It's been so odd seeing Trump cabinet picks come in because it feels like he is just picking conservative celebrities, rather then actual politicians. Like it's still kinda crazy that fucking Elon Musk is gonna be in government.
It's looking more and more like this term will be "Celebrity Apprentice: Washington".
Which, as sad as that is, is still preferable to the alternative where he has a small inner circle of actually smart far right strategists, who he trusts completely and follows their recommendations to the last detail.
I don't know that it holds true across the board, but for Trump at least, it appears that in the right wing you get smarts or charisma/a following...but not both.
Trump is a flashy moron who appeals to the GOP base, which is comprised largely of morons. They need a moron at the top of the ticket to speak the language of their base, but in the process they're stuck with a moron at the top when they win.
They'll still do damage, no doubt, but I feel like the biggest check on Trump's power is that he's too stupid to wield it to maximum effect.