I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: everyone who gets involved with Donald Trump gets slimed. The latest example is Admiral/Doctor Ronny Jackson who had a reputation as a competent doctor and a nice guy during the Bush and Obama administrations. That began to change when he gave a preposterous briefing about Trump’s health. Then came his nomination to run the Veterans Administration, which is a nearly impossible job given the competing interest groups and the size of the agency.
Tonight there’s breaking news that could derail the nomination altogether:
The ranking Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs committee is reviewing allegations he’s hearing about Ronny Jackson, the White House physician and President Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. It was unclear late Monday whether the Senate panel would postpone Jackson’s confirmation hearing, which was scheduled for Wednesday, in light of stories about the nominee told by current or former White House medical staff.
Sources familiar with the tales say that Tester’s staff is reviewing multiple allegations of a “hostile work environment.” The accusations include “excessive drinking on the job, improperly dispensing meds,” said one of the people familiar, who was granted anonymity to speak frankly about the situation. The other people familiar with the stories also confirmed those details.
If proven true, “it’ll sink his nomination,” said one of the sources.
This is what happens when you nominate someone without any vetting. There was no interview, no nothing, just a presidential* gut instinct that he liked Admiral/Doctor Jackson and that somehow made him qualified to run a massive bureaucracy. Trump’s gut may be large but his instincts are terrible. The incompetence, it burns.
I considered stealing a line from a tweet by Steven Beschloss, brother of historian Michael, but decided that was too Trumpian:
I’m not defending Ronny Jackson, but if I worked in the Trump White House I’d be likely to drink excessively and be pretty hostile. https://t.co/NPOwDZhGub
— Steven Beschloss (@StevenBeschloss) April 24, 2018
Excessive drinking can definitely make one hostile. The irony is that none of the post-Nixon presidents have been known as heavy drinkers. The last presidents to drink with their White House physician were FDR and Harry Truman and they were only occasionally hostile. Hostility is Trump’s speciality.
It looks as if Admiral/Doctor Jackson is the latest Trump dignity wraith. Stay tuned.
“excessive drinking on the job”
So drinking on the job is O.K., it’s just “excessive” drinking on the job that might be a problem?
He IS a Navy doc. Grog is an ancient tradition in that service.
I think we’ve found the explanation for why Dr. Ronny thinks Trump weighs only 239 pounds. All those little pink flying elephants were lifting Trump’s carcass off the scale.
@gratuitous: Brutal, just the way I like my truth delivered!
Party on, Ronnie.
Chump is a virulent strain of malevolence that infects and ultimately destroys everything he comes into contact with. Why ANYONE at this point would even think of working in his administration is astonishing.