Sometimes, President Donald Trump’s endless cycle of hirings and firings seems like a White House in chaos.
And sometimes it is.
But this current round of musical chairs is intentional, needed, and a wise response to the changing atmospherics surrounding the Trump presidency.
When he took office, Trump needed to appoint reassuring figures who would calm the financial markets and the international community.
With a reputation of a bull in a china shop (or a China shop), he needed to appoint Rex Tillerson as secretary of state and Gen. H.R. McMaster as national security advisor so as to tell jittery NATO allies that he was not about to upset the alliance and radically change our foreign policy.
Similarly, he needed to name Gary Cohn as his top economics adviser to calm Wall Street and send a message of continuity.
But those needs have now passed. Everybody has adjusted to the fact of the Trump presidency.
Now its time to move ahead with his agenda for change.
So it makes perfect sense to replace Tillerson with current CIA Director Mike Pompeo to encourage a tougher policy toward North Korea on its nuclear weapons, China on its dismal record on trade and intellectual property, Iran on its support of terrorism, and Russia on the long reach of its KGB into foreign countries.
Likewise, if Trump replaces McMaster with the likes of John Bolton, what a strong message that will send to our adversaries!
On domestic policy, he has gotten the best out of Gary Cohn. His aide’s skill and wisdom were essential in crafting the tax reform bill that is saving his presidency.
Now, he can pursue a more explicitly conservative, free market economic agenda with Larry Kudlow.
A change like this is not reshuffling, but updating his administration to meet the needs he now has.
When he fired Steve Bannon or Reince Priebus, it was an indication of early chaos in the White House.
But the replacement of Tillerson, Cohn and, hopefully, McMaster is the outcome of a deliberate and wise policy initiative.
Dick Morris is a former adviser to President Bill Clinton as well as a political author, pollster and consultant. His most recent book, “Rogue Spooks,” was written with his wife, Eileen McGann.
Author: Michael
Handsome Devil..... and Smart too.
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