In the game of chess, there are few moves more exciting than a sacrifice. This signature maneuver occurs when one player intentionally gives up a piece to achieve a larger goal.
Sacrifices are usually part of a combination of moves that result in a better or more comfortable position for the player who performs it. One of the most common types of sacrifices happens in the opening when a participant chooses to offer a pawn to gain a lead.
All of this begs, is U.S. president-elect Donald Trump sacrificing one or more of his controversial cabinet nominees as pawns for a more bountiful reward down the line?
The Trump transition team sent shockwaves across Washington, Wall Street, and beyond with alarming picks for key government posts.
The role of secretary of defence overseeing a $900-billion budget and multiple global conflicts goes to Fox News television host and former army veteran Pete Hegseth; former democratic congresswoman, Tulsi Gabbard, tapped to become the nation’s intelligence czar as Director of National Intelligence; Robert Kennedy, Jr. selected to head Health and Human Services; and Congressman Matt Gaetz (now sacrificed) to oversee the Department of Justice.
Each weighed down with mountains of baggage, compromising their ability to effectively lead soldiers, spies, lawyers, and medical professionals. Moreover, each diametrically opposed to the very mission of the respective agency they have been chosen to lead. Collectively, they are a clear and present danger to the security and health of the republic as they vie to sit atop powerful and influential agencies governing the country.
Already chaos has ensued since the picks became public. The stocks of multinational vaccine-makers cratered in the wake of RFK Jr.’s nomination. The Gaetz pick, before the withdrawal, pitted Republican against Republican. The intelligence and defence communities are in shock over the Gabbard and Hesgeth nods. Moves that are inexplicable to the naked eye but no doubt meant to serve a much greater aim.
With any incoming administration, presidents often take the temperature of the political environment to gauge the boundaries of their newly acquired strength. George W. Bush did so with the initial nomination of his White House counsel, Harriet Meiers, to the Supreme Court and Barack Obama was especially truculent when floating the idea of nominating Susan Rice as Secretary of State. In both cases, each hit the proverbial wall before deciding on a different course of action.
Trump, now unburdened with the specter of federal criminal prosecution and emboldened with unqualified immunity as granted by the Supreme Court, too, is exploring the depths of his presidential authority. Yet, like Obama and Bush, Trump has now hit the bricks. But unlike his predecessors it is unlikely there will be a course correction from the president-elect.
Candidate are on a 'kamikaze mission'
Each of the remaining picks, however, still comes with tremendous risk, even as there are no more campaigns left to run. Moreover, each nominee’s loyalties remain squarely with Trump, not the party, not the members of the Senate and certainly not its decorum, traditions, and standards.
Perhaps for Trump, that is exactly the point. Each haphazard candidate is meant to push the norms of political gamesmanship to the brink. Each a Manchurian candidate tasked with debilitating an independent branch of government (and more), one blow at a time -- all on a kamikaze mission to destroy a system from within.
One or two might eventually get through, but none, like former congressman Gaetz, will ultimately survive. For in chess, sacrifices are also useful during endgames and here, the endgame for Trump is to become more powerful, more influential than the very system itself.
However, to achieve this objective, he must destabilize the underpinnings of democracy. Attack its checks and balances, the law and order, and ultimately the very defences that undergird its base of strength.
Ironically, the moves being made by Trump now are prescient; they were laid out in stunning detail by one of America’s ardent foes. The late Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev who stated: "We will take America without firing a shot…we will bury you! We do not have to invade the United States, we will destroy you from within.”
Those haunting words are back with a vengeance, being carried out not by an external enemy but yes, from within. A Putin sympathizer to undermine the nation’s intelligence apparatus. The fiercest anti-vaxx proponent sent to destabilize the government's healthcare ecosystem. Until recently, an accused sex trafficker meant to paralyze the execution of justice. To, finally, a suspected white nationalist that will turn the world’s foremost fighting machine on itself.
Trump’s destructive impulses are now unleashed and it is the vestiges of a system that “persecuted” him, “illegally attacked” him, and sought to imprison him for a cavalcade of wrongdoing that he seeks to bring down. This brazen offensive is Trump’s dastardly retribution for democracy holding him accountable.
Aggressive opening salvos being made by an all-powerful vengeful ruler bent on eradicating this grand experiment. The system of checks and balances now teetering and the only check remaining on the soon-to-be most powerful person in the world are those within his own party. Already they have shown a willingness to stand up to their leader, but it remains unclear if that boldness will continue.
Like moves on a chess board, the president-elect has opened with four pawns and already one has been sacrificed, but even more ominous is the possibility that the Gaetz withdrawal leads to an even more dangerous nominee that does achieve Trump’s ultimate objective. Check and mate.
Eric Ham is a bestselling author and former congressional staffer in the U.S. Congress. He served as a contributor to TheHill.com and The Washington Diplomat. He resides in Washington, DC.
