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Trump’s meeting with Biden was highly anticipated – but Matt Gaetz’s pick for attorney general was the big bombshell of the day | News from the USA

Online Niel November 14, 2024

At the White House on Wednesday, a highly anticipated moment – the beginning of the transfer of power between two such bitter enemies.

It was a moment of history, a moment of symbolism. It could have stirred up bitterness and mirth, but there was no sign.

However, it was not the greatest moment of the day. That came later.

For the second night in a row, notable names emerged for the people Donald Trump wants in the White House.

Following Tuesday night’s news that Fox News host and former National Guard Major Pete Hegseth was Trump’s pick for be the next secretary of defenseon Wednesday night came another bombshell from Trump — and it sent establishment eyebrows over the edge.

“A Gonzo Agent of Chaos”

Ultra-Maga loyalist firebrand Matt Gaetz has been announced as Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, the nation’s highest-ranking police official.

This was totally unexpected and sent Washington into a tailspin.

Veteran Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said the announcement was “a red alert moment for our democracy”.

Representative Jim Himes, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, told CNN that the role of attorney general requires “… care, prudence, a deep respect for the rule of law… Matt Gaetz is the opposite of all of those things, he’s a gonzo agent of chaos.”

Gaetz, 42, faced multiple allegations of wrongdoing, including a federal sex-trafficking investigation that ended without charges against him.

A House ethics investigation is ongoing, but would be dropped if he left Congress because he has jurisdiction only in that forum.

He never worked as a prosecutor and only worked in local law for a few years.

His appointment requires congressional approval. Even with a Republican majority in both chambers, Gaetz could struggle. He is not popular with more traditional Republican politicians.

For Donald Trump, the choice reflects precisely the vision he has outlined for the Justice Department — a department that will do its bidding without any sense of independence or objectivity.

It is an intentionally provocative choice by a proud provocateur. On a brand to a T-shirt and it is the product of American democracy.

The transition to the White House

Earlier in the day, Donald Trump’s private jet landed at Joint Base Andrews on the outskirts of Washington DC. Cameras caught him passing the presidential jets parked on the tarmac – the jets that would soon fly him again.

The president-elect’s staff viewed this flight to Washington as a triumphant return. On social media, a senior adviser set the footage of the landing to the soundtrack of Kanye West’s Homecoming.

It was back to the future for the returning president.

As he descended the steps of Trump Force One, I would have given a penny for the man’s inner thoughts.

Certainly, for him, this moment was two neat fingers to the many who said he never would; that he never could.

But he did. Four years ago, he was a red herring in the eyes of the Washington establishment; a liability for them exiled in Mar-a-Lago. He had lost the White House and his party had failed to win either house of Congress.

After four years, he won back the White House, taking every one of America’s swing states, and his party won both houses of Congress – a clean sweep. And he did it all despite court cases, warnings that he was a threat to the nation’s democracy.

Love him or hate him, admire him or fear him, his return to the White House on Wednesday to begin the transition to America’s 47th president is a stunning political turn.

Anticipating this moment of transition, this moment in history, the cameras of the world were there.

The incoming president was a few minutes late for his appointment with the sitting president. They met in the Oval Office in front of a roaring fire that was certainly warmer than the vibration in the room.

A handshake and civility

With all the anticipation – what would it be like? Body language? Mood?

If Donald Trump was cheerful, he didn’t show it. If Joe Biden was bitter, he didn’t show it either.

Two men who have such different visions shook hands. Two men who had exchanged such brutal words for each other over many years smiled and exchanged pleasantries.

“A danger to democracy,” Joe Biden said of Donald Trump so many times. Well, now the process of democracy called for this moment: a handshake and civility.

President Biden certainly wanted to give Donald Trump what he never gave him four years ago: a concession of defeat and a transition.

Remember, in 2020, there was no Oval Office moment. Instead, Donald Trump denies that he lost the election.

It was the press secretary coming out to describe the details of the two-hour meeting.

“I can say that it was really very cordial, very kind and substantial. And I mentioned at the beginning that national security was discussed, domestic policy issues were discussed.”

By nightfall, the White House released official photos of the meeting. They are images for the ages.