Lil' Donnie's New Toy

Ever since I took "Global View," a class on international history from a Global Southern perspective, in my sophomore year of college I've been hooked on international development. After college I joined the Peace Corps and since then I've devoted the last 30 years to bringing the best that the United States has to offer to the rest of the world, learning from what folks overseas have to offer to us, and then sharing that with my fellow Americans. I guess it's been a bit of a vocation for me.

So when Donald Trump decided to nominate the eminently unqualified Heather Nauert to replace Nikki Haley and become the next U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations I thought, wait for it....

"Well, that makes sense."

Think about it. Donald Trump is nothing if not consistent, especially when it comes to trashing institutions that don't fit neatly into is crayon-colored black and white (mostly white) dystopian picture of the world. He takes great delight in hiring folks to lead these institutions (or in Nauert's case, represent the United States) the very people who can best serve as human wrecking balls to smash to smithereens the credibility of said institutions. The list is long and is only growing longer as Trump scrapes the bottom of the barrel to find some random right-wing clown to fill these critical posts: Scott Pruitt (and now Andrew Wheeler), EPA; Ben Carson, HUD; Betsy DeVos, Education; Ryan Zinke, Interior; Jared Kushner, Saudi Tyrant Whisperer; and Ivanka Trump, ...????.

And if denigrating the institutions weren't enough, Trump insults the very class of people from which he has selected his nominee. Of course, it's important to nominate women to the highest levels of the executive branch. I don't need to remind any of you of just how woefully inadequate Trump has been with respect to diversity and inclusion in his cabinet. But can anyone tell me with a straight face that Heather Nauert is the most qualified person, never mind woman, available for this post? She brings... let's see...wait a minute, let me think...hold on...well, she once...no, that's not relevant. Ah, right! She worked at the U.S. State Department where then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson thought so much of her as a spokesperson for the department that he refused to let her tag along on his official trips overseas.

It reminds me of how former President George H.W. Bush (RIP) chose to replace Thurgood Marshall, one of the greatest lawyers of the 20th century, with "Fifteen Cents," aka, Clarence Thomas. N.B. My wife corrected me, Clarence Thomas was a worse choice and has probably done more damage to the credibility of the Supreme Court as an institution than Heather Nauert is likely to do at the U.N. But (don't tell my wife I disagree) it isn't just the United Nations that she'll be trashing, it's the institution of diplomacy and international relations. What message does Trump send the rest of the world by nominating someone who clearly is way out of her depth, has had no relevant experience and whose only credential is her unwavering commitment to repeat and forcefully advocate for whatever nonsensical lie comes of Trump's combed-over, empty head?

Hint: It probably won't get him invited over to the UN Secretary General's for Xmas dinner.

No the real answer is that this decision is yet another move by Trump and his white nationalist brain trust (bust?) to intentionally undermine the U.S.'s global leadership.

I'm now officially tired of winning.