fair elections and a president who follows the law mean anything to you, you should be clamoring for impeachment and removal.
10
Donald Trump wants people who will only tell him what he wants to hear and who will do whatever he says. If, by some miracle, a professional happened to be able to do those things without sacrificing their professionalism, I'm sure Donald Trump would be happy with them. He might even brag about their professionalism. The problem that he has with professionalism in practice is that professionals keep telling him what he doesn't want to hear or refusing his orders. Some of the people whom Mr. Bruni listed as not professional were appointed for the specific purpose of wrecking their agencies. In that sense, they were well qualified.
5
It's the children's hour. Trump is our Peter Pan, the boy who refused to grow up. Professionalism is for adults. Trump plays at things. He was never so happy, or so successful, as when he played at being a business tycoon on a reality television show. Things didn't go as well in his actual businesses, but never mind that. He found a new playground: politics! And it turned out that it's much easier to spin stories and warp reality playing politics than it ever was playing business. In his own mind Trump is The Greatest President of Them All. And he's found millions of Americans ready to play along. Peter Pan never had it so good.
There will, of course, be a price to pay for all this childishness. But it will be the country, not Donald Trump, who pays it. Trump will move on to other games in some other playground. The country will have to pull itself back together (if it can) and repair alliances around the world (if it can). It will fall to the adults who serve our country, the professionals whom Trump scorns, to clean up the mess Trump will leave behind.
6
What everyone seems to ignore is his "consciousness of guilt." He knows he's been a con man and has worked the system and committed crimes since his business beginnings.
His every decision is an attempt to obfuscate the truth and enrich himself. He cares nothing about anything else.
When you factor into this equation that he has the intelligence and maturity level of a second-grader, you get the result we're all now facing.
This man is capable of doing absolutely anything in an attempt to keep the truth from coming out. We should all pay attention, all the time. If we don't, he may win.
12
True professionals remember who they work for and don’t spread 2nd and 3rd hand accounts about their boss.
2
These people do remember who they work for — the American people. As for spreading second- and third-hand “rumors”, the original whistle blower’s account has been fully corroborated. Had it not, had it amounted to no more than a half-baked conspiracy theory of the sort your favorite president traffics in, only then might you have half a point.
1
Trump was elected by the American people to do things differently.
Even his most severe credits have to admit he tries to fulfill his promises.
Some foreign policy "experts" disagree with what he is doing. These experts were not elected. They work for the President.
Now they are trying to get rid of him by means other than an election. That is a "coup d'etat." Even if not by force of arms.
We must not sacrifice our form of Government to get rid of one man. 2020 elections are less than a year away.
I think I am as tired of Trump as anyone, but the danger of him for one more year is far eclipsed by the prospect of setting a precedent for getting rid of presidents someone does not agree with.
I pray the coup fails and all the plotters are punished. For our Nation's sake.
4
Trump is not being investigated because we don't agree with him. He is going to be impeached because what he did was wrong and to ignore it would be to normalize corruption at the highest level of government.
32
@Dryland Sailor tell us about where Trump stands on his promise to deliver better, cheaper healthcare. Tell us about where Trump stands on his promise to build a wall and make Mexico pay for it. Tell us where Trump stands on his promise to release his tax returns.
And impeachment is a "coup" only if the entire constitution is illegitimate. In November 2018, the people elected a House of Representatives to use the processes of the Constitution to investigate the President's abuses of power.
Oh, and locking up your political opponents is not an American thing, either.
24
@Dryland Sailor Impeachment is constitutionally how we remove an unethical president from office. It is not a Coup D'Etat. It's not sacrificing our government to do exactly what the framers wrote that we should do at a time like this. It's not that people don't "agree" with Trump. It's that he basically used his office as the President of the US to blackmail a foreign power into investigating a political rival (and a United States citizen) FOR HIS OWN PERSONAL GAIN, not the gain of the country's. Do you think this is okay, and would it be okay for future presidents? IF so, that's what will doom our democracy.
26
There is one more very important thing worth mentioning about public servants, and that is unlike politicians who serve themselves as well, true public servants only serve the interests of the public. The American public is about to see this week during testimonies the stark difference between politicians and public servants, and in in my opinion the naked self serving bombastic grandstanding behavior of the politicians juxtaposed against the sober selflessness and professionalism of career government officials which will be ironically one of America's finer moments.
The nastiness of politicians who care nothing, but for their own self promotion acting like recalcitrant children railing against fully formed adults will show that our career public servants are the ones keeping this whole dumpster fire created by politicians under some as semblance of control and functionality.
These career public servants are heroes, because they do their jobs to keep us safe and functional, inspite of politicians' efforts that often seem to do neither, and these politicians possess neither the selflessness, professionalism or heroism to be called public servants.
27
@Shend
So why do people vote for these politicians?
As this column's lead declares, "Trump’s contempt for true professionals
[is not only] driving the impeachment inquiry. It’s dooming his presidency."
In fact, it's dooming the country.
18
Trump simply wants the honor and glory ( for anything) without putting in the preparatory hours of work required.
10
@SPQR
That's so true.
He never bothers to do any actual work. If he wants something to brag about he just declares everything he does as perfect and better than anyone else could have done.
Will we ever find out what happened in his childhood to make him so insecure?
2
Trump and professionalism can hardly even be discussed in the same article. Never have I seen two things further apart from one another.
Your article is spot on. Trump cares about ratings. Trump cares about applause. Trump cares about money. Trump cares about Trump, and Trump only.
2020 can't get here fast enough. Vote Democratic!
18
The question is whether anything that goes on in DC and with the impeachment will make the slightest bit of difference. I fear you greatly overestimate the weight ordinary people, the multitude who would have trouble finding Washington DC on a map, let alone the Ukraine, give to any of this.
There is, I believe, a massive disconnect between what you in the rarefied world of the media and the political opposition find reprehensible about Trump's behavior, and therefore crying out for action, and the extremely low opinion that the public has about politicians in general.
And that's without taking into account the rank partisanship of the GOP. Or the simple fact that, never mind about tomorrow, at the moment the economy is doing okay. Or the fact that many people quite simply don't read or listen to any reporting on this (or that, if they do, they don't turn to the evenhanded and unbiased NYT :-))...
3
@Rudy Flameng
When democrats went home for the midterms, they learned that Americans didn't care about Russian collusion. They cared about health care and economy. Several democrats even mentioned how out of touch the beltway had become.
Fast forward to Ukraine. If Americans didn't care about Russian collusion why would they concern themselves with a single phone call to Ukraine? Their concerns haven't changed.
Pelosi is very smart. She realizes impeachment isn't something that sells well outside the beltway and progressive strongholds. Likely why she wants to wrap it up quickly.
1
@Rudy Flameng You should probably not write off Americans just yet. Those of us who grew up in flyover country and aren't addicted to Fox News propaganda don't all ignore the reality of what is going on.
1
Trump's not the only one who has contempt for Professionalism ! As a candidate he criticized people from all walks of life including women, a former POW,a Gold Star family, the handicapped, and amongst others ...even members of his own Party the GOP. In spite of this the GOP endorsed him and those he ridiculed for the most part backed him. He was going to become more Presidential once elected we were told. Although he was aided by the Electoral College and WIKILEAKS...he still got quite a number of Votes.Again from many who were part of groups bullied by him. Women,immigrants,Veterans etc...all ignored his boorish behavior and Voted him into office. They've ignored his continued chaos and his Administration with an 80% turnover rate and he enjoys the continued support of the GOP and his beloved Fox Alternative Fact Nation. A Nation among us who disregard Climate Science as well as Political Science ! When Mueller's Report was released there were many Lawyers etc. on TV with their Stacks of Mueller's work ready to offer explanations. They were basically disregarded and Barr's deceptive..Alternative Fact rendition of Mueller's Report was preferred over Mueller's own words! Professionalism in Service to our country has routinely been derided as..Deep State Fake News and doesn't seem to hold the respect it should. When so many of us prefer to live in an Alternative Fact Universe...Professionalism seems to take a back seat to lies and misinformation. Trump's Election proves it !
8
How did this man end up in the oval office? Eliminate the electoral college now. Majority vote wins regardless of what state you are in.
12
@Marc A Because middle America's votes count more than the rest of us. Two for them; one for us...
1
Last Saturday, Trump tweeted more than 80 times.
Imagine that.
Trump has never worked a day in his life and has never earned an honest buck.
Even his presidency is suspect due to the Russian interference that he so desperately wants to pin on Ukraine.
15
The question is who can Trump stand? Followed by - BEWARE.
Trump's contempt of True Professionals, LongTime Civil Servants, Government Servants who are Singularly Focused on Advancing American National Interests and who have served Republican and Democratic Presidents, the type of people of whom a person could not guess how they vote?
I don't know which is more troubling, that a person would have contempt of such people or that such people exist at all. Obviously contempt of such enduring, cross administration people is bad, but that such people exist at all is difficult to reconcile with democracy, that people have a choice, and for all contempt a President might have toward such people obviously such people have contempt in return because their existence depends, when things go wrong, or even when things are going right, on the fiction of tossing Presidents out and electing new ones, out with the old and in with the new, etc.
Honestly, what is the public to make of all these government professionals who are there decade after decade, and who call themselves Servants of the People and President, but are themselves not elected, and have no problem when things don't go their way to challenge elected representatives of the American people? It's hard not to think of America as a combination of oligarchy and epistocracy, a corporation which rebrands itself with new Presidents, products, but is always there and run by a behind scenes board of investors.
No wonder people are paranoid. Even when things run smoothly they are mysterious.
In a democracy, elected officials such as the president are supposed to set policy, not the “professionals.” The bureaucracy is out to get Trump because he thinks he should be in charge- and he’s right.
3
@Greg
Who knew there were so many bureaucrats who believed it was they who set foreign policy and not the president? True, democrats are shamelessly using them for their own political gain, but we should thank them for exposing how many Peter Strzoks there actually are.
3
The people who came forward, Ms. Yovanovich, Mr. Taylor and others, presumably continued to carry out the President's policies. But extorting a foreign government to serve one's own interest is not a policy, it is crime. If the president had not committed this crime, we would never have heard of or from all these witnesses.
8
@Greg: Nope. The professionals swore an oath to the Constitution, as did Trump, and it’s not the professionals who violated the Constitution.
10
It is probably worth noting that about two-thirds of Trump’s base does not have a college degree. The lack of a degree, in itself, is somewhat irrelevant. Most of the tradespeople many of us hire have not attended college: it’s not for everyone, which is fine. But the skilled tradespeople I know are true professionals and possess the critical thinking skills needed to make thoughtful judgements about things like whether or not an elected official ( or one running for office) is a con man. Clearly, people who support trump, regardless of their education, lack the critical thinking skills to know when they are being scammed.
Hopefully whoever the Dems nominate will focus on and debate trump on the issues to emphasize that the man is an empty suit, and not be drawn in to his playground bullying antics. Then, maybe, a few of the people who support him will realize he should go back to being a bankrupt real estate millionaire and game show host.
4
May your words come true, Frank Bruni, that President Trump's contempt for true professionals will doom his presidency starting today. Isn't it beyond terrifying that Donald Trump's unfit governance of America has driven our country into chaos and despair? Time for Congress and e pluribus unum to step on the slow-burning fuse of the catastrophic time-bomb running our country from the Oval Office.
5
A fine column, but the disdain for professionalism applies widely to the Republican party, not just Trump; once upon a time, Republicans called candidates like Adlai Stevenson "eggheads," and last time around, Obama was blamed for being arrogantly "professorial." Republicans have long been driven by ideological doctrine rather than empirical fact. Propaganda is their common speech.
8
Bravo, Frank!
And now I - and many others - need an explanation why and how:
this person managed to become the POTUS?
why members of the GOP are allowed to ignore their oath so blatantly?
how it can be that despite all the obvious indecency of Trump people like Hannity still find so many followers in the “best country on earth”?
and and and ...
We don’t get it.
5
@Wolfgang
The corruptible electoral college voting process is how this person managed to become POTUS.
1
As Nancy said to Trumps face when it comes to a Trump all roads lead to Russia and Putin. The whole Ukrainian extortion and bribery plot was beneficial to Russia on multiple levels I wish this facet of the story would gain more traction in the press. I hope before I depart the planet the contents of Trumps super secret server are divulged and we all learn just exactly what Trump and Putin talk about.
3
Mr. Bruni, All you have said here is true. However, the professionals have no place in Trump's administration or Trump's America.
Simply put, Trump has placed them as Reagan did as the main problem plaguing America today. And the GOP is 100% behind this 'policy'. Science and facts have been linked to these boogey men and women and have thusly been dismissed as well.
You can not have profit driven government and society with pesky regulations which might provide a small measure of equality or safety.
Democrats are "crazy" because they would put clean water above greater profit. Standing up for democratic values gets in the way of a great foreign policy based on selling more military weapons.
Here at home, less government is the GOP dream which enables the wealthy to purchase their representatives and laws.
Trump and the GOP are all fine with this oligarchy. Country first is now a quaint notion of fools who missed the opportunity. And according to the 'polls', the Trump way forward is desired by the right voters in the right places. Impeachment to them is a fool's errand.
3
This is the ethos that had people voting for him and clinging to him (other than racism)
The Horatio Alger myth of the nobody who can rise to be president- but in Alger, the hero had real talent and just needed opportunity
Trump is the old time snake oil salesman- another American icon. Reagan was close- but at least he had advisers. We were bound to devolve into this.
"True professionals"? Is that what you're now calling them?
The real story is of craven bureaucrats who cannot abide a president elected by over 60 million Americans. They believe they know best and are actually the ones setting our foreign policy. Of course, if they did know best, so many Americans wouldn't have elected an outsider to set them straight.
Foreign policy is established by the president. They are free to run for the presidency and gain that power legitimately.
4
Contempt for professionals is another reason not to vote for Trump in 2020, but it is not an impeachable offense. The only constitutional grounds for impeachment are treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors. Under federal law, contempt for professional is neither a felony nor a misdemeanor.
2
@William Case
Democrats are working desperately to peel away votes from Trump. That's all this is about. They will not be rewarded by voters for spending all their time pursuing their own political power at the expense of getting something done.
Out in the real world, Americans believe there are more important things for democrats to focus on.
3
We want Mendoza on the Supreme Court. Harvard and Yale grads have a place on the Court, but not as a monopoly. When there is no chance of a U. of N. Dakota Law School grad on the highest court, the country is the poorer for it, regardless of whether the appointments are by Democrat presidents or the rightists to whom Mr. Trump has ceded the franchise.
I say it again -- the Republic will soon be in the hands of Chief Justice Roberts.
1
On a multiple choice test 50 years from now there will be a SAT question that says: This President once famously said he could walk down 5th ave and shoot someone and nothing would happen.
a. Lincoln
b. Washington
c. FDR
d. Trump
I sure hope the kids born in 30 years get it right, even though it seems sadly laughable today.
3
I only wish that people who voted for Trump could read your opinion piece or read ANYTHING about how horrible a person POTUS is and realize what a bad choice they made in 2016. Unfortunately, there are "always Trumpers" and these impeachment proceedings will be full of sound and fury on the Dems part and the republicans will just shrug and say "so what?" Makes me sad...
@Kris
We've been hearing how "horrible" he is since the day he was elected. In the meantime, we have record low unemployment, record high median wage gains, millions of American workers to be retrained and some sanity at our border.
We hired someone to execute not scintillate our intellects or make us swoon over his oratorical wonders. We don't need this kind of emotional validation. We need results, and we are getting them.
3
As the old saying goes, "First-rate people hire first-rate people. Second-rate people hire third and fourth-rate people." That leaves Trump, who fires first-rate people.
2
Donald Trump has in TRUMP style, destroyed the public perception & reputation of these pillars. Once out of the way, it's business as usual.
1) Media
2) Intelligence Community
3) Honest Civil Servants.
1
Donald Trump has put the "con" into conservative, contempt, contrary, conceal, condescension, and, yes, into Constitutional crisis.
Whatever else he may be, he has proven himself to be a con artist of the first order.
So much conning. Are you convinced?
2
Trump is only the latest messenger for a hatred of professionalism and learning that goes back at least to historic trends noted by Richard Hofstadter in Anti-intellectualism in American Life (1963). The GOP has simply developed a cult around them. Picked up by the likes of Spiro Agnew and his kind, contempt for "pointy-headed professors" and "nattering nabobs of negativity" has since been in the GOP DNA. One must suppose that if people too mentally lazy or too weakly endowed with any trace of curiosity about the ways people think about the world and its people can find each other, a cult of anti-professionalism will emerge. The trend of "alternative truth" and the Franl Luntz rhetorical doctrine of calling things by the names of their opposites are simply ways some find to deal with a reality they find troubling.
1
Trump’s perverse nature has him putting himself and our Constitution at odds and then demanding employees make a choice as a test of loyalty. That itself is an abuse of the power of his office.
Trump now has a political party playing along to America’s detriment. But he is also inadvertently and individually revealing the true character of each of the “players” around him.
He's dooming his presidency? Who cares? What's important is that he's leading the way to dooming society. Prior to 2016, I never experienced the sleepless nights, fights with friends and family, and malaise that are now part of my faltering life.
It's truly more about Trump's contempt for the US Constitution. The professionals, unlike Trump are simply following their oaths to defend it. Recall Trump's petulant response from backing out on his efforts to enrich himself by hosting the G-7 conference?
Trump stated, "You people with this phony Emoluments Clause.” Apparently to Trump the US Constitution does not exist, but I think he's going to get a rude awakening once these hearings are done. More importantly I truly believe when these professionals lay out the real danger that Trump's grifting poses to our nation's national security, Trump will be impeached in both Houses.
1
This nicely triangulates with other research I’ve seen about blue collar people in general. Many tend to resent professionals—people within their orbit in the company who make moderately more money than they do but, to them, don’t seem different other than holding some silly degree. I’ve personally seen this, with maintenance staff complaining of outsiders being selected for director-level jobs, asking “why didn’t they just train one of us to do it.” Yet they see the corporate bigshots as having magical mojo that justifies their salary of 500 times their own. These people don’t know what they don’t know. So, Trump hiring entirely unqualified people is not seen as an offense. And it makes them vulnerable to the Trump/GOP message that all your problems and poor pay are to be blamed on brown people and immigrants in particular.
2
It's not that Trump has no regard for professionalism or elite schools. He always talks about how he went to the best school (Wharton) or he introduces his judge picks by emphasizing they went to an Ivy League school.
What Trumps knows is that HE is not like the others. He can never be in their league. Yes, he has money but you can't buy intelligence and class.
Trump is an angry misguided human being because he can never live up to the men and women who work arduously to keep our country safe. He doesn't care about that. He only cares about self promoting himself. Our president is a showman who is constantly trying to prove that he's the smartest, richest, tallest, most handsome, best golfer, greatest businessman, stable genius and on and on he can go about himself.
In a nutshell the man is extremely insecure and very jealous.
This job is definitely not for him because at every instance Trump is confronted with the realization that he is not the man he made up in his mind.
Sad
1
This is a really important column by Bruni. His epiphany that his Trump's reliance on inept amateurs allows him to bolster his own ego (as does everything, truly) is so insightful. Trump can then claim that he is the expert in the room. Well, we shall see how long it is before the cheese stands alone.
I am inclined to believe that Mr. Trump's hostility to competent, non-sycophantic professionals stems from his self-loathing at having to play a self-made, multi-billionaire and master deal maker on TV for his gullible fans, rather than actually being one.
3
The fact that this column needed to be written, after three years of Donald Trump's presidency, is a scathing indictment of the American political system. The things Mr. Bruni says about the president are all true, yet Trump maintains a rock-steady approval rating of just over 40%. The United States of America is the most powerful country in the world. It is currently led by a man who spurns expertise, doesn't read, lies constantly and watches television coverage of himself for hours every day. He is routinely ignored by his staff because he asks them to do blatantly illegal things.
How is this possible? America has a vast military, nuclear weapons, allies around the world, complex relationships to manage, global responsibilities - and it is led by a failed real estate developer who no bank will lend money to. A "B" list celebrity who pretended to be a successful businessman on TV. It's all a bad cosmic joke.
3
@Rob
Economy, stupid. (hat tip James Carville)
An excellent editorial that should be pinned on everyone’s living-room wall to remember - for 2020 at least - what enough voters did back in 2016 to visit this calumny on the country and the world.
2
We do need to remind ourselves that Trump was *elected* to this position. Granted, most voters did not want him, but he won the office with a popular vote plurality of over 62 million.
62 million voters thought he should be president. They knew from the moment of his escalator ride to announce his candidacy what he was and what he stood for. They saw his egomaniacal drive at every rally and on the dais at the GOP convention. They saw his revolving door of campaign leadership. They watched him in three debates denigrate not just government professionals but democracy itself.
Yet, over 62 million voters marked their ballots for Trump. He may denigrate true professionals, but he’s got an awful lot of company.
It's the systematic willful crétinisation of the poor and uneducated brought about by the republican party since President Reagan term in office. Less educated the better for the GOP. Trump is resounding culmination of this effort. look no further then GOP slavish Senators. So who needs "elitists" professionals?.
1
You darn right Pres. Trump has contempt for True Washington Insiders, or as Lt. Col. Vindman has called them, "the Intel community." They have acted seditiously against Pres. Trump's political agenda at every turn and sought to turn their backs on the voice of 63 million voters.
2
@batazoid
Many of us have even more contempt for them thanks to the democrats' brazenly parading angry bureaucrats before us on a daily basis.
They think they are persuading when they are really confirming.
1
Yes, perfectly true. Though since when did the educated of modest means become “the elite”...
We will have Republicans to thank when the United States has its own Cultural Revolution. Those easily led by authoritarian Trump, who blames their problems on those who work harder, will be banging on the doors of the houses of suburbia. But Trump and his ilk won’t be able to control them and they will soon be banging on the doors and looting the houses of the wealthy (where all the good stuff is). The monster they created will be uncontrollable.
2
All Trump’s actions as president are intended solely to advance his business interests. His cover explanations for his actions continue to mislead even the most sophisticated anti-Trump journalists. They take them at face value and expend their energy rebutting them. In effect, they take the bait Trump gives to them for that reason.
Trump is fine with experts, when they can be used to attain his objectives. Miller, Conway, Bannon, etc. Experts in political strategy.
Trump rejects experts when they would threaten to expose his real motives. Recent decisions regarding the Kurds, for example, are designed to further Trump’s personal interests in Turkey and Russia. They are packaged as foreign policy. But no foreign policy expert will support them, so experts are denigrated.
Focus on Trump’s real motivation, and its treasonous character. Not the side-show personality characteristics he uses to explain his actions.
8
Excellent points. We watch “Get Me, Roger Stone” a documentary of sorts about Trump’s friend in the story we learned that Trump ran for POTUS in order to promote his brand and make money. Period. He was shocked to win!
4
I am frustrated with those who say Trump's disruption is calculated. It is not. He lurches from decision to decision based on nothing other than a "gut feeling". You can be anti-elitist (whatever that is!) and still respect other people's intellects. You can change the status quo and still surround yourself with experts. You can be an agent of change and have a thoughtful, well-planned strategy. Or you can behave like Trump.
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@Becky H Trump is not "anti" elitist. He hires only Ivy League grads. Notwithstanding what he says, he treats the average working person with contempt. He stiffs contractors, and has no regard for their work. For the working class, he only wants their worship, not their views.
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@Becky H
You are correct but I would add that his lurching from decision to decision is based on his gut feelings and what is in his own, personal, best interests. That should never be overlooked as he puts that above the best interests of the nation.
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@Andy The "best interests of the nation" has literally never - for a nano-second - figured in his thinking. It's irrelevant to him.
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True professionals do not work to bring down elected leaders. True professionals try to mold opinion for the better. Taking the government down is not anything but professional disrupters.
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@Matt Fortunately, the Framers in their wisdom provided us the means to enforce the tenets of Constitutional government through the eminently Constitutional process of impeachment.
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@Matt - You have elected leaders who are not crooks and you have elected leaders who are. The professionals know what to do in either case.
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@Matt
We now know our intelligence bureaucrats actively worked to bring down the president. True professionals don't behave this way.
We are at a point where what used to be guiding principles are no longer admired, or even recognized. We look at things like the Rotarian's Four-Way Test, the Boy Scout Law, the federal Oath of Office, as meaningless liturgy. The religious tenets of our Judeo-Christian heritage, which include good news for the poor, justice for the oppressed, hospitality for the stranger, food for the hungry, healing for the sick, are similarly obscured into self-aggrandizement and accumulation of wealth.
Yes, expertise, the coastal elites, the idea of the public servant, are certainly under attack. But also under attack are the fundamental building blocks of government of, by, and for the people. How much longer can the American experiment last?
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I will add, that our Constitution is under attack by those who swore an oath to “protect and defend it”! My heart aches for our nation.
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The President and Republicans refer derisively to government "professionals" as unelected never Trumpers and as such must be enemies of the state. If they were elected they would be called political partisans. That most who have testified are Trump appointees cannot be overlooked.
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There is a million miles between true disbelief and discrediting the truth that only experts can provide. Donald Trump selects the story that fits his nefarious purposes whether he believes it or not.
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Right on as always.
However, he has tapped into the contempt held by much of our society for those professionals (the "elite", as The Donald The Orange calls them.
Until they can be turned, this ship is headed for yet another iceberg.
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We all know the outcome. Trump will be impeached by the house in a partisan vote, and the Senate will not convict, assuming Moscow Mitch even allows it to come to the Senate floor.
The only way this exercise can be successful is if voters at the margin are convinced Trump has committed impeachable offenses and vote against him. And then these voters must be the 100,000 or so in the swing states. What a sad situation this has become that the fate of our nation comes down to a handful of voters.
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Agreed, but Trump might very well win a second term. All these wishful-thinking headlines.
"Doomed"? Hardly.
If he's impeached and actually removed from office or voted out so resoundingly that he can't fight about it, I'll be a happy camper; but I'm not counting on it.
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Thank you for a great article. Just beautifully written.
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The truth of this editorial saddens me. I can only hope all Americans watch the upcoming hearings in order to fully comprehend this truth for themselves.
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Unfortunately a good percentage of Americans won’t watch this impeachment process outside the filter of Fox News. I’m missing Walter Cronkite now, and the simpler times he represented, Times when we all had the same sources of information, and most of it objective.Regardless of what happens in the hearings, the next election will be razor thin Times when we all had the same sources of information, and most of it objective. No more
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@Sunny The ones that need to watch will be watching Fox News, unfortunately.
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It's also true with some democrats. Yesterday, Biden derided what he called Warren's elitism. Guess what? Nature is elitist. Truth is elitist. To categorically reject what elites can bring, especially in science, is not anti-snob but anti-rational. The pursuit of truth, whether it is in law, science, or diplomacy, is hard work and requires the best of us. And to reduce policy making to gut feelings undermines credibility and commitment to truth. We need fewer no-nothings such as Trump and Biden to lead us.
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@Philip
Shall the elite fight back? Should we call them the hoi polloi? The rabble? The riffraff? The herd?
It does not take point by point analysis to realize there is something very wrong with Trump. Many Republicans know this but do not care as long as some major goals of their political agendas are being met--on guns, judges, abortion and birth control, immigration, social contracts, religion and more. Those same Republicans do not care about Trump's dismissal of expertise--at least not overtly and not for now. They do not mind the Trump's dysfunctional universe if they can maintain political power.
We can all hope that when and if the Democrats have control of all three branches of government things will be better--but how much for how long? We do not appear to thrive on consensus. We appear to favor conflict--at least for most of history.
I will still vote for anyone but Trump. Hence the ongoing conflicts that remain a staple of our modern lives. It is not just a visceral contempt for Trump; it is the lack of tolerance--another sort of contempt--for those belonging to another political tribe (not many of us are completely exempt).
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This boils down to the conflict between the spirit of enlightenment and humanism versus medieval mysticism, between the pain of not knowing and delusional wisdom.
It’s a global phenomenon where the American example due to its power and impact encourages equivalent splitting movements worldwide, it‘s the symptom of an earth under stress.
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@Thomas H.
One does not need to invoke mysticism. The conflicts are deeper and more complicated than you allow: https://newrepublic.com/article/155294/john-rawls-missed-create-just-society . Here is a significant paragraph from that essay:
"The conceit that a liberal consensus is latent in the political life of modern democracies, waiting to be drawn out by philosophers (or judges and high-minded politicians), is perhaps less plausible today than it has been in several decades. The idea that you could imagine justice for all without engaging with slavery and Jim Crow will strike many readers as liberal obfuscation. It is hard to imagine political thinking today that does not begin with fundamental conflict, rather than the gentlemanly “disagreement” that Rawls addressed. The question today must be whether and, if so, how cooperation and solidarity can emerge from conflict that is structured and galvanized by historical wrong and continuing harms and deprivations."
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We are in a very important juncture of our history, and I do not mean the word history frivolously. During the last three year we have experienced a great divide among us. Trump has catalyzed that division. Our culture that attracted me to the US more than half century ago has radically changed. Civility and tolerance in our political discourse are gone. Racisim has raised its hydra heads and has become fashionable. The Republican leaders the Congress have all succumbed to will of Trump supporters. We no longer have leaders like Goldwater, Percy, Rockefeller, or Dirksen. Trump came to power with a great promise of change, a change from the "Swamp Politics of Lobbyists and Sycophants". Change he has made, but to an abyss. There has been a great exodus of morality, decency, compassion and civility from Washington. Will we the people wake up and bring back the America that I had known, adored and dedicated my life to fifty years ago?
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@Mr C
Goldwater?!
The modern conservative, anti-minority, anti-government, anti-regulation, anti-tax movement began with him.
It triumphed in Reagan and led to the Bushes and now Trump.
@Marsha Pembroke
I vividly remember watching Goldwater when he went to Nixon and asked him to resign. Can you imagine McConnel doing that? Goldwarer was arch conservative, but he could still could see though Nixon. That's why i took his name.
@Mr C
"Trump came to power with a great promise of change, a change from the "Swamp Politics of Lobbyists and Sycophants."
And despite know exactly who he was, the willfully-proud & ignorant actually believed in him.
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After reading some of the comments, I'd like to point out that "professional" has two meanings. Mr. Bruni is using the meaning of being proficient at a task and not letting personal feelings effect how you go about it. Then many of the commentators are using the other meaning of being a member of the professions--doctor, lawyer, accountant, etc.
I would also like to know when elite changed its meaning so that it means educated instead of wealthy or of high social status. For me that has been the meaning it has always has. Trump is an elite . So is most of his cabinet. The people who graduate from college usually are not. The people who serve in government, also, are usually not elites.
Then a final thought. It is not just Trump who is against experts. Republicans have also been against experts in general since at least the Nineties. Along with the experts advising government, or in it, that is the weapon they chose to tear down climate scientists, environmentalists, and others. This is often not just the politicization this but part of the electorate. I often want to ask, "If you're against experts, why do you go to a doctor?"
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@Laura
Back in the 1950's, we backers of Adlai Stevenson were called "eggheads." With spit thrown in for good measure.
@Laura Wish I could like your comment 1000 times, it is completely spot on!
Well said! Agreed, Trump and his inner circle are the elites.
The sadness in all of this is that even if "undecideds" can no longer deny that Trump embodies the victory of whim over facts, of vindictiveness over statecraft, of one dollar, one vote, most will refuse to confront the larger truth: This man who is so unsuited for public service was and still is the GOP rank and file's ONLY choice to sit in the Oval Office.
The GOP iceberg, visible to many of us during the Reagan years and undeniable to many during the chaotic term of Bush and Cheney, nearly eclipsed the horizon after the oh-so-principled John McCain chose a "going rogue" Alaska governor as his running mate, a woman who regaled howling crowds with how McCain's opponent "palled around with terrorists."
Even now, faced with the ravings of a CEO who confuses his wish list with reality, who claimed (three times) in a speech yesterday that his daughter Ivanka created 14 million jobs (fewer than 7 million new jobs have been created since Trump's inauguration), who changes cabinet secretaries and advisers with an increasing rapidity, who clearly believes that holding his breath makes reality invalid, millions of this country's voters are so consumed by hatred for the Constitutional flexibility that has allowed this country to evolve, to include women and minorities on the voting rolls, to separate church law from national statutes, to battle the corruption that allows the rich to dictate policy, that they stand foursquare behind the man who truly represents them.
Lest we forget.
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