With all the noise around Donald Trump’s nominees, it’s easy to lose sight of his administration’s bigger plan: placing people who are unfailingly loyal to Trump in key positions, so that the real power lies with the White House. The Atlantic staff writer Tom Nichols explains why Trump’s picks to oversee the military and intelligence community could be two of the most consequential—and dangerous. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
There is such an overwhelming amount of noise around Donald Trump's proposed nominees,
their histories, their scandals, their beliefs,
that it's easy to lose sight of one important pattern,
which is Trump placing people in charge of critical cabinet positions who are utterly loyal to him.
So ultimately, the real control of those agencies lies with the White House.
I'm Hanna Rosen.
This is Radio Atlantic.
Today we're gonna talk
about a key pillar of that strategy to centralize control Trump's plans for the military.
Okay, ready?
Ready.
Our guest is staff writer Tom Nichols, who's a professor emeritus at the Naval War College.
Tom, welcome to the show.
Thanks, Hannah.
So there is so much to talk about in terms of Trump's proposed appointments,
but today we're gonna talk about military and security related appointments
because they are such high st from Trump's choice during this transition period.
What are you picking up about his attitude towards the military establishment?
I think his appointments,
particularly for Secretary of Defense