Michael Lewis:This Guy Doesn’t Know Anything’: The Inside Story Of Trump’s Shambolic Transition Team

Ted

FYI: Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball and The Big Short, reveals how Trump’s bungled presidential transition set the template for his time in the White House.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/sep/27/this-guy-doesnt-know-anything-the-inside-story-of-trumps-shambolic-transition-team

Mark

There's very little doubt in my mind that most of this is as true as can be.

BenWP

I've read other Lewis pieces on the same theme; very frightening stories of the Department of Energy which really is responsible for an amazing array of programs, many of which, if unmanaged, threaten our safety and well being. Lewis also wrote of wholesale resignations of key scientists and managers who had been sidelined by the arrival of the know-nothings.

Crash

The Child In Chief. A terrifying state of affairs, for the rest of us. Edited to add: the Child In Chief, without even a child's rudimentary conscience.

Old_Joe

My God! It's a wonder that the country is still in one piece.

@Ted: Thanks much.

davidrmoran

And I assume everyone has already read excerpts from Woodward and Wolff.

catch22

Watched this 6 minutes of Michael Lewis on "Face the Nation" this morning.

Michael Lewis

BenWP

Heard today that Lewis has put all his work on the transition into a book. He'll be interviewed on "Fresh Air" tomorrow.

catch22

@BenWP , thanks for the notify.
Catch

Rbrt

Michael Lewis was writing about these things over a year ago. Maybe this “rebroadcast “ is in anticipation of a book.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/07/department-of-energy-risks-michael-lewis

Old_Joe

@Rbrt- thanks for the link. Fascinating.

AndyJ

Apparently the audiobook ML made about the Weather Service is incorporated into the new book, The Fifth Risk. It covers the attempt to gut the NWS's mission (with limited exceptions, an attempted prohibition on public forecasts!) to boost the fortunes of Accuweather.

Crash

AndyJ said:

Apparently the audiobook ML made about the Weather Service is incorporated into the new book, The Fifth Risk. It covers the attempt to gut the NWS's mission (with limited exceptions, an attempted prohibition on public forecasts!) to boost the fortunes of Accuweather.

Gawd A-mighty.

BenWP

Not to overstate the obvious, but I have to say that it really matters who wins a presidential election. The man at the top doesn't know what goes on at the many government agencies, yet if he conveys the message to his underlings that all government activities are bad and must be curtailed or eliminated, the whole country pays a terrible price.

Mark

And that's precisely the predicament we find ourselves in Ben. What we have is an angry guy with very little to absolutely no sense or intelligence who just wants things his way. Privileged and all like that.

davidrmoran

But with massive skills and resources for massive, massive grifting:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/02/us/politics/donald-trump-tax-schemes-fred-trump.html

davidrmoran

no future

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/10/michael-lewis-discuss-the-fifth-risk.html

hank

But at least he knows how to pick good people. This Judge Kav (the beer part) sounds an awful lot like one of my buddies back in college.

Crash

Acccccchhhh.....

catch22

The October 2 Michael Lewis interview with Terry Gross on the NPR Fresh Air program for those who could not listen during the normal program period.
Click the "listen to full show" icon at the site for the 45 minute program.
Be well.
Catch