On Sunday’s super-fun episode of CBS’s “60 Minutes,” host Scott Pelley did what he always does when he pompously pontificates on anything even remotely related to President-elect Donald Trump.
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Interestingly, the show ran 90 minutes.
Pelley kicked off the festivities by taking shots at Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, recently-resigned Rep. Matt Gaetz (FL), former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard, “Fox & Friends” weekend co-host Pete Hegseth, and independent 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., all of whom were named by Trump to cabinet positions (emphasis, mine):
This past week, Republicans won the House majority and President-elect Trump made nominations to his Cabinet. Some nominees appear to have no compelling qualifications other than loyalty to Trump.
The nominees are: Senator Marco Rubio for secretary of state. Pete Hegseth to lead the 3 million people of the Department of Defense. He’s a combat veteran most recently, a morning show host on Fox News with no government experience.
Former Congressman Matt Gaetz for attorney general in charge of law enforcement. Gaetz has been investigated by Republicans for alleged drug use and sex with a minor. Gaetz denies those allegations.
Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard for director of National Intelligence. She sought a pardon for Edward Snowden who leaked U.S. secrets and now lives in Russia. And Robert Kennedy Jr. for secretary of Health and Human Services, a skeptic of vaccinations.
Rather than go into detail about each of Pelley’s slams, let’s just emphasize a few obvious ones.
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True, Pete Hegseth, an Army National Guard officer with two Bronze Star medals, two Army Commendation medals, and a National Defense Service medal, and also a Princeton graduate who went on to earn a Master of Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, doesn’t have any “government experience” — which means the distinguished military veteran and scholar also doesn’t have any experience in government bureaucracy.
RELATED: Scott Jennings Torches Critics of Pete Hegseth, Tears Into Current Pentagon Leadership
As for Matt Gaetz, let’s be honest.
The Trump loyalist is Trump’s most controversial nominee to date. Gaetz’s detractors, including some Republicans, see him as an opportunistic instigator, while others, including Mollie Hemingway, Fox News contributor and editor-in-chief of The Federalist, believe the recently-resigned congressman was an outstanding pick for attorney general.
Said Hemingway:
Matt Gaetz was nominated for this position because we have a problem with the Department of Justice. For the last eight years, they have run roughshod over rule of law in this country. They have prosecuted political opponents. They ran the Russia collusion hoax. And too many people in Washington, D.C. did not stand up against what was happening there, and many Americans are upset about it.
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Hemingway also touched on the Justice Department and FBI’s “hatred” of Gaetz, which is a good thing, given that both agencies hate Trump, as well.
READ MORE:
Mollie Hemingway Gives Powerful Defense of Gaetz Pick for AG: ‘We’ve Had a Department of Injustice’
Briefly, the left hates Tulsi Gabbard because she left the Democrat Party to become an independent and then committed the greatest sin of all: supporting and campaigning for Trump before being tapped as his Director of National Intelligence.
Finally, let’s get to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nominated by Trump to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Yes, Kennedy’s views on vaccinations and other pharmaceuticals are controversial to some, which doesn’t mean he’s wrong. Even former Trump White House COVID Response Task Force Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx said on Sunday she’s “excited” to hear Kennedy’s responses during his confirmation hearing.
Again, as is the case with the left’s disdain for Gabbard, Kennedy abandoned the Democrat Party and supported Trump in the election.
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So, back to Pelley’s smug diatribe. The veteran “journalist” suggested that a majority of senators might not believe Trump’s nominees are “equipped to represent the American people.”
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It’s up to the new Republican majority in the Senate to decide whether these nominees are equipped to represent the American people. It seems hard to remember when America was united. But recently, we were reminded of such a time — the morning of September 11th, 2001 — when all Americans pledged to persevere, together. Nearly a quarter century ago, the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner made a promise to identify the remains of the lost souls of 9/11. Not many are aware, but that work has never stopped.
Huh?
Setting aside that “recently” (9/11) was more than 20 years ago, Trump’s win was historic, as untold numbers of Democrats crossed party lines to vote for him, black and Hispanic voters voted for him in record numbers, and he became the first Republican presidential nominee in 20 years to win the popular vote.
Simply put, like a majority of Democrats, Pelley just can’t deal.
