The adults in the room

No one, even in Canada, has an interest in Donald Trump’s second presidency being a failure – and even less in the chaos that characterized his first term.

This is why everyone can only rejoice that his campaign manager, Susie Wiles, has agreed to become his chief of staff, the first woman to hold this position.

Because she has set her conditions: it is she who will decide who enters the Oval Office and who must leave. “Clowns will no longer be able to enter the White House as they want,” she said. And Mr. Trump reportedly said he agreed!

This could make all the difference between a successful second term and the first term, which ended in chaos.

Several books have been written about Mr. Trump’s first presidency. They all say the same thing: the majority of the president’s advisors were competent and experienced people. “Adults in the room,” as they often say.

The problem was that as soon as they left the Oval Office, an old friend of the president entered, like Rudy Giuliani, Roger Stone, Paul Manafort or Michael Flynn. All people of rather poor judgment, who all ended up in trouble with the law and who, by the way, all received a presidential pardon.

However, it was well known that the last person who spoke to Mr. Trump often ended up winning and undoing the considered decision that had been suggested by his advisors.

If “clowns” can no longer gain access to the president in this way, it will be a big step toward a normal presidency. And we cannot minimize the role of the White House chief of staff in this situation.

But M^me Wiles will still have some delicate issues to resolve in the coming weeks. For example, what roles should be given to people who supported Mr. Trump during this campaign and who expect a certain return of favor?

In the front row, Elon Musk, who was the largest contributor to his electoral fund. We are talking about more than 130 million US dollars.

He followed election night with Mr. Trump at Mar-a-Lago and during his victory celebration Tuesday night, the president-elect thanked him by saying: “A star is born: Elon . »

But if the eccentric and brilliant billionaire has a great deal with Donald Trump, he also has a great deal with the government and its various agencies.

“His influence over the federal government is extraordinary and extraordinarily lucrative,” wrote the New York Timestwo weeks ago¹.

In fact, his company SpaceX “de facto” dictates to NASA the schedule and frequency of its rocket launches, and he has contracts valued at more than $15 billion with the Department of Defense and NASA. Not to mention smaller contracts with other federal agencies.

Mr. Trump has already announced that he would put Mr. Musk in charge of a new “commission on government efficiency,” which would make him a sort of super-auditor general who would act from outside government.

Obviously, the potential for conflicts of interest is enormous and could quickly become a major problem for the Trump administration.

It is in situations like this that the White House chief of staff must intervene. And, let’s face it, it won’t be easy!

We have already learned that Mr. Musk took part in the first telephone conversation between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Mr. Trump. Which, at the very least, confirms its influence.

Another case that will have to be handled with sensitivity is that of Robert Kennedy Jr.

Anti-vaccine, opposed to water fluoridation, Mr. Kennedy is in phase with a significant section of the MAGA movement.

Even during his first term, Mr. Trump had to pay close attention to his base, especially when it came to health issues. Many MAGA activists are very attuned to vaccine misinformation. The vast majority of Americans still remain convinced of their usefulness and Mr. Kennedy has affirmed in recent days that it is not a question of “withdrawing vaccines”, but of giving more information to those who have them. ask.

Setting up a new administration, even if you have already been president, is a heavy and complex task which is coordinated, in practice, by the White House chief of staff.

Mr. Trump has full confidence in Mr.^me Wiles. It was she who led him – from start to finish – throughout an effective and victorious electoral campaign.

We will have to hope that she will stay in the White House for a long time, with a president who will have had, during his first term, four chiefs of staff in four years. Including one, General John Kelly, who said on the campaign trail that Mr. Trump fit “the definition of a fascist.”

Read the text of New York Times « U.S. Agencies Fund, and Fight With, Elon Musk. A Trump Presidency Could Give Him Power Over Them. » (en anglais ; abonnement requis)

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