Erratic Leadership

Since the 2024 election, the United States government has been pulled apart, thread by thread. Deliberately. By a reality television celebrity. Civil service regulations and ethics oversight remain in place in theory, but the experienced professionals who enforced them were fired or resigned. Cabinet members lack qualifications and have repeatedly proven it. The Inspectors General and oversight personnel were fired so that unlawful actions would not be prosecuted. Elon Musk was, for a while, allowed unchecked influence. His lieutenants screamed at Federal employees, locked them out, indiscriminately fired people, and claimed savings that were false, as well as claiming dead people and undocumented people got benefits.

Citizens protesting peacefully were murdered by inept and untrained immigration officers. Noem, the head of the Department of Homeland Security, remains in office despite poor policies and scandals. She shot her puppy dead for poor behavior and touted that as a qualification for being tough. It is widely reported that she is having an affair with a subordinate, Lewandowski. He fired the plane's pilot because Noem’s blanket was lost. Then, with no one to fly the plane, they rehired the same pilot.

The Transportation Secretary, Dean Duffy, stars in a television commercial telling people to dress up for the airport and be nice. This week, a statement was issued that Global Entry and TSA Pre-Check (a service passengers pay for) were being suspended during the partial government shutdown. One hour later, they announced expedited check-ins would be allowed.

Kash Patel, the FBI director, has misused taxpayer dollars on personal whims, including flying to the Olympics in Italy. Reports of complaints that FBI business has been stalled by his trips are reported.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services, rolled back and altered programs to protect children, including vaccination guidelines. During his confirmation hearing, he claimed he would not take “anyone’s vaccines away from them.” Outspoken about weed killers, he is now aligned with Trump and allows an increased use of glyphosate, a weed killer.

Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense, is not qualified and has proven he is immature, inexperienced, and simply wants to continue being a television show host. Parading before decorated generals, he gave an insulting speech.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi shows total fealty to Trump. She demonstrated a total disrespect for Congress in testimony and has dragged out the Jeffrey Epstein release of files and assisted in the cover-up.

The president’s history is marked (and documented) by connections to organized crime and a pattern of ethical violations. His erratic leadership and disregard for the rule of law have created havoc throughout the country and worldwide. His cronies make statements that scare Wall Street and then probably cash in: buy low, make remarks to stabilize it, cash out at the high, and then do it all over again.

Trump attacks Democratic states, using his office to “punish” opponents or policies he doesn’t like or that do not benefit him. Using executive oders like candy, he tries to impose his will, but those orders are not laws approved by Congress and are binding only on executive branch agencies. The administration continually pushes the envelope until a court stops them (which takes a long time). Once ordered by a judge to desist, the administration pivots and tries the same maneuver under another archaic law. It is apparent that Stephen Miller, among others, is putting a personal interpretation on the regulations and laws.

The entire administration resembles a very bad reality show, with Cabinet members jockeying for Trump’s favor and more control. The Supreme Court has largely supported him, but recently ruled his tariffs illegal. His approval is way down, but he continues to lie about his accomplishments. If a lie is told loudly and repeatedly, people start to believe it, even though they should be researching and paying attention.

Copyright © 2/26/2026 by Andrea O. Corwin

This piece is written based on media and older news reports. I claim no responsibility for the veracity of the articles that provided information for this piece I am publishing on Vocal for this Challenge.

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