The president’s personal pilot is on the administration's short list to head the Federal Aviation Administration. Trump has told a host of administration officials and associates that he wants John Dunkin — his longtime personal pilot, who flew him around the country on Trump Force One during the campaign — to helm the agency, which has a budget in the billions and which oversees all civil aviation in the United States.
What I'm hearing: One industry insider equated this to the Seinfeld episode when Cosmo Kramer used his golf caddy as a jury consultant. A senior administration official told me that comparison is completely unfair. The source confirmed Trump recommended Dunkin and that he’s sat for an interview for the post. That source said he was impressive.
“He’s on the list because he's the president’s pilot, but if he gets the job it won't be because he's the president's pilot,” the source said.
In response to my questions for this story, another administration source stressed that while no decision has been made, Dunkin has the appropriate experience to get the job.
“John Dunkin isn’t just a pilot," the administration official told me. "He’s managed airline and corporate flight departments, certified airlines from start-up under FAA regulations, and oversaw the Trump presidential campaign’s air fleet, which included managing all aviation transportation for travel to 203 cities in 43 states over the course of 21 months.”
This is akin to putting your brother-in-law Randy in charge of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration because he's been a station dispatcher for FedEx for 12 years. It isn't just ridiculous, as Steve M points out it's Trump killing expertise in the ballroom with the candlestick.
Trump loves this sort of thing. He thinks everything that's bad in America can be corrected by a really smart guy like him who sees (or is made aware of) a simple, obvious solution all the supposed "experts" miss. Solving problems doesn't require knowledge or hard work -- you just have to pick up on the one detail thagt the people who've been in charge for years haven't noticed, and then all difficulties will magically vanish.
It's not just Trump who believes this, we have an entire country that for decades has said "Well what do these idiots in charge know? I'm smarter than they are!"
(Yes, I know that's the entire point of my blog for the last decade, but I'm not running for president either on grounds that I think I'm smarter than everyone else when I'm not. Thanks.)
This is a sitcom plot, not a way to run a country, but what do you expect from a reality TV show host?
No comments:
Post a Comment