The great ‘realignment’: Latinos are the new Blacks.

Trump won more Black votes than any Republican in recent history. But he has yet to nominate a single Black to his cabinet. This isn’t a coincidence; it’s a nod to the MAGA presumption that only affirmative action would explain a Black being among his first nominees.

On the other hand, it speaks volumes that Latino Marco Rubio, as Secretary of State, was among them. This was a cynical, even Machiavellian, move. More to the point, it was pursuant to the “great replacement theory” giving way to the “great realignment” project. Specifically, White nationalists fear the inexorable “browning of America,” where Blacks and Latinos outnumber Whites. So they’re resorting to a divide-and-conquer strategy to preserve White supremacy.

By elevating Latinos, they intend to pit them against Blacks, creating a racial caste system among minority groups. The goal is to make Latinos feel more indispensable to the Republican Party than Blacks are to the Democratic Party. But it behooves Democrats to counter this strategy better than they did the “trans ads” that tanked Kamala’s campaign.

Promoting unqualified Whites with gaslighting rhetoric against Blacks

Trump made it clear: the only qualification for his cabinet is abject loyalty to him — competence and consequence be damned. That’s why he nominated Matt Gaetz for Attorney General, Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Services.

• Gaetz, under investigation for sex trafficking and other serious allegations, has no experience running a law firm. Yet he’s set to lead the DOJ.
• Hegseth, a decorated Army National Guard officer, is best known as a Fox News personality who faced credible claims of sexual assault. Yet he’s set to lead the Pentagon.
• RFK Jr., a vaccine skeptic and medical critic, has no health-related experience. Yet he’s set to lead Health and Human Services.

Incidentally, think about Hegseth on Fox News when you see self-abnegating Black pundits parroting GOP talking points for their daily bread.

This pattern of placing loyalists in key positions shows Trump’s contempt for expertise and good governance. But there’s no denying that anti-woke, anti-DEI rhetoric is fueling these appointments. It’s the same rhetoric that falsely claims Blacks owe their success to affirmative action, not merit.

For example, the US military is arguably the most meritocratic institution in America. Yet, Hegseth himself has demeaned Lloyd Austin, the Black general heading the Pentagon, and Charles Q. Brown, the Black general chairing the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as “woke, DEI hires.” It’s like a white doctor, with only two years of residency, claiming to be more qualified than a Black surgeon, with 20 years of experience, to lead the medical-surgical unit at America’s largest hospital.

No FBI checks please, we’re Trump hires

Finally, it’s hardly surprising that Trump is insisting his nominees bypass the normal FBI vetting process. After all, Trump himself couldn’t pass an FBI check.

But instead of manufacturing outrage, the media should report that this is the reckless, kakistocratic presidency the American people voted for. And if you think these nominations are troubling, just wait until Trump announces his plan to “end the war in Ukraine in one day” — by not just abandoning Ukraine, but disbanding NATO.