Beware the "Adults in the Room"
In the midst of a public spat with President Trump last week, Republican Senator Bob Corker called the White House an “adult-day care center.” The insult played on a long-running media trope: that Trump would steer the country into chaos were it not for the "adults in the room," namely Chief of Staff John Kelly, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Although it is meant to provide some semblance of comfort, James Mann, author of Rise of the Vulcans: The History of Bush's War Cabinet, argues that the “adults in the room" trope distracts us from asking crucial questions about these powerful men. He and Brooke discuss the troubling records of some of Trump’s advisers and how their ties to the military may hurt American governance in years to come.
