As Donald Trump returns to the White House, his team’s confidence is sky-high, but warning signs abound. A new era of unapologetic politics has begun, with a bold agenda that promises fundamental change.
Trump Team’s Confidence Sky-High, But Warning Signs Abound
Donald Trump loves a show and likes to surprise people. As he returns to the White House, the world is waiting to see if Trump 2.0 will be a more disciplined and effective version of its previous incarnation.
The single biggest difference between now and the start of his first term eight years ago is how bold he feels. Talking to people around Trump, the confidence is unmissable. He has the GOP in lockstep, the business community falling over themselves to donate money to his inauguration, and an opposition that is exhausted and largely quiet.
A New Era of Unapologetic Politics
The election was actually quite close, but you wouldn’t know it from Maga world. They feel vindicated and want to move fast to get things done, hit back against the incoming president’s enemies, and change America. They believe the country backs Trump’s disdain for “woke” agendas, mainstream media, and global elites.
The agenda reflects this brashness. From mass deportation of migrants and pardons for Capitol rioters to punitive trade tariffs on America’s neighbors and an end to birthright citizenship, there’s a lot of fundamental change being promised. Trump could announce much of it on day one, creating a dizzying effect – that’s the point.
A Team with Divergent Views
The team that Trump will be bringing into the White House reflects this brashness. Gone is the president who seemed in awe of hierarchies and establishment credentials. Take his picks for secretary of defense: Pete Hegseth, a TV host with a military background but no significant management experience, seems to have survived his Senate confirmation hearings despite multiple accusations of sexual abuse and drunkenness.
Trump isn’t out to impress anyone this time, and the Republican Party seems to have no ability or interest in providing checks and balances on his instincts. Trump standing by Hegseth as scandal swirled was seemingly a test for Republican lawmakers – would they dare to defy Trump? They didn’t.
A Cabinet of Contrasts
Trump’s cabinet is a team of people with surprisingly different views who may not always play well together. His pick to run health care, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, is a pro-choice former Democrat at a time when many Republican lawmakers want to restrict abortion access. The nominee for Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, embodies old school Republican economic values and comes from Wall Street via a stint working for the liberal financier George Soros.
Elon Musk with his deregulation agenda will serve alongside a Labor Secretary nominee who is pro-union and pro-worker safety regulations. Trump’s pick for Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, is in the conventional, hawkish Republican mode. He has called Vladimir Putin a “thug” and a “gangster.” Meanwhile, Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, who has been sympathetic to America’s adversaries, including Russia and Syria’s now-deposed leader Bashar al-Assad.
A System in Chaos?
Allies of the incoming president argue that this unconventional mix of views is what makes Trump different and exciting. A former Trump adviser told me that the uniformity of opinions in previous Democratic administrations was like “a bunch of parrots.” The whole point of Trump’s second term, this adviser said, is to shake up a stultified system of government.
Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin famously credited Abraham Lincoln for creating a cabinet that consisted of a team of his rivals. In Trump’s case, this incoming administration feels more like a court than a Republic. The courtiers have their divergent views and disagreements with each other, and they have to get as close as possible to the man in the center of it all for their agenda to win out.
The Key Question: Can They Work Together?
With so many competing opinions, there could be even more leaks this time, despite the best efforts of the new chief of staff, Susie Wiles. The lack of cohesion already on display has some analysts alarmed, particularly on national security. “There is no consensus in the new administration when it comes to how China is viewed,” says Richard Haass, who worked in the Bush administration and is now president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations.
For now, Trump’s desires reign supreme. But the president knows that in two short years America will hold midterm Congressional elections, and the conversation will shift fast to the future. The Republican train will leave the station, and President Trump will be left standing on the platform.
