Who Is Running the United States, Musk or Trump?
In an interview with Sean Hannity, three men demonstrated that they have no idea how American democracy works.
Tom Nichols
Tom Nichols is a staff writer at The Atlantic and a contributor to the Atlantic Daily newsletter. He is a professor emeritus of national-security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, where he taught for 25 years, and an instructor at the Harvard Extension School. He has served as a legislative aide in the Massachusetts House and the U.S. Senate. He writes about international security, nuclear weapons, Russia, and the challenges to democracy in the United States and around the world—along with occasional contrarian views on popular culture. His books include The Death of Expertise and Our Own Worst Enemy: The Assault From Within on Modern Democracy. He is also a five-time undefeated Jeopardy champion.
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The key criteria for those in the top-tier positions appear to be loyalty, wealth, and ideological fervor, not competence.
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An apolitical bureaucracy run by public servants who respect the law is one of the greatest achievements a society can attain—and these two men have no respect for it.
Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Kevin Dietsch / Getty; Roberto Schmidt / AFP / Getty. If Iranian Assassins Kill Them, It Will Be Trump’s Fault
The president has denied protection to four men he put in mortal danger.
Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Anna Moneymaker / Getty; Alex Wong / Getty; Leigh Vogel / Getty. ‘Malicious Compliance’ Is Not the Issue With Trump’s Executive Orders
The president’s decrees are deliberately sweeping and chaotic.
Anna Moneymaker / Getty America Is Now Counting on You, Pete Hegseth
My advice for the incoming secretary of defense
Andrew Harnik / Getty The Paranoid Thriller That Foretold Trump’s Foreign Policy
Some of the president’s policies are stranger than fiction.
Tom Brenner / Getty What Trump Did to Police Officers
On January 6, 2021, Trump’s supporters attacked scores of law-enforcement officers as the president stood by.
Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Samuel Corum / Getty; Angela Weiss / Pool / Getty. The GOP Is No Longer the Party of National Security
America’s allies and enemies watched as Trump’s pick for defense secretary failed to quell concerns about his character and qualifications.
Andrew Harnik / Getty
