The Chaos Presidency: A Warning Ignored

I won’t say I told you so, but I kind of did…

Let me tell you, this has been one of the most infuriating weeks of my life. And that’s really saying something, considering I worked in Trump’s 1.0 White House. Since Inauguration Day, pretty much everything I had predicted would happen if Donald Trump returned to power has happened, and even some fierce Trump critics have been taken by surprise at the speed and ferocity (I have the texts to prove it). Mind you, I’m not saying any of this to gloat, because, believe me, I’d much rather be wrong. I just want to explain it if you catch me banging my head against the nearest wall.

On Monday, MSNBC published an op-ed from me on what I expected to see from Trump immediately upon taking office. The thing is, I’m no seer. Yes, I worked with Trump, and so I have some special insight that others do not. But at the end of the day, as I wrote in the piece, Trump is not inscrutable. On the contrary, he’s an easy read. He tells you exactly what he’s going to do. Unfortunately, people just don’t listen, don’t care, or choose to ignore the obvious.

To me, his key priorities were always crystal clear: revenge, immigration overhaul, and a draconian dismantling of the federal government. Suffice to say, on those fronts, he’s delivering with chilling precision. Perhaps the people who voted for him because of egg prices are feeling let down. But as Trump himself says, lowering the price of eggs was never his top priority. Sorry, folks. Oh and by the way, if you’re on Medicare or Medicaid, your prescription costs are about to skyrocket. This is the reality Trump promised, and unfortunately, he’s keeping his word!

So let’s go down the list and see how he’s doing…

Political Warfare

This was always going to be the starting point, because for Trump, spite and profit come first, always. This presidency isn’t passive; it’s active, combative, and vengeful. The Justice Department is currently being primed as his personal tool of retribution, and he’ll target high-profile critics in ways large and small as he sees fit. So far:

• He had 1,500 Jan. 6th perps released from prison with a full pardon—even those who committed violence against police officers.

• He terminated the Secret Service detail that was assigned to his former national security adviser John Bolton due to threats from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, as well as Mike Pompeo and others.

• He has threatened to withhold federal disaster aid for wildfire-ravaged Los Angeles, a blue city in a very blue state.

• He revoked the security clearances of 51 former intelligence officials.

• He suggested that Joe Biden should have “pardoned himself,” which may or may not mean anything, but is cryptic nevertheless.

• His perceived enemies fear losing pensions, getting audited, and paying steep legal bills.

• And just because he’s a vindictive weasel, a portrait of the former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, has been removed from the Pentagon.

The House is getting in on the act too. Speaker Mike Johnson has announced plans to appoint a new select subcommittee, led by Rep. Barry Loudermilk, to probe and attempt to discredit the findings of the congressional panel that investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Considering that Johnson and other Republicans have been so receptive to the freed insurrectionists, I think we know exactly where that investigation is heading.

Immigration

Where do we even begin? It’s very clear—once again—that hostility toward immigrants is a defining characteristic of Trump’s personality. Odd, since his mother and two of his three wives were immigrants. But far be it from me to figure out his complicated psychology. What matters is what he’s doing, and it’s already drastic.

• He declared a national emergency at the southern border and ordered more active-duty troops there.

• He has declared that ICE can arrest people at sensitive places like schools and churches.

• He ordered the end of birthright citizenship, a move that has been blocked by a judge who called it “blatantly unconstitutional.”

• He shut down a mobile app that allowed migrants to apply to enter the U.S. legally as asylum-seekers, canceling appointments that had been set for months.

• He imposed a refugee ban, stranding Afghani refugees that had already been cleared. (Remember when they tried to play the blame game on Joe Biden when the translators and lifelines to our U.S. Military and Intelligence Officers in country were left stranded? Yet, it was the initial Trump Administration that started the damage? I do.)

• His DOJ is threatening to prosecute any state or local officials who attempt to stymie his deportations, diverting longtime national security experts like George Toscas (whose work many of us in counterterrorism have tremendously respected) to focus on the newly created Office of Sanctuary Cities Enforcement. As I’ve said on national television—forget about focusing on actually protecting the homeland from major terrorism or espionage.)

And he’s only getting started. Expect to see a lot more action on immigration, including raids and detention camps, coming soon to a town near you.

Government “Efficiency”

Trump’s newest pals, the tech billionaires who had a front-row seat to his inauguration, are already pushing for privatization and deregulation, undermining government functions in favor of their own interests. Meanwhile, career public servants and the vital government functions they provide will be eliminated, and the American people will ultimately feel the brunt of the cuts. But Trump isn’t just focused on the size of government; he’s also focused on the type of people he wants serving in it.

• He revived Schedule F, to reclassify tens of thousands of federal workers, stripping them of their civil service protections and making them effectively at-will employees.

• He directed all federal diversity, equity, and inclusion staff be put on leave, and directed federal employees to rat out their colleagues.

• He directed all federal health agencies to pause communications.

• His Justice Department froze all cases in the civil rights division.

• He revoked the executive order banning discrimination in federal contracting.

• And once again, because he’s a petty little man, he even fired World Kitchen chef José Andrés and Coast Guard Admiral Linda Fagan.

It will be interesting to watch how Elon Musk and his “Department of Government Efficiency” function in reality, beyond the world of Twitter sh*tposting that Elon appears to enjoy. Given the controversy over his Nazi salute and his very public feuds with Trump’s other billionaire friends, I suspect Elon’s quasi-government position may not last as long as he anticipated. We shall see.

Last night, in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, his first since taking office, Trump made a suggestion that checks off all three boxes—obliterating the federal government, enforcing extreme immigration measures, and spiting his political enemies. As new fires raged across northern Los Angeles, he said FEMA should be abolished, and states should handle disaster response themselves. He specifically threatened to cut off federal disaster aid to states run by Democrats if they don't help with his mass deportation efforts.

This is a disturbing continuation of his disdain for federal relief efforts. It’s in line with Trump’s history of threatening to withhold aid, particularly to states like California, where he has repeatedly suggested cutting wildfire relief, blaming poor forest management despite evidence of climate change as a driving factor. These are concerns that I warned Americans about during the 2024 presidential campaign cycle for good reason. I had witnessed him delay aid to Americans in need numerous times after natural disasters. His history of politicizing and weaponizing disaster relief should be alarming to our congressional leaders about what’s to come for their communities in future crises.

It’s been quite a week so far, and this is only a small taste of the chaos yet to come. Stay tuned as this more extreme, more ruthless, less accountable, and entirely predictable Trump Administration continues to roll out.

Until next time,
Olivia