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The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

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Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

He really is that stupid.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

Good lord, these people are nuts.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

This really is a full service blog.

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Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

People are complicated. Love is not.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

I conferred with the team and they all agree – still not tired of winning!

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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Late Night Open Thread: Loyalty Tests

Late Night Open Thread: Loyalty Tests

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STOCKPILE - Loyalty Test

(John Deering via GoComics.com)

 
It’s gonna be impossible to satirize the upcoming maladministration. Per the NYTimes, “Want a Job in the Trump Administration? Be Prepared for the Loyalty Test” [gift link]:

At the Trump transition offices in West Palm Beach, Fla., prospective occupants of high posts inside the Pentagon and the intelligence agencies typically run through a gamut of three to four interviews, conducted in recent weeks by a mix of Silicon Valley investors and innovators and a team of the MAGA faithful.

The applicants report that they have been asked about how to overhaul the Pentagon, or what technologies could make the intelligence agencies more effective, or how they feel about the use of the military to enforce immigration policy. But before they leave, some of them have been asked a final set of questions that seemed designed to assess their loyalty to President-elect Donald J. Trump.

The questions went further than just affirming allegiance to the incoming administration. The interviewers asked which candidate the applicants had supported in the three most recent elections, what they thought about the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and whether they believed the 2020 election was stolen. The sense they got was that there was only one right answer to each question.

This account is based on interviews with nine people who either interviewed for jobs in the administration or were directly involved in the process. Among those were applicants who said they gave what they intuited to be the wrong answer — either decrying the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6 or saying that President Biden won in 2020. Their answers were met with silence and the taking of notes. They didn’t get the jobs…

Previous administrations, of course, have also been interested in whether new hires were aligned with the president’s agenda. But the distinction between Mr. Trump’s process and past ones is that the interest goes well beyond alignment on policy. The Trump transition team appears to be trying to figure out whether prospective hires have ever shown a hint of daylight between themselves and Mr. Trump on specific issues, particularly as he tried to revise the history of his final weeks in office and its aftermath…

Charlie Kirk, the right-wing activist and pro-MAGA podcaster, is among those conducting the loyalty tests, along with members of the personnel team. That team is led by Sergio Gor, who has helped run the publishing company that produces the president-elect’s books and ran a multimillion-dollar super PAC that supported Mr. Trump…

For some applicants, the process was a jarring mix of substantive policy discussions and clear attempts to assess their fealty. Two applicants said they were impressed by the quality of the questions on how to get new technology into the Pentagon, or change the structure of the intelligence agencies, only to be shocked by the final questions…

STOCKPILE - Loyalty Test 1

Reader Interactions

58Comments

  4. 4.

    Pete Downunder

    This will likely be the least competent government in world history. Given their proclivities that may be a good thing.

  5. 5.

    Captain C

    Two applicants said they were impressed by the quality of the questions on how to get new technology into the Pentagon, or change the structure of the intelligence agencies

    “Hi, I’m Schulb Dunning IV and this is my colleague Fred Kruger, we’ll be conducting your first interview today…”

    (eta “IV”)

  9. 9.

    gene108

    Meh…the U.S. kind of runs on autopilot until there is an emergency and that is when competent administrators are needed.

    Trump has really smooth sailing the first three years of his first term. The only problems he had were self-inflicted, like trade wars.

    There’s nothing on the horizon that looks like he’ll have any immediate emergencies to handle after taking office that will not be self-inflicted.

    He’s going to have to work extra hard to tank things to the point ordinary people notice something’s wrong.

  11. 11.

    frog

    @gene108:

    Meh…the U.S. kind of runs on autopilot until there is an emergency and that is when competent administrators are needed.

    Could be sooner than is safe. If Russia implodes, can the Trump administration contribute anything useful to keeping their nukes under (non-terrorist) control?

  13. 13.

    Redshift

    @gene108:

    There’s nothing on the horizon that looks like he’ll have any immediate emergencies to handle after taking office that will not be self-inflicted. 

    Umm, emergencies are usually things you don’t see coming…

  14. 14.

    frosty

    AL – thanks for leading off with a political cartoon. I don’t see these regularly like when I got a dead tree newspaper. Paul Conrad in the LA Times. KAL in the Baltimore Sun. Back when those were respectable newspapers.

  16. 16.

    frosty

    @Redshift: Exactly! I worked for a County government whose leadership’s mantra was “No surprises.” Well, shit, you’re getting paid to manage the surprises that aren’t visible from my level or my department’s level. GTFO.

  17. 17.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @NotMax:

    The word nepotism (the hiring of close relatives for high positions) comes from the Latin nepos, meaning nephew.

    We need a new word to indicate the hiring of in-laws. The incoming administration is gonna be lousy with ‘em.

  18. 18.

    NotMax

    @SiubhanDuinne

    When I still had the retail store there were various boxes of packs of trading cards on the counter by the register. One box was Nightmare on Elm Street cards.

    One time, a couple came up to pay for merchandise, one of them holding up a toddler, who excitedly pointed to that box and exclaimed “Fred-dy Krue-ger!”

    Not exactly parents of the year material.

  20. 20.

    sab

    @gene108: Every administration in the 21st century has had a health scare or two ( SARS I, Ebola, Influensas ( avian or swine) ) and handled it. Trump’s  is the first to purposely ignore it, and that gave us the full blown Covid crisis.

    Bush’s policies allowed the 2008 financial crisis to develop. They are busy in Congress dismantling the reforms that were passed after 2008. We won’t have anybody competent in Congress or the executive branch if another one hits.

    Natural disasters will be responded to by a politicized and vindictive FEMA management team. For once I am glad I live in a red state.

  23. 23.

    Gretchen

    I’ve thought that the whole appointment process is like Trump hazing pledges who want to join his fraternity – both the applicants and the Senate. If they’ll let him appoint Caligula’s horse, he’ll make them sing in their underwear in December in front of the sorority.

  25. 25.

    Jay

    @sab:

    As a previous Front Page post noted, there are some highly sexualized, highly personal and ethically questionable questions on the forms,

    to the point that if any Employer asked a “normal” person those questions, they would not call HR, they would call the Cops.

    While I am sure that many in Ohio would kiss Diaper Don’s ass for a job in the Admin, most would need to have the act of “rimming” explicitly explained to them.

  28. 28.

    Aussie Sheila

    @dc:

    I watched it. Very good. That’s the way to grease the path towards a proper universal health care system. Make it part of popular culture. Songs, comics, demonstrations, street art and all the rest.
    Make the death of the UHC CEO something everyone can point to.

    IYKWIM.

  29. 29.

    Doug

    The word that the Times is trying very, very hard not to use is Führereid.

    Kayla @ 3 I wonder how far down the chain this will extend in government hiring.

    As far as they can possibly push it. When I had a very low-level summer job at LSU in the mid-1980s, the legacy of McCarthy meant that I had to sign a form stating that I was not a Communist and some other similar blather. They’ll try push the Führereid until someone has the power to stop it and the guts to use that power.

    Some day my degree in German history and politics will turn out to have been an indulgence, but today is not that day.

  30. 30.

    Geminid

    From a Middle East Eye article by Ragip Soylu published yesterday:

    US rushes to contain Turkiye-backed offensive against SDF in Syria

    Secretary of State Blinken will visit Turkey as Ankara-backed forces make gains against Kurdish SDF

    The US government is scrambling to address a Turkish offensive targeting the Syrian Democratic Forces following the fall of Assad’s regime.

    Turkish officials have announced that Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Ankara on Friday.

    ….Meanwhile, US Central Command (Centcom) Commander Michael Kurilla visited northeast Syria on Tuesday, reiterating US support for the SDF as an anti-IS partner force.

    Soylu said Turkish officials believe Blinken was probably coming to ensure that Turkiye’s proxy Syrian National Army forces would not proceed against the city of Kobani, a Syrian city of ~45,000 residents right on the Turkish border.

    Earlier this week there was heavy fighting  between the SNA and SDF in the city of Manbij, which lies between Kobani and Aleppo. It ended with the SDF withdrawing under a US-brokered agreement.

  33. 33.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: After CENTCOM Commander Michael Kurilla visited northeast Syria on Tuesday he flew to Baghdad to confer with Iraqi Prime Minister al Sudani. Then Kurilla flew to Lebanon for some more important business.

    From Defense Post (defensepost.com):

    US Announces First Israeli Withdrawal From Lebanon Under Ceasefire Agreement

    Israeli forces conducted a first withdrawal from a town in south Lebanon and were replaced by the Lebanese military under a ceasefire, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Wednesday.

    The command’s leader [Gen. Kurilla] “was present at the implementation and monitoring headquarters during the ongoing first Israeli withdrawal and Lebanese Army replacement at Al Khiam, Lebanon as part of the ceasefire agreement.”

    ….A ceasefire came into effect November 27 and is generally holding although both sides have accused the other of repeated violations. As part of the agreement the Lebanese Army and United Nations peacekeepers will deploy in south Lebanon as Israel withdraws over a period of 60 days.

    Hezbollah is also meant to withdraw its forces [to] north of the Litani River about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and dismantle its military infrastructure in South Lebanon.

     

  35. 35.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    I think my coping mechanisms just overloaded. It’s normal to feel a sort of rage-induced lethargy in times like this, right?

    (Even booting up the new Indiana Jones game so I can therapeutically go and bludgeon some Fascists and Nazis hasn’t been helping.)

  37. 37.

    Gvg

    Well they approve of lies. Admire liars, hire liars, hope they get surprises. They should. Unfortunately so will we. Liars that aren’t on his side are not necessarily on ours, they just aren’t rowing efficiently in the same direction which…might help. Liars are not loyal. And Trump is a lame duck who can’t face that fact. I don’t believe he can change it even if he was more popular because that would cut off a chance for someone else to be leader so no congressman or governor or high legislator really would want it. His last 2 years in office will have really different dynamics because of that.

  38. 38.

    Betty

    Another shocking but not surprising announcement: Kari Lake as head of Voice of America. Oh boy! Not my voice, I am sure.

  42. 42.

    Betty

    @MagdaInBlack: I hope he listens to the Pope and commutes the death sentences. Trump and the Supreme Court have pretty much encouraged use of the death penalty despite its uneven application and its too often doubtful legitimacy.

  43. 43.

    WereBear

    @Betty: Yes, Trump went on an execution spree with federal prisoners. Not covered on Corporate Media.

    I think our Democratic leaders also long for the  past and went a bit unwrapped during the Pandemic, just like the rest of us.

  44. 44.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: There are so many important stories coming out of the Middle East now I cannot begin to follow them all. This one caught my attention though.

    From Bahman Kalbasi and reposted by Laura Rozen:

       Another jaw dropping [act of] bravery from an Iranian woman. Singer Parastoo Ahmad did a live performance in Iran a few hours ago in an ancient road inn/caravanserie.

    This is while the regime not only continues to ban women singing, it just passed a law that imposes even more punishment for women who take the compulsory Hijab off.

    Parastoo Ahmad livestreamed her concert in an empty caravanserie courtyard, and it’s available on platforms such as YouTube.

    Ms. Ahmad is quite a singer.

  45. 45.

    AM in NC

    @Doug:  As graduate students at the University of Georgia in the 1990s we STILL had to sign an anti-communist loyalty pledge in order to teach.    Wonder if that BS is still in effect.

    I was shocked (as wee we all) when the department head told us about it at our orientation. All of us signed it because all of us needed the jobs to attend school.  It seemed like a silly relic of a bygone era that just hadn’t been swept away yet. Wonder if it’s still a condition of employment at UGA?

  47. 47.

    Geminid

    @AM in NC: I’m not sure about conditions of employment, but U.Ga. very likely requires all contractors to expressly affirm that they will not engage in any activities that are part of the “Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS)” movement directed at Israel.

  48. 48.

    Soprano2

    @AM in NC: That’s one of those things that gets put in place and then is there so long people forget why and don’t challenge it. I hope someone eventually did away with it, because in this country it’s no illegal to be a communist.

  49. 49.

    AM in NC

    @Soprano2:  That’s why it was so shocking! I mean, how can the state make signing an oath forcing us to renounce perfectly LEGAL behavior/ideas a thing?  How is that just not a straight up 1A violation? And why didn’t the faculty challenge it? Particularly the humanities faculty.

    Then again, a shocking number of the “committed leftist” faculty at the University of Iowa English Department were less than welcoming of the grad student union when we were forming.  Preaching marxist theory in class while attacking the COGS union as being destructive of the comity inherent in the student/teacher relationship was a real eye-opener.

    Uh, grad students need health insurance too; and teaching, researching for faculty, and grading student work is WORK. And should be regarded as such.

    Loved that I was a card-carrying member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (the union that our grad student bargaining unit affiliated with).

  52. 52.

    The Audacity of Krope

    The directions in that last comic are far too complicated for Trump’s cabinet nominees to handle.

  56. 56.

    lowtechcyclist

    The interviewers asked which candidate the applicants had supported in the three most recent elections, what they thought about the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and whether they believed the 2020 election was stolen. The sense they got was that there was only one right answer to each question.

    Thank you for sharing this totally unsurprising report, FTFNYT. You’ve known for eons that this is who Donald Trump is, and you did your damnedest to normalize him and sabotage the Democrats anyway. Why don’t you all go off to a nice private place and fuck yourselves into a coma, you worthless gits.

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