In an extraordinary display of sycophancy, Donald Trump’s cabinet gathered to celebrate his first 100 days in office, with each member sporting navy blue and red baseball caps emblazoned with the phrase “Gulf of America” – a forced rebranding of the centuries-old Gulf of Mexico. It was a bizarre spectacle, akin to a gathering of North Korean loyalists, where each cabinet member vied for attention by lavishing praise on their leader.
Elon Musk, the outgoing head of Trump’s unofficial “department of government efficiency,” even donned two hats – a red Gulf of America cap and his Doge-themed hat – in an attempt to outdo his colleagues. The health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, peddled the debunked conspiracy theory that 300,000 unaccompanied migrant children were somehow “lost” by the Biden administration.
Pam Bondi, Trump’s hand-picked attorney general, played the role of chief cheerleader, gushing over Trump’s supposed achievements and nodding in agreement as she spoke. Her praise was echoed by other cabinet members, each trying to outdo one another in their fawning admiration for the president.
However, Kennedy’s claims about the Biden-era HHS department being complicit in child trafficking and slavery were particularly egregious. His assertions have been repeatedly debunked, with HHS data showing that unaccompanied migrant children were not lost or missing but rather recorded as they crossed the border and then placed in homes and communities with relatives already in the US.
Trump’s cabinet meeting was a two-hour love-fest, with the president attempting to distance himself from Tuesday’s bleak economic data that suggests the US could be heading for a recession on the back of his tariff policies. When asked about speaking with Chinese President Xi Jinping about tariffs, Trump replied he hadn’t and then offered a bizarre prediction for Christmas, suggesting families might have fewer but more expensive toys due to the trade war.
In this cabinet meeting, we see a president who is out of touch with reality, surrounded by loyalists who are willing to peddle falsehoods and conspiracy theories in his defense. Trump’s incompetence and delusional thinking have never been on fuller display. As the US heads into uncertain economic times, one can only hope that the country will soon awaken from this MAGA-induced fantasy world and return to a reality-based approach to governance.
Sourced from https://www.theguardian.com/