'Fringe figures, conspiracy theorists and sycophants': New York Times​ lets fly at Trump

The New York Times editorial board on Thursday came out swinging at President-elect Donald Trump and the appointments they say prove he is unfit to lead the nation.

The Times opinion writers collectively condemned Trump for recent calls that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) become his next Attorney General and former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard serve as Director of National Intelligence.

"Trump has demonstrated his lack of fitness for the presidency in countless ways, but one of the clearest is in the company he keeps, surrounding himself with fringe figures, conspiracy theorists and sycophants who put fealty to him above all else," the editorial opens.

"This week, a series of cabinet nominations by Mr. Trump showed the potential dangers posed by his reliance on his inner circle in the starkest way possible."

The Times editorial board raised multiple concerns about the possibility of Gaetz — who submitted his resignation after Trump's announcement Wednesday — becoming the nation's top law enforcement officer.

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Among them, that Gaetz once demanded the Justice Department be abolished should it continue to investigate Trump and was the subject of a lengthy federal sex trafficking probe that landed an associate in prison.

"The Justice Department closed that investigation, but the House Ethics Committee is still looking into allegations of sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, improper acceptance of gifts and obstruction of government investigations of his conduct," the board wrote.

"Kevin McCarthy, the former House speaker, blamed Mr. Gaetz for his ouster, on the grounds that Mr. Gaetz 'wanted me to stop an ethics complaint because he slept with a 17-year-old.'”

Gaetz denies these accusations.

The Times struck a tone of shocked outrage when it noted Gaetz could potentially head a 115,000-person agency meant to serve as a check on presidential corruption.

"Even for Mr. Trump, it was a stunning demonstration of his disregard for basic competence and government experience, and of his duty to lead the executive branch in a sober and patriotic way," the editorial stated. "It will now be up to the Senate to say he has gone too far."

And the journalists' fears did not appear assuaged by Gabbard's appointment or that of Fox News commentator Pete Hegseth's, who will potentially be secretary of defense.

"Hegseth, a co-host of 'Fox & Friends,' is perhaps even more unqualified, given the gravity — not to mention the budget — of the post he would assume," the board wrote.

"He has said he was one of a dozen National Guard members removed from service at President Biden’s inauguration in 2021 because of concerns that he was an extremist — possibly because of a tattoo he wears that is popular among white supremacists."

The New York Times urged members of the U.S. Senate not to consent to Trump's slate of nominees they derided as unqualified at best.

"He wants to turn the leaders of major important agencies into his deputies, remaking the federal government into a Trump Inc. organization chart entirely subordinate to him," the editorial concludes.

"In Mr. Trump’s second term, senators will immediately be confronted with an extreme set of appointments even worse than those of the first term. That makes it all the more important that they preserve the ability to say no."