Do You Have Any Reason to Trust These Guys?

A Saturday Prompt

The Duffy and Mullin show Friday was like Beavis and Butt-Head come to life. (Photo by Alex Wong via Getty Images)

They don’t bring expertise. They focus on buffing up Donald Trump. They’ve learned to lie often.

So when Sean Duffy, the so-called transportation secretary, and Markwayne Mullin, the so-called Homeland Security secretary, stand behind the White House podium—after a nationwide crash of the air traffic control system Friday and tell us the problem is old infrastructure and they need $50 billion to fix it—do you believe them? Do you trust them?

Or are we left to wonder whether the “ground stop” that caused some 14,000 flights to be delayed or canceled by the Federal Aviation Administration is because of the new $875 million AI-driven management system they just implemented (yes, it’s called SMART) or a cyberattack involving a foreign adversary? I’m not saying there was—Mullin said they have seen “zero evidence” that it was a “nefarious” attack—but I’m saying we’re being held hostage by men who have a thin connection to the truth.

And if this is suddenly such a high priority, why did they wait for a nationwide system failure to make their case? Did they not notice that their party has controlled both chambers of Congress for years? Was Duffy too busy driving his family around for his reality show? Was Mullin too busy plotting new ways for his masked federal thugs to abuse migrants and people of color?

We didn’t need a fresh mess to prove that we should have adults running our government, competent people who we can trust, people with expertise and substance. Many travelers were inconvenienced, and we’ll be damned lucky if this kind of serious screwup doesn’t cause any injuries or deaths.

Let’s not lose sight of the big picture: There’s little more fundamental for a society than having reliable systems in place that keep people safe and secure. Now we have to wonder whether we can count on the reliability of air travel as long as they’re in charge. Add this to the list of the Trump regime’s incompetencies and failures, spotlighting a new area of potential corruption and malfeasance to investigate.

What do you think? Do you have any reason to trust these guys? Does this latest mess escalate your concerns about their ability to manage our basic systems? Do you feel lucky we haven’t faced a bigger crisis? And do you think the Democrats must provide oversight as soon as they take back power in the House and Senate?

As always, I look forward to reading your observations and the opportunity for our community to hear from each other. Please do be respectful in your remarks. Trolling will not be tolerated.

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