+

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.

Close
HomeQuizzoneWhatsappShare Flash Reads
 

A theory about the fight over Mitt Romney

Nov 28, 2016, 21:52 IST

Mitt Romney talks to media after meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in Bedminster, N.J., Saturday, Nov. 19, 2016.AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

Like everybody else, I don't fully understand what's going on with the very public fight among Donald Trump's associates about whom he should appoint to be secretary of state.

Advertisement

But I do have a theory that I don't think has been fully considered.

In the case of Mitt Romney as a candidate for the post, Trump's incentives are not aligned with those of his entourage. They have good reason to oppose Romney even if Trump wants him - especially if Trump wants him.

Remember the calculus for the C-listers who signed up with Trump early.

They debased themselves by signing up with a candidate who was widely considered ridiculous and unacceptable by Republican insiders. In exchange, they would line up - in the unlikely event Trump won - for administration jobs for which they would otherwise be considered laughably unsuitable.

Advertisement

This calculus seems to have worked out for Michael Flynn and perhaps Ben Carson. But a Romney appointment would be a severe threat to the dynamic the Trump sycophants depend on.

If a consummate party establishmentarian who did not support Trump - indeed, one who said Trump was "playing the American public for suckers" - can be forgiven and given a top job, what role will be left for Rudy Giuliani or Mike Huckabee?

Therefore, it is in the best interest of Trump's insiders to reinforce Trump's instincts to prioritize loyalty over experience, and also in their interest to discourage people outside Trump's sycophant circle from even seeking jobs in the administration.

So, maybe all the Romney-bashing leaks really are freelancing by self-interested aides, rather than a Trump-directed effort to humiliate a former rival.

The latest skirmish in this fight came Monday morning, when MSNBC's Morning Joe reported Trump is "furious" with his campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, for publicly urging him not to pick Romney, saying it would be seen as a "betrayal."*

Advertisement

Morning Joe cited "two sources at the top of the Trump transition team" who had spoken with Trump about Conway's comments.

Later Monday morning, Conway texted Joe Scarborough of Morning Joe to say his reporting was wrong and "sexist."

"She says she can have any job she wants," said Scarborough, which is not exactly a normal public assertion by a top aide to a president-elect.

Donald Trump greets Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney after endorsing his candidacy for president in 2012.REUTERS/Steve Marcus

Conway's main mistake may have been making the criticism too much about Trump - saying the appointment would make supporters feel "betrayed" - rather than focusing solely on Romney.

Advertisement

Admittedly, it has always seemed strange that Trump, an egomaniac who is obsessed with being shown respect and loyalty, would consider appointing Romney, who called Trump a "phony" and a "fraud" whose foreign policy ideas are "very, very not smart," to oversee foreign policy.

But there are some good reasons he might want to put Romney at the State Department. Choosing Romney would:

  • Bring a potential rival inside the tent, rather than allowing him to critique the administration from outside.
  • Demonstrate his dominance by showing that formerly recalcitrant party insiders accept his leadership and are willing to work under him.
  • Please congressional Republicans whose agreement he will need on legislation.
  • Provide managerial talent and policy expertise that will be badly needed in the administration.

Importantly, while these factors would do a lot to help Trump, they could actually hurt the insiders who currently surround him.

One of the warnings about a Romney pick - that Romney could lead a "rogue" agency that would be its own independent power center - makes some sense. But whose power are those issuing the warnings worried about being diluted - Trump's, or their own?

To the extent a Romney pick allows Trump to subordinate the Republican apparatus to himself and finally hire the A-list experts he always wanted to respect and submit to him, it would undermine those in Trump's world who hope to supplant the establishment.

Advertisement

But it's not obvious why that should be Trump's own concern.

*Disclosure: In addition to my duties at Business Insider, I am a contributor to MSNBC.

NOW WATCH: It's surreal to watch this 2011 video of Obama and Seth Meyers taunting Trump about a presidential run

Please enable Javascript to watch this video
You are subscribed to notifications!
Looks like you've blocked notifications!
Next Article