We all know that President Trump was from Day One hemmed in on virtually every side by enemies. And not just Dems. The GOPe was working to thwart him at every step of the way. That also included his Vice President, Mike Pence. Trump, the outsider, relied to a great extent on input for his appointments on Pence, with his DC connections.
Can we agree that Trump mishandled the Covid Hoax? That's not a put down. I've argued in the past that Trump had few options, especially early on. Later, his hands were to a great extent tied by electoral politics. He put Pence in charge of Covid response, and Pence--predictably--let him down.
Emerald Robinson has some hot tweets today, pointing the finger at a key Pence staffer, Olivia Troye. Here's a slightly edited Wikipedia bio for Troye. Among other things it offers a pretty good idea of what Trump was up against:
Olivia Troye is an American national security official ... She went on to work in the Office of the Vice President of the United States as the Homeland Security and Counterterrorism advisor to Vice President Mike Pence and also served on the White House Coronavirus Task Force as Pence's lead staffer on the Task Force. She resigned from the White House in August 2020.
After graduating from college, Troye worked for the Republican National Committee. She began a career in national security after the September 11 attacks. She served in the Pentagon as a George W. Bush Administration appointee. Troye was an intelligence official in the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis serving as chief of strategy, policy, and plans. ...
While Troye says she resigned, Mike Pence's national security adviser, Keith Kellogg, claims he fired her and "escorted her off the compound." He has also more generally accused her of lying about her time in the Trump-Pence administration. Troye has denied the allegations.
After leaving the White House, Troye became an outspoken critic against the Trump Administration’s response on the COVID-19 pandemic. She later publicly supported Joe Biden for the 2020 United States presidential election. Troye endorsed Biden in a video released by Republican Voters Against Trump.
... Troye is also an advisor to Defending Democracy Together, [another Bill Kristol front group].
According to CNN, Troye is a lifelong Republican. She described herself as a "John McCain Republican" in a video released by Republican Voters Against Trump.
Her latest article is an attack on the argument that the Covid virus originated in the Wuhan lab.
Emerald Robinson addresses Troye's role on the Coronavirus Task Force and more broadly as symptomatic of the type of personnel Pence brought to the White House:
The person most responsible for unleashing the Fauci fraud on America is @OliviaTroye who was VP Pence's "COVID advisor."
In a recent article, Troye explains how her job was to misinform the Trump Admin at every turn.It's interesting that Olivia Troye now describes herself as "a former career intelligence professional." Which agency did she formerly work for before joining Pence's staff? Why was she so hostile to the Wuhan lab leak theory? And so hostile to Pompeo's lab leak investigation?Troye writes that the lab leak theory was so dangerous a threat to the IC that "ultimately CIA Director Gina Haspel intervened to defend the integrity of the intelligence community & insulate it from political pressure." How would she know that?In Sept. 2020 @OliviaTroye was fired by Trump Admin after someone finally figured out she was another NeverTrumper on Pence's team. Almost the next day, Troye started an anti-GOP org. Then she publicly voted for Biden. While claiming to be a Republican.
LOL @OliviaTroye thinks she's being attacked when I quote from HER OWN ARTICLE. VP Pence was staffed by a gang of morons but I think we've found the apex moron. https://t.co/r3DZTTdH8g
— Emerald Robinson ✝️ (@EmeraldRobinson) June 2, 2021
Oh Lord. Just when I think i can stop binge drinking I see another example of lousy Trump personnel choices. How could he be so blind to the traitors all around him? How did he stand it? So energetic and full of love for America but so purblind to hiring disasters.
ReplyDeleteWhen you are hiring for swamp jobs, with the only qualified candidates are swamp creatures who have the relevant experience because they are swampy, and are well-regarded because their bosses on the way up were also swamp creatures, and the people directly below them are also swamp creatures with the additional fun benefit that the president can't simply fire them, I'd like to see YOU do better.
DeleteWhen you have the choice between people who can't do the job because they aren't lifelong bureaucrats and hence can't fight back against their underlings who ARE lifelong bureaucrats and can game the system) and people who won't do the job because they're McCain-esque scum, you hire the backstabber who could do the job if they decide to, since you'll get at least partial compliance.
You are so right. The fabulous Maine DHHS director, Mary Mahew was hired by the Trump Administration to work at the Federal Department of Health and Human Services. She was totally stymied from day 1. Went to Florida and saved thousands of elderly from Wuhan virus death.
DeletePence sounds like the Apex Moron! It's very odd when people like this take some kind of stand, and think it's heroic, but they clearly are on the wrong side of history, as they say. It's one thing to do something contrarian and undercover and end up being right and saving some lives or something, but with Troye it's clearly the opposite! Yet, she's still proud of it and blabbering about truth and honor. She wouldn't know truth or honor if they bit on the leg. That's the part I just don't get at all. Wing Nut!
ReplyDeleteNO, NO, NO! I will never agree that "Trump mishandled the Covid Hoax" and I speak as a career Federal employee who toiled 42 years in the belly of the beast...it smacks of Monday morning quarterbacking.
ReplyDeleteWe've plowed this ground before, but it bears repeating: if Donald Trump had hired only people he trusted who had no background inside the Beltway, career bureaucrats like myself would have run rings around them for months/years and nothing would have gotten done. He did the best he could (the best anyone could have done IMHO) and fired more subversives faster than anyone I know. The shame of it all was that he was robbed of a 2nd term just as he was getting the knack for accomplishment in the swamp. Can't wait to vote for him again in 2024!
Thank you hippie for renewing my faith in the man.
DeleteNow...about that whole voting thing in 2024...
I had a good career that was great sometimes and my only regret was that I hung up the spikes before I could see Donald Trump's visage as CINC on the walls of the Pentagon, sigh. But after Romney blew it, I just couldn't stand seeing that arrogant poseur at the head of the chain of command anymore and figured it was time to go (also, being the oldest guy in the room all the time began to wear me down, but I digress [of course, sometimes the "room" was a tent downrange somewhere so there's that as well] :o) Just got too old for camping out when the shrapnel was flying...
DeleteHipp. You raise an interesting side question. Let's take as given that Trump really did the best he could given the cruddy system to work in. What does that say about our system? Can you think of anyone else who could do better than Trump? And, can we survive with a government that even the best of executives doing the best they can is unable to overcome?
DeleteI wish I knew what to tell you other than misquote the great Winston about democracy being a lousy way to govern, except for all the others that have been tried, sigh
DeleteOtherwise, I've often thought that it is great that in this country the "best and the brightest" don't have to go into government in order to succeed, but it cuts both ways. I worked with many individuals who were honest and hard working to a fault and would make you proud to be an American...of course, I'd usually wonder why they were "bureaucrats" when they could probably be doing much better in the private sector. Then again, I guess I could say the same about myself, but I kept getting interesting assignments in interesting places and the next thing you know, 4 decades had passed. I'd like to believe I made a difference on some level...even if it was only one soldier at a time when I was able to craft some workaround that made his situation and circumstances a bit safer, but maybe I'm fooling myself
The larger question you pose is timeless and was captured perfectly in my favorite TV series: Yes Minister & Yes Prime Minister. The constant struggle between lifetime bureaucrats and their political masters is a fact of life (and government) for which I see no easy answer. I suppose a benevolent despot would be one way out, but only for as long as that despot lives and apres lui, le deluge is possible, if not likely
The best we can do IMHO is govern lightly at the Federal level and let the States have at it in their own way. Moving Federal departments out of DC is a must and would cut down on the incest that exists inside the Beltway. I moved a lot in my career and it was hard on my family (and furniture - 3 moves equals a fire is the old saying in the military, but I digress), but each new assignment and location was invaluable to my career and made me a better bureaucrat in the long run...if that can be of any comfort to the taxpayer at large
Wish I could be more helpful, but it's the nature of the beast and the swamp...rock on brother!
Brett Weinstein interviews Pierre Kory on Ivermectin's successful prevention and treatment of Covid, and its suppression.
ReplyDeleteWatch while it's still up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn_b4NRTB6k
Pretty much everything you need to know about Olivia Troye at this point is here: https://accountability.gop/about/leadership/ and here: https://accountability.gop/report-card/
ReplyDeleteHow do these people get the way they are? Speaking of which, my apologies for necessarily exposing you to that creepy visage on the page of the first link.
I agree with Hotlanta Hippie, Trump did amazing on getting things done.
ReplyDeleteCompare Trumps achievements with another outsider, Jimmy Carter.
Trump had a huge learning curve, and along the way revealed the hidden corruption, bias, distinction, and incompetence of our elites and their associated organizations. Trump was a giant red pill, that awakened a lot of people.
I’m amazed at the betrayal by Olivia Troye of her job, but it seems typical of the never Trumpers. Her level of hatred of maga / Trumpism must be beyond belief. How hubristic. Reminds me of the text messages from fbi lovers about Trump.
"Now...about that whole voting thing in 2024..."
ReplyDeleteAnon brings up something I think about 20+ daily while reading the news... Still not one single election integrity bill worth having passed so far. Minor holes plugged here and there to cheers and faux tears but nothing anyone can really hang their hat on.
Much to my dismay even Florida and the great DeSantis (not a fan) simply glazed the donut.
Maybe Arizona will sort it's self out but I wouldn't expect may others will.
Passing new laws isn't necessarily the whole answer. Enforcing those that are on the books would achieve a lot, exerting legislative oversight in timely manner, etc. Most of went down violated the laws in place but was tolerated for the sake of screwing the Orange Man.
DeleteI remember Sidney Powell's answer to what impact her succeeding in court would have in the 2020 election and she always states "fraud vitiates everything." Michigan lawyer has referred to that as well. What say the lawyers here, does fraud vitiate everything? Except when it's an election and democrats are in control of the levers
Deleteof power? I get the whole jurisdiction and respect for federalism and election law is different, but surely courts are where questions of fraud must be decided no? How does CJ Roberts come down on that one? Or is he too busy implementing his strategy? Powell's a nut? And yet we all know there was massive fraud because Zhou is creeping out little girls in the white house.
Mark A (Gina Haspell is a great patriot and defender if our freedoms!)
It makes one wonder what the counting centers will look like next election. It wouldn't surprise me if Baiden cited threats of violence to lock down the counting rooms and throw out observers. And this time I might actually believe the threats of violence.
DeleteIt's possible that Roberts preferred to have more solid, i.e., audit, evidence that was beyond the more circumstantial (albeit compelling) evidence that was on offer at the time of the TX case. This, again, is where the state legislatures come in. They have laws in place. They need to act expeditiously.
DeleteI wonder…
ReplyDeleteDoes Russia have proof of election fraud in the US?
What would happen to Biden if Putin released this?
Or even threatened to release it?
The US has a history of lecturing other countries about election fraud.
And one of Putin’s goals is discredit the US system.
And what a coincidence two hacking that impact the US Economy, both supposedly from Russia. All with plausible deniability on their origin. More discrediting of the US?
That would make for an extremely interesting exchange.
Delete@ ray and mark
DeleteOh yeah, there's an exchange alright but not with Crash Test Biden. You can bet that Putin/Lavrov have had any number of conversations w the Regime about many interesting subjects including the election theft. Talk about extortion. Nordstream pipeline is just the first payment to be sure.
I would bet that Russia had nothing to do with any of the infrastructure attacks of the last month, if only because it's the Regime yelling Russia! Russia! Russia! If it's not China then it's the Regime itself doing more Cloward Piven tactics.
Aa
I think in the years gone by that people went to DC to work in a gov. job for a living....now they go to DC to work their agendas in a gov job.
ReplyDelete@Aa, Russia also seems to be a preoccupation of the Great Resetters, so you get the feeling in that respect that Da Deep State was trying to keep Trump and Vlad fro pal-ing around as nationalists, so interesting indeed if you consider that Trump surely is aware of all this, so his relative silence on Jan 6 political prisoners and then Putin's willingness to go their seems to be Putin trying to foment Bolster Russia!Russia!Russia! Which would be what Zhou regime wants internally...silky as it is.
ReplyDeleteMark A
I don’t understand Trumps silence on the political prisoners.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is he is showing a ruthless focus on the election fraud and fixing the gop, and fighting lawfare against him in court.
Trump is a natural executive unlike the poseurs produced by the Uniparty of apparatchiks. He could dispatch some people to help the political prisoners, even surreptitiously. Unless the fake news enemedia is suppressing this, which is at odds with the rest of their trash narrative, I'm kind of disappointed in how he's left them hanging.
Delete