Let's talk about what a second Trump admin will look like. In particular, let's focus on the regulatory environment.
This will be the most impactful change Trump will make but it will also be the hardest to see.
Trump has already promised that, as President, he will fire thousands of career public servants and replace them with cronies.
Of all the things Trump is proposing, this is the most scary because the implications are so big. Especially now that he has "immunity".
This means every manager in the IRS, the FBI, FCC, etc will be led by an unqualified crony whose only loyalty is to Trump and whose only goal is to make Trump happy.
This creates an insane perverse incentive to turn every agency into an enforcer of Trump's every whim.
Alright, let's talk about the Republican Outrage de Jour
The Value of Mar A Lago
Republicans are furious that a judge, who found Trump guilty of rampant fraud, stated that Mar A Lago is only worth $18M when Trump actually thinks it is worth hundreds of millions.
But....
If you actually read the judges ruling there are two key points the Trumpists are conveniently skipping:
1. The value of Mar A Lago was set by the County tax assessor, not the judge
2. The assessed value of the Mar A Lago was based on certain restrictions.
RESTRICTIONS
Understanding the restrictions is the key.
When Trump bought Mar A Lago, he agreed to maintain the existing building and keep it as a commercial club.
These restrictions severally limited what Trump could do with the property and forced him to assume massive maintenance costs
On paper, he is the perfect Republican candidate. Young. Veteran. Ivy League pedigree. Former Congressman. Governor of a swing state he turned solid red.
He should be a no brainer for the GOP. So why is he struggling?
Some ideas:
1. The guy is just awkward.
The delivery of his speeches is best described as a whiny staccato. And his retail politics are somehow even worse. He is just not good at the one-on-one interactions that win you donors, help you in media interviews and ultimately persuade voters.
2. His comms team is terrible
His strategy has clearly been to stay above the fray and avoid criticizing Trump as much as possible and let his army of very-online trolls attack Trump and his supporters.
Alright, time for me to post something controversial, y'all. Set your hackles to raised.
Ahem....I don't actually think university and corporate diversity, equity and inclusion offices do much good and I have no real problem if the organization chooses to get rid of them.
To be clear, I absolutely support diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. I think every organization benefits from a more diverse workforce, and studies show this is true.
I just think DEI offices are an expensive, ineffective way to get there.
I think we would benefit more from well funded, national think tanks and non profits that study DEI issues and provide recommendations that can be implemented by organization leadership, managers and HR departments.