The best people! Trump scrambles to sweep Ronny Jackson mess under his rug
Remember when Donald Trump promised Americans that he would appoint “the best people“?
Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson has withdrawn as President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, he said in a statement Thursday morning.
His nomination was hampered by a flurry of allegations about Jackson’s professional conduct.
In a statement announcing his withdrawal, Jackson slammed allegations of improper behavior leveled against him as “completely false and fabricated.”
“If they had any merit, I would not have been selected, promoted and entrusted to serve in such a sensitive and important role as physician to three presidents over the past 12 years,” Jackson said. “Going into this process, I expected tough questions about how to best care for our veterans, but I did not expect to have to dignify baseless and anonymous attacks on my character and integrity.”
Jackson said he was motivated to withdraw from consideration because the allegations against him “have become a distraction” for Trump and his agenda.
Is this a fabrication?
Jackson’s indecision was brewing even before Capitol Hill Democrats on Wednesday released new allegations of professional misconduct, including the claim that Jackson had wrecked a government vehicle after getting drunk at a Secret Service going-away party.
The allegations were contained in a two-page document described by the Democratic staff of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee as a summary of interviews with 23 of Jackson’s current and former colleagues. The document also described Jackson’s “pattern” of handing out medication with no patient history, writing himself prescriptions and contributing to a hostile work environment with “a constant fear of reprisal.”
There are in fact an awful lot of “fabrications” you’re complaining about, Ronny!
In light of what we now know, let’s translate Jackson’s statement: first, the allegations may not have been 100% accurate but pretty much paint the picture of the drinking, the mishandling of meds, and a person not cut out to lead. Second, even a jerk can make rear admiral.
Second, there is not reason to think he is a lousy doctor — outside of his having gotten Donald rump’s weight and height wrong and that business with the pills.
Third, anything that makes Trump’s competency to do even the most basic functions of the office of presidency will be written off as a “distraction” because shoving the domestic agenda of Charles and David Koch and the foreign policy of Vladimir Putin is the top priority of Trump and the modern Republican Party.
