How Did Any of These Guys Get Hired by Trump?
Monday’s double blockbuster from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation—indictments of Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, and a plea deal with George Papadopoulos—is at once an enormous advance in the story and highly unsatisfying. While these are important milestones in the probe, their import on the most interesting question, of whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia, is opaque.
For the time being, however, there’s one clear takeaway: Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, and George Papadopoulos should have never been anywhere near a major presidential campaign, and their hiring reinforces concerns about President Trump’s judgment.
Trump is not a policy expert, and although he occasionally boasted that he would learn what he needed on the job, his real sell to voters was that he would be an effective
