Normally, when a Republican takes office, he can call upon a pool of qualified people from the last GOP administration to fill the newly vacated positions. In Trump’s case, however, he has been bitterly critical of Bush 43’s foreign policy, and his ideas about foreign relations are completely out of the mainstream of either party. In addition to that, his short attention span, his history of random, erratic interventions, and his hunger for popularity suggest that he is incapable of either supporting his subordinates or selecting a course of action and sticking to it when things get tough. As a result, I think the Trump State Department is going to be led by people with odd ideas and no reputation in the international community.
It’s going to be a wild ride–no doubt about it.