Gaetz was just a stalking horse

And the media played right into Trump’s hands

Photo collage by Canva

The Trump nomination of former Congressman Matt Gaetz as Attorney General was always nothing more than a stalking horse. And the national news media and U.S. Senate played right into Donald Trump’s hands.

Trump has nominated a host of people who are completely unqualified to lead big federal agencies. But it was the Gaetz nomination that was so awful – almost laughably awful – that grabbed all the attention these past eight days.

Naming Gaetz was designed to do one thing – to get everybody so riled up that whoever Trump names next for the Justice Department will seem like Robert F. Kennedy by comparison. Not RFK Junior. The real RFK, who was widely admired as attorney general for using the power of the federal government to advance civil rights and battle corrupt labor unions.

It’s safe to say Trump’s next pick for AG, former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi, will never be accused of being in the same league as RFK, but however awful, will likely sail through because she is NOT Matt Gaetz.

The news media predictably played its role in sensationalizing the Gaetz nomination. For eight days, it was the lead story on nearly every newscast and front page. Will the House Ethics Committee release its report into Gaetz? Will the Senate demand a full investigation of Gaetz or will it bend the knee to Trump and confirm Gaetz?

I don’t dispute that the Gaetz nomination was an important story that needed to be covered. But the breathless coverage was so predictable. Trump loves to toss grenades onto the table and sit back in delight watching journalists spin themselves into the ground covering the carnage. He knew there was no way the Senate was going to confirm Gaetz. But he skillfully played the system.

And now he names a somewhat less terrible person to run Justice, and everyone will be relieved. Particularly Republican Senators like Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst.

Others sailing under the radar

Meanwhile, other terrible Trump picks are sailing under the radar. RFK Junior has no medical training, is a conspiracy theorist, and doesn’t belong anywhere near HHS. Professional wrestling executive Linda McMahon as Education Secretary? Please. Pete Hegseth has some splainin’ to do about an allegation of past sexual abuse and his tattoos. Dr. Oz as head of Medicare and Medicaid Services? Well, at least he’s a doctor. Better Dr. Oz than Dr. Phil.

Now that Gaetz is history, I’m sure Republican Senators will fall right in line and confirm nearly all of Trump’s cast of rogue characters. Stephen Colbert called Trump’s nominees the “Star Wars cantina of a cabinet.” A collection of odd balls if ever there was one. But Senators will hold their nose, pontificate about how every president gets to pick his cabinet and feel like they fulfilled their constitutional duty because they courageously stood up to Trump by not enthusiastically embracing Matt Gaetz.

It’s gonna be a long four years, folks.

How will history judge the current AG?

And speaking of four years, it looks like Trump will get to walk around a free man the next four years with every single one of his criminal cases stalling out. And I think a lot of the blame falls on the current attorney general, Merrick Garland.

I have been a big admirer of Garland ever since Grassley and Mitch McConnell stole the Supreme Court seat out from underneath him. I thought Biden picking Garland as AG was a brilliant move. But Garland moved at a glacial pace investigating Trump’s criminal cases, and it allowed Trump to spend millions of donor dollars to run out the clock and escape prosecution. Garland cared a lot more about protecting Justice Department protocols than he did protecting democracy from a felon in the White House.

On his final day in office, Garland needs to look in the mirror and admit to himself that regardless of how smart he is, he got outsmarted by Donald J. Trump. That’s gotta hurt.

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