Donald Trump is creating a MAGA government

When Trump came to Washington the last time, it was with a completely different mandate.

The election victory surprised everyone, including himself. He had won in a sort of tie-in, without a majority of the vote.

Most Republican leaders, including the two previous Republican presidents, have opposed him ever since he launched his bid in 2015.

Many called themselves “never Trumpere». He had no political experience. And he had no friends in Washington.

So he had to stick with the Republican Party to form an administration. Many of them eventually turned against him. Two of them, both four-star generals, have called it “fascist».

Eight years later he returns in triumph.

Not with an electoral landslide, but still with a strong vote of confidence behind him. Majority of all votes. Victory in all swing states. And a majority in both chambers.

And now he knows what to do. Everything is arranged and organized.

In a little over a week, he sent them all out the largest ministerial positions.

And here there is no doubt. The Make America Great Again movement, which is really a cult of personality around Donald Trump, will rule.

Several of the names, and especially the last two he floated, incoming Justice Minister Matt Gaetz and incoming Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has struck terror deep into the remnants of the Republican Party’s misery.

Gaetz, one of Trump’s staunchest defenders in Congress, who has been under investigation for sexual relations with older children and human traffickingas the Minister of Justice.

And Robert F. Kennedy Jr., vaccine skeptic, conspiracy theorist and all-around eccentric as Secretary of Health.

He tops the list of controversial names, a list marked by the fact that everyone has expressed their personal loyalty to Trump.

Some, like the incoming Secretary of State, Senator Marco Rubio, are obviously well qualified.

Others, like decorated veteran and FOX News host Pete Hegseth, who will be Secretary of Defense, lack the administrative experience to lead America’s largest department.

However, he has been very loyal to Trump.

But for Trump, this is not just about loyalty to him. It is also a show of strength for the Republican Party in Congress.

All appointments must be formally approved in the Senate.

With a three-vote Republican majority, there should be no problem.

But there are some laughs. Several Republican senators expressed “skepticism,” “raised eyebrows” and even “shock” when news broke about Gaetz.

“I don’t see him as a great candidate,” said Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, one of the few in the party who has publicly sided with Trump in recent years, according to the New York Times.

We’ll see how it goes.

But all experience shows that Trump is not willing to accept humiliating rejection of his candidates by disobedient Republicans. It’s not their party anymore, it’s his party.

And he will use his vast means of power and opportunity to pressure him into putting this in place.

And when he is in place, he will usher in the most progressive American administration since Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

With a majority in Congress, and six out of nine conservative Supreme Court justices, three of whom are self-appointed, he has a free hand and two years (until the next mid-term election) to reform.

This will be possible in the economy, immigration, working life, defense security, foreign affairs, justice and climate policy.

When Trump was elected in 2016, it was said that many of his critics took him literally but not really, while his voters took him literally.

This time it is a good idea to save money. It must be taken seriously. And in most cases also literally.

(An earlier version of this comment said that the two former staffers who have called Trump a “fascist” are both admirals. They are actually generals. On corrected at 22:40)

Hear more in the Giæver og gangen podcast: