David Vance SubstackRead More
When I look at President Trump and his cabinet, I can’t help but think of the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Dr. Ashraf Ghani and his team.
The parallels are hard to ignore. Both were sold to their nations with inflated myths—Ghani as the “second greatest thinker in the world,” Trump as the ultimate dealmaker. Different countries, same deception. In reality, neither label was true. Ghani was not a genius, and Trump is far from the brilliant negotiator he pretends to be.
Their cabinets followed the same pattern. Under Ghani, officials like Asadullah Khalid and Yasin Zia threatened the Taliban every day, boasting about crushing them and even daring the insurgents to pick a battlefield. Meanwhile, the country was already in flames, and the Taliban were at the gates of Kabul. Everyone around Ghani was a yes-man, more focused on appearances than action.
Trump’s cabinet shows a remarkably similar dynamic. Rubio, Hegseth, J.D. Vance, and the Secretary of Homeland Security cannot sit through a press conference without repeating Trump’s name over and over, acting like obedient parrots. The role of top officials—whether in State, Defense, or Homeland Security—is not to turn the president into a sacred idol on camera. Their job is to advise him on national security, correct his mistakes, warn him of danger, and guide him toward sound decisions.
Instead, they remain silent, afraid to challenge foolish choices because they fear losing their jobs. But when the safety of your country is at stake, standing up, even at personal cost, is the essence of patriotism. For these leaders, patriotism has been reduced to one thing: endless praise of Trump.
Meanwhile, Trump is dismantling America from within. He has alienated allies across Europe and Asia, weakened NATO, and eroded the global credibility of the United States. Dictators are the main beneficiaries of this chaos. Russia and China understand that a direct war with the U.S. military would be suicide, so they chose a smarter tactic: hollow America out from the inside. Trump has been the perfect instrument for that strategy.
He will not make America great. Piece by piece, he divides society, weakens institutions, and destroys trust. The stark truth is that in this mission of internal decay, he has been frighteningly effective.
The tragic symmetry is clear: both Trump and Ghani were surrounded by yes-men, sold as saviors to their people, and shielded from reality by advisors too afraid to speak up. The cost is immense—lost trust, weakened institutions, and a nation left exposed to dangers no responsible leader should ignore.
