Or so my grandmother always said — and she was never wrong. Which was why I wasn’t allowed to be friends with this one little girl down the street, because I was told her mother was not a nice woman . . . although Bubbe would never explain exactly what that meant. I have since figured it out, of course.

Well, if that rule applies to most of my generation — which is the same generation as Donald Trump’s, i.e., over the hill and sliding fast — shouldn’t it also apply to him? In which case . . .

What gives with these two?

Let’s start with the richest, or one of the richest, individuals in the world. He clearly knows how to make money, babies, and political waves. He also knows how to buy his way onto a candidate’s bandwagon and — for the tidy sum of $130 million — help to buy a presidency.

And of course, Donald Trump would wish to reward such generosity of spirit and money. In a victory speech that lasted about 25 minutes, nearly four of those minutes were dedicated to praise of Musk, culminating in a proclamation that “a star is born — Elon!” [Derek Saul, Forbes, November 6, 2024.]

That’s odd . . . I thought he was already a star. But if Trump wants to take credit for having created him, and Musk has no objection, then it’s fine with me . . . and certainly no surprise, coming from the man who takes credit for everything anyway.

In any event, it’s unlikely that Musk would take on an actual Cabinet or White House position, given the requirement of having to stash his multi-billion-dollar assets somewhere for four years. Not to mention the rigors of passing a high-level security clearance . . . and let us not forget approval by the Senate. But as a more informal “adviser,” he would have unrestricted access and influence, particularly in monetary matters, without having to change his lifestyle or endure a rigorous approval process.

He has already commented on his thoughts concerning government cost-cutting — no, cost-slashing — which are, in typical Musk fashion, dramatic in the extreme, and thus a little frightening in their lack of detail.

Then there’s that little matter of the legal actions being brought against him, alleging fraud in connection with his million-dollar attempts to buy votes in the days leading up to the election . . .

But it may already be too late to stop the “welcome-Elon-to-the-family” party from being held. Judging from this Trump family photo posted on X by Trump granddaughter Kai, Elon has already been adopted. Here he stands, at the right end of a line of Trumps, holding his own son (the one named “X AE A-12”).

But wait . . . what’s this? Where is Melania?

Okay, let’s not jump to conclusions, though you must admit . . .

*. *. *

And next we have a member of America’s “royal family” of Democrats: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Now a Republican, and recently himself a presidential hopeful, he realized the futility of running against Trump, and instead jumped onto the Trump Train in hopes of landing a comfortable spot with the new Washington power elite.

While it hasn’t yet been decided what position would be offered to him, it has been reported by the Washington Post that he may be appointed a sort of “health czar” — also, like Musk, avoiding the Senate confirmation required for an actual government agency job. [Conor Murray, Forbes, November 6, 2024.]

Did someone say “health czar”? Hmm . . . let’s see, now. Isn’t this the guy who recently said that fluoride should be removed from the nation’s drinking water because it’s a health hazard? He’s also an outspoken anti-vaxer, claiming that some vaccines are responsible for causing autism, among other things. A member of Trump’s own transition team has said that Kennedy is talking about pulling vaccines he deems “unsafe” from the market. [Id.]

During his brief presidential campaign, he became well known for spouting some of the weirdest tales of the political season, such as admitting — to Roseanne Barr, of all people — that a decade ago he had found a dead bear that had been struck by another driver in New York City, and deposited it in Central Park with the intent of skinning it later and “[putting] the meat in my refrigerator.” And he wasn’t kidding. [Isabella Ramirez and Irie Sentner, Politico, August 23, 2024.]

But he may also have presented the world with a logical explanation for his illogical ramblings when he said that what he had originally suspected was a brain tumor in 2012 might actually have been “caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died.” He claimed to have been experiencing severe memory loss and mental fogginess. [Id.]

Yup . . . that could explain it, all right.

But brain worm or no brain worm, the jury’s still out on Bobby Jr.’s place in Washington. I just hope and pray he’s not the one chosen to wield final authority over our nation’s health system — at least, not until he earns an actual medical degree.

*. *. *

It’s early days in the choosing of the new administration’s support team, so there’s no need to panic yet. And I clearly recall the “revolving door” days of Trump’s first term, when we had just barely learned the name of one staff or Cabinet member before he or she was out job-hunting again.

So, at this point I would just say that perhaps Trump should be more careful in choosing his people this time around. I’m remembering the likes of Giuliani, Cohen, Manafort, Stone, Bannon . . .

Ah, those were the days, my friend.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
11/8/24