Barely elected, but already well organized. Unlike in 2016, the future president of the United States did not find himself deprived when his election was announced. Susie Wiles. Thomas Homan. Elise Stefanik. Mike Huckabee. Lee Zeldin. So many names of loyal Republicans were already on his list, ready to be nominated to join his administration. Just a few days after the election of Donald Trump, the nominations began to rain in. For Nicole Bacharan, political scientist and specialist in the United States, the Trump galaxy has no time to lose in hoping to fulfill its electoral promises… even if it means flouting certain laws. Beware, therefore, of anyone who dares to challenge the cantor of MAGA (Make America Great Again).
Why were these announcements so quick?
Nicole Bacharan Because this time, the Republicans are ready. Donald Trump’s teams and the foundations that worked on the famous “Project 2025” – which he disavowed but which he actually plans to implement – have been preparing these appointments for a long time. In 2016, they never thought they would win so they were in perfect improvisation. There, everything is ready. Everything is in order of battle. They go for it. They want to be efficient and not wait for Senate confirmation. Donald Trump wants to impose his will very quickly so as not to be hindered. He is deliberately confusing between having a majority in the Senate and being both the executive and the legislative. Since even if he has the majority in the Senate, certain profiles can block such as those of Elon Musk or the governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem.
Until now, Donald Trump has surrounded himself exclusively with loyalists by appointing them to key positions. Is this usual for a president?
It happens. There are rewards to be given, particularly through ambassadorial positions. On the other hand, Donald Trump’s definition of loyalty is particular. He demanded that all those who wish to be called loyal not recognize Joe Biden’s victory in 2020. This does not mean that they are all incompetent, simply that they agree to sit, not only on the law, but also on the truth, and that they are ideologically aligned with Trump. They are extremely brutal people, ready to do anything to carry out orders from the Oval Office. What shocks me the most are the daily attacks on the rule of law. The Constitution and the law are no longer standards to be respected, but standards to be manipulated to achieve one’s ends. Donald Trump is a man who escapes justice and who wants to eliminate the notion of conflict of interest, particularly with the role he attributes to Elon Musk.
The 47th President of the United States has entrusted the burning issue of immigration to former police officer Thomas Homan. What should we expect from this appointment?
To what they announced, that is to say mass expulsions. They need rapid results on the issue of immigration in view of the electoral campaign and the many promises. Or at least, visible results since it will be very complicated to expel 11 million people. They will be looking for spectacular images of arrests, buses, camps, deportations to the countries of the South… Thomas Homan is the one who said “I advise illegals to always look over their shoulder” and who invented the magnificent idea of separating migrant families to discourage them from coming to the United States. He is determined to put illegal immigrants out of the country.
The name of Marco Rubio is circulating and has even been announced by the American press as the future head of diplomacy. Why would Donald Trump make this choice which is far from being the most isolationist?
Because Marco Rubio is an opportunist. He completely changed direction. He completely submitted to Donald Trump by refusing to recognize the results of the 2020 election. He went from neoconservative to “America first” version of Trump. On the other hand, he is not an adventurer. Foreign policy is not a foreign issue to him so he should not do completely absurd things. He will have a very hard line with China but there will be no big surprise since the Democrats had it too. Donald Trump trusts him.
…confidence to the point of accepting his positions on the war in Ukraine?
It is true that Marco Rubio was one of those who immediately affirmed their support for Ukraine. Now, if he represents Donald Trump, he will represent the negotiations for a deal with Vladimir Putin, the contours of which seemed clear: we give you Donbass, we give you Crimea, we neutralize Ukraine and we push, little by little , Volodymyr Zelensky outside. But it’s not completely certain that it will play out that way because Donald Trump is unreliable. In any case, his vision will prevail.
Is Donald Trump’s famous plan to resolve the war in Ukraine realistic in view of these appointments?
The plan already fell through because he said twenty-four hours from his election on November 5, which, incidentally, was completely illegal since he is not president. And then, even though there are many phone calls, some confirmed, some denied, they have not yet reached an agreement. One thing is certain: they want the war to end as quickly as possible.
The Republican also wants to end the conflict in the Middle East. What conclusions can we draw from the appointment of Elise Stefanik as ambassador to the UN and that of Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Jerusalem?
A complete alliance with the Israeli right and extreme right. A few months after October 7, Donald Trump said that the images from Gaza were catastrophic, that Israel must finish the job, and finish it quickly. In what way? By launching a nuclear bomb? With a unilateral ceasefire? He never said it.
Regarding ecology, Donald Trump was much more vocal in asserting that the future director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Lee Zeldin, will ensure “rapid and fair decisions are made deregulation”. What position will the latter defend on climate or energy issues?
In Donald Trump’s eyes, climate does not exist. The EPA director’s mission is to dismantle all environmental protection regulations and provide maximum incentives for the production of hydrocarbons. Afterwards, leaving or not leaving the Paris agreement is still different, because there is another reality, that of the big oil companies and the big companies which do not agree. I am thinking in particular of Exxon and Occidental Petroleum who want to keep the program that Joe Biden had put in his “Inflation Reduction Act”. They think about the future. They are working on the technologies of the future, on the next renewable energies and they need time and subsidies. So certain industrialists will influence this anti-environmental policy of Donald Trump.
Speaking of the future, how long can this new team last?
To know the answer, we will have to see who dares to challenge Donald Trump and, above all, in what way. Anyone who resists him in the White House will be fired. Immediately. There is only one leader now.
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