Donald Trump always has to be the center of attention. He constantly reminds us that he’s the boss. But, even now, he also likes to position himself as an outsider in his own administration. He recently indicated that he had no idea who paused the transfer of weapons to Ukraine, and he suggested that, if he had been in charge, DOGE would have been run somewhat differently. Just being the president and Elon Musk’s best buddy clearly wasn’t enough authority for him to take responsibility for DOGE.
In maritime law, the captain is responsible for everything that happens on his ship. In Trump’s administration, the opposite is true; the point of having underlings is to have them take the blame for anything that goes wrong. In other words, the king can do no wrong.