While everyone is still gnashing their teeth over whether or not Joe Biden is fit for the presidency, we need to remind ourselves that one man does not run the country single-handedly.
Whoever wins will be advised by a team tasked with helping guide international diplomacy, policy decisions and oversight of the most powerful economy in the world. With that in mind, we need to consider the people each candidate has or will soon surround himself with.
Biden’s secretary of state, Tony Blinken, has held several positions in previous administrations and has over 20 years of experience with the State Department and the Foreign Relations Committee. Merrick Garland, Biden’s attorney general, has served under five previous attorneys general with a history in public service dating back to 1979. Janet Yellen, Biden’s secretary of the treasury, has over 50 years of experience in academia and public service and is the first person in American history to have led the White House Council of Economic Advisors, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department.
These are just three of the seasoned professionals that Biden has tapped to help lead his administration.
On the other hand, former President Donald Trump (himself convicted of 34 felony charges) handpicked advisers that include Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who, with no political experience, saw 60% of the State Department’s top-ranking diplomats resign under his watch; Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin, a former hedge fund manager with no political experience who pushed through corporate tax cuts that have added up to $2 trillion to the national debt; and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who lied under oath about contact with Russian officials before resigning in disgrace after Trump excoriated him for appropriately recusing himself from the Russia collusion investigation.
And let’s not overlook some of the others, including Roger Stone, campaign consultant and senior adviser who was convicted of lying under oath; Steve Bannon, former campaign and White House strategist currently serving time for contempt of Congress and charged with money laundering and conspiracy; Paul Manafort, former campaign manager convicted of federal conspiracy and witness tampering; Michael Flynn, former national security adviser who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI regarding interactions with Russia; former adviser Peter Navarro, convicted and imprisoned for contempt of Congress; and Mark Meadows, former White House chief of staff and Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official, both facing criminal charges related to the Georgia election subversion case.
Nor should we overlook other members of Trump’s inner circle, the people who have, since working with him, declared he is unfit for office.
These include his former vice president Mike Pence; his former defense secretary Mark Esper; former White House Chiefs of Staff John Kelly and Mick Mulvaney; John Bolton, former national security adviser; former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham; former deputy White House press secretary Sarah Matthews; former White House counsel Ty Cobb; and former White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah Griffin.
Whether we like it or not, this is not a drill. We need to choose wisely.
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