Media Want Insubordination, Not ‘Independence’ In Trump’s Admin

Neither Democrats nor the Washington-based news media want Donald Trump’s presidency to succeed and one of the most effective ways to ensure it doesn’t is for people to sabotage his administration from within, as was often the case in his first term.

But they don’t explicitly acknowledge that reality. They instead cloak the subversion in nobility by referring to “independent” administration officials or cabinet appointees whom they urge to “exercise independence.”

On Friday’s episode of The New York Times’ “The Daily” podcast, reporter Jonathan Swan said Trump and his closest allies are “scouring the executive branch, looking for any pockets of independence and removing them.” Likewise, during the confirmation hearing for Trump’s pick for attorney general Pam Bondi, Democrat Sen. Chris Coons said, “One of the concerns I’ve raised … is safeguarding the Department of Justice’s independence…”

The point is to frame disobedience to the duly elected president as an act of nobility. When they say “independence,” they don’t mean an enthusiasm for critical thinking and personal experience that could be useful in offering advice to form the president’s thinking. What they mean is insubordination, a readiness to rebuke direction from Trump that will once again derail the agenda he was elected to implement.

Every elected Republican and “career civil servant” (aka government bureaucrat) who did that in Trump 1.0 was turned into a media hero: Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, Alexander Vindman, Miles Taylor (who?!), Mark Milley, James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Christopher Wray, John Brennan and on and on and on.

Each one of those “independent” fellows proved their courage by undermining the person to whom power was bestowed by the voters. To be called “independent” by Democrats and the media is to do everything Democrats and the media want you to do. Amazing how that works.

When The New York Times and Democrat senators say they have concerns about the “independence” of some appointee or federal agency that falls under the president’s purview, what they mean is they want some assurance that this appointee or that agency will rebuke Trump’s directives. They want to know whether they can still count on forces within the administration that will work on their behalf and thwart the president.

Note that Democrats are never asked about their “loyalty” or “independence.” They will do exactly what the media and party leadership expect. There’s no question. They often don’t even have to be told what to do. They all know what’s expected of them, as when Joe Biden’s attorney general Merrick Garland set about criminally prosecuting Trump during the 2024 election. Biden assured the public that he would never interfere while his Justice Department shook down his political opponent. Independence!

They don’t cherish independence. They want insubordination.