Page 569 - Demo

Aging Gracefully563brought up turning Canada into our 51st state, but said he%u2019d use economic force, not the military. He then changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, because it had a %u201cbeautiful ring to it.%u201d One thing was certain however, even Saturday Night Livecouldn%u2019t have come up with a more outlandish mix of people than some of Trump%u2019s own cabinet nominees. The single qualification they all shared was having total loyalty to Trump, and at least three had a history of sexual abuse (as did Trump himself). All but a handful exhibited an almost total lack of suitability for the jobs they were proposed for. For example, Robert Kennedy Jr. was nominated to run the Department of Health and Human Services. Despite his solidly Democratic name and family history, he was widely known for being against vaccinations. He claimed they caused autism. He also promoted other debunked theories such as fluoride poisoning the public water supply, and AIDS not being caused by the HIV virus. While he legitimately spoke out against ultra-processed foods, 15,000 medical doctors signed a statement condemning his nomination because of his many completely false claims, and members of his own family denounced his appointment.The scarcity of legitimate qualifications for many of Trump%u2019s diplomatic postings prompted veteran foreign-policy analyst Joe Cirincione to label them a %u201cdiplomatic clown car,%u201d and a deliberate affront to the countries hosting them. Dennis Jett, an International Relations professor at Pennsylvania State University, and author of a book on the history of U.S. ambassadors, said it was %u201cremarkable%u2026how stunningly unqualified everyone is. I don%u2019t see anyone there who I think, %u2018Now there%u2019s a highly qualified person.%u2019 %u201d Just ten days before his second inauguration, Trump%u2019s New York criminal case, in which he was charged with falsifying business records to cover up hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, came to a conclusion. While he was officially convicted of 34 felonies, Judge Juan M. Merchan gave him a sentence of unconditional discharge, which meant he would serve no time in jail, nor be required to pay any fine. It was later pointed out that, as a convicted felon, under Federal law, Trump would not be able to own a gun,