Following a pattern of
handing jobs to the wives of his best friends, Trump is set to name Callista Gingrich the United States
Ambassador to the Vatican – a job she is, naturally, completely unqualified
for.
Callista Gingrich, the wife of
former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, is the preferred nominee to be the next
ambassador to the Vatican.
The White House hopes to announce
her nomination before President Donald Trump meets with Pope Francis on May 24
in Rome.
As is typical of Trump, he seems to have given
little thought to Callista’s actual experience before deciding to hook her up
with the job. Gingrich’s entire “career” section on Wikipedia is three
sentences. She hasn’t held a job in over a decade.
She’s never worked in diplomacy.
The last of one she had, as a clerk at the
House Agriculture Committee, erupted in scandal when it was exposed that
Gingrich – so instrumental in pushing for Bill Clinton’s impeachment – had been
having a six year affair with Callista while the pair worked in
Washington.
Her only real qualification is that she is a devout Catholic. In fact, despite her starting a relationship with Newt in a lengthy affair, she made him get an annulment of his last marriage in order to get right in the eyes of the Catholic Church.
Because Newt had been married for 19 years, the
couple came up with a particularly disgusting way to justify it.
They claimed the 19-year marriage was never valid because Newt’s
ex-wife had been previously married.
Indeed, Newt had also been previously married but a mixture of
misogyny and hypocrisy allowed them to ignore that.
As Trump’s corruption
scandals continue to grow, he is reportedly retreating further into his close
circle of “loyal” enablers.
After firing the FBI director for, in part, not pledging loyalty
to Trump or listening to his order to drop the Russia investigation, sources in
the White House have said that the replacement prospects are being assessed
based on their willingness to be Trump’s lapdog.
Here’s a typical rundown:
Mr. Trump and his advisers have asked some people whether they believe Mr. Kelly, the former New York police commissioner, would be “loyal,” language similar to what he used in questioning Mr. Comey’s effectiveness, according to people briefed on the discussions.
Hiring the family
members of his allies helps keep those allies loyal. Mitch McConnell’s
wife, Elaine Chou, is now the Secretary of Transportation. Mike Huckabee’s
daughter is the deputy press secretary. Trump’s own closest adviser is married
to his daughter.
As a man who walks a very
tight rope between impeachment, Trump’s impulse seems to be to keep his friends
so locked up in his administration that they wouldn’t dare move against him.
If Newt or Mitch McConnell tried to call for his removal, they
would be dooming their own wives along with him. It’s a bold play, and corrupt
as hell.
Author Jameson
Parker covers US
politics, social justice issues, and other current events which aren't getting
the attention they deserve. Feel free to follow or drop me a line on twitter.