People who are casually following the recent announcements from President-elect Donald J. Trump about how he intends to staff the upper ranks of the executive branch could be forgiven for thinking they were reading about a beauty contest, not political appointments. If, during his first administration, Mr. Trump boasted of his generals from “central casting,” now, it seems, he has applied the same principle to the whole shebang.
Tom Homan, his pick for “border czar,” is from “central casting,” he announced in a campaign speech.
Kristi Noem, the choice for homeland security, is “beautiful,” he crowed during a rally.
Matt Gaetz, the highly controversial choice for attorney general who later withdrew his name from consideration, and his wife, Ginger, are “a seriously good-looking couple,” Mr. Trump said.
While it is easy to dismiss this focus as superficial distraction, to mock Mr. Trump’s reported penchant for watching videos of potential senior staff members to see how they look and perform onscreen, and to condemn it as the latest expression of the reality TV-ification of government, underestimating the idea is a mistake. Not just because of the controversies over some of the names or their very public loyalty to Mr. Trump, but because of what they embody about his worldview.
They’ve got a look.
ImageKristi Noem is Mr. Trump’s choice for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.Credit...Michelle Gustafson for The New York TimesImageThomas Homan will serve as “border czar” for the incoming administration.Credit...Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times“It’s an aesthetic strategy,” said Samantha N. Sheppard, an associate professor in the department of performing and media arts at Cornell University. “Casting is cultural production. It’s a way we build ideas about race, gender, credibility.” It’s a technique for populating a specific picture of the world.
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