Close encounter with Donald Trump's cabinet

What do you see when you look at pictures of President Donald Trump's cabinet?

- David French

We're used to partisan disagreement about cabinet officials. Democrats are never going to be that impressed by a Republican cabinet (and vice versa), but as with so many things, the perception gap between Republicans and Democrats has become so vast, it's as if they inhabit different universes.

Mr Trump's critics — and I am one — look at the lineup and see, in essence, a group of people that bears far more resemblance to a collection of North Korean generals than it does to a traditional US cabinet.

And for good reason. Mr Trump's cabinet meetings often feature the members publicly showering the president with praise, sometimes in the most absurd terms.

Pam Bondi, the attorney general, said in one cabinet meeting that Mr Trump was “overwhelmingly elected by the biggest majority” Brooke Rollins, the agriculture secretary, said, “What you have assembled in your vision is a turning point and an inflection point in American history.” Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, said, “What you're doing now I think is a great service to our country but ultimately to the world”

There has been little indication that these cabinet members exercise any independent judgement. Instead, they conform to Mr Trump's worldview and to Mr Trump's whims.