I’m not sure I’ve seen in six months a better capturing of the second Trump administration. I write this just as I saw that the White House just produced a fact sheet about the US-European Union trade deal which contradicts and asserts different terms than what the EU says it agreed to. That’s pretty redolent too. But this one is even deeper in it.
A few moments ago I got an email alert from STAT News that reads: Top White House pandemic preparedness official resigns, officials say, in sign of broader disarray. But it’s the summary of the story that really captures it.
Gerald Parker, who was reported to be the head of the White House’s Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, resigned from the role after roughly six months — and was never actually appointed the formal head of the pandemic preparedness office in the first place.
Given recent history, this is a pretty important gig. But note the “was reported to be the head.” We’re six months into the administration and it wasn’t even clear whether this guy was ever in the position at all. The top health care/biomedical publication in the country was apparently forced to rely on hearsay and scuttlebutt. And in fact, at least formally, he never was head. And now he’s gone, from the position — Schrödinger’s Cat-like — that he may have held or not held.
This is the state of things from the very top to the very bottom of this administration. And the impact of that is bleeding out into every aspect of the society and economy. This is apart from the more directed and intentional forms of destruction. But it’s also important.