Fealty Above All

What’s funny about Trump (among many things) is that he never really worked in corporate. He had a family business that was private. That’s not to say he doesn’t understand the corporate world, though, as he dealt with thousands of those guys over the years in NYC and beyond.

If you are a corporate guy and that comforts you and most of your social existence and relevance (aside from your kids) comes from being a corporate guy, then this moment is probably uplifting for you, because it’s corporate to the core.

Basically, what’s happening is that loyalty — and really, fealty — are being rewarded above all else. If you bent the knee to Trump and stayed loyal through the hallow periods, I.e. after the Capitol or when the 2022 midterms seemed bad, you are now getting rewarded, even if you logically should not.

It’s important to say here that you can easily argue that DEI efforts are similar — they reward people who maybe shouldn’t be rewarded, for factors that ideally wouldn’t be the focus.

But loyalty is Trump’s own version of DEI. It always has been.

A pick like Gaetz is so far out there — although still better than a guy like Mike Davis, who may have started wars in the streets — that all it really becomes is a test of loyalty. The MAGA guys wanted Rick Scott in the Senate, and didn’t get him. They got John Thune. So now they need to test that loyalty. With a red-wave mandate, can the Senate push through crazy appointment picks?

This is the same shit guys do when they ascend in corporate. And look, obviously for years, political appointments have been very, well, political. Look at parole boards, as one prominent example.

The other thing I think going on here is that for years, politics seemed like an admirable end game for your kid or something. “Maybe Tommy will be a U.S. Senator one day!” That has vastly eroded, although I am sure a lot of parents will still like to be able to tell the neighborhood BBQ that Tommy is a Senator. The model eroded because of “career politicians” and general trust in government, but I think a lot of America struggles with … how can government be this fucked up? Well, it’s pretty easy, and it didn’t take that long to get there.

We’re basically seeing the corporate loyalty test play out in political appointments. Buckle up.