[SHORT] Wembley: Trump and Musk: What a Pair

No president in America's past did it on his own. They all had help. They relied on close advisors and task masters to assist them. At the time of these presidencies, these unelected men and women stepped up and served without congressional ratification. Working at the behest of the Presidents, they have had tremendous influence on the State of the Union and America's successes. They worked by appointment only. Often without title and sometimes without publicity. The list of presidential appointments not requiring Senate approval is long but is summarized into eleven categories. The list includes:

• White House Staff

• Ambassadors

• Federal Reserve Board Members

• Advisory Board Members

• Advisory committees

• Those under Executive Orders for specific roles

• Temporary acting officials

• Certain interim agency heads

• Those in Task Forces and on commissions

• Low level Judicial appointments

• Special Envoys

Looking back, we see Windrow Wilson who, during World War I, relied on Edward M. House, a private citizen, to interact with congressional leaders to get support for his legislative programs and to frame the conditions for peace after World War I. With the help of State Food Administrators appointed by Hoover, he established a U.S. Food Administration to assure the supply, distribution, and conservation of food, as well as a licensing program for restaurants and businesses during World War I. Edward M. House suggested that Herbert Hoover be appointed to head up this program due to his prior experience in Belgium with a similar program.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was supported by an inner circle of family, friends, and others. One name really stands out. Mary McLeod Bethune is known as the "First Lady of the Struggle." She was the daughter of formerly enslaved parents and was a very trusted advisor. In the list of close advisors and assistants for Franklin D. Roosevelt are Henry Ford and Louis Howe, who was instrumental in formulating the New Deal" and the Civilian Conservation Corps. Henry Ford helped in organizing American industry for the war effort. Of course there were also military advisors and a whole flock of foreign dignitaries willing to offer their opinions and advice. The need to prioritize the manufacture and distribution of war material to be used by our military and by others around the world necessitated strict control of by whom, what, and where those materials were made. Non-elected officials made those decisions and directed those activities without congressional approval. Non-elected draft boards decided, at least in part, who would live and who would die.

Truman's advisory boards — the Mobilization Advisory, Cold War Coordination, and the Truman Committee — were created to provide independent advice from experts in their particular fields. Eisenhower's team included at least ten notables including Henry Cabot Lodge.

Nixon leaned on Dr. Martin Anderson, Lee Alvin DuBridge, John Daniel Ehrlichman, Robert Ellsworth, and Harry Flemming plus 70 others. Nixon's emphasis on government efficiency established his government as being the most efficient, up to that date. He established 17 Task Forces to look into every nook, cranny, and closet of our government to find waste and inefficiencies. (That could explain Watergate.)

Not to belabor the point, all of our best Presidents have had their unratified and often covert operatives working to help them with their programs. So does President Trump. Musk is just another patriot who has been asked to use his skills to assist in making our country better. I may be wrong, but he is not being paid for his efforts. But then again, I think he enjoys the game.

It is amazing sometimes how fantasy and real life become all mixed up. Thirty-two years ago a movie was released. "Dave" is a fantastic story about a substitute U.S. President who calls upon a friend who is a CPA to audit the government's books and to look for excess money. the money is needed to support a much needed social program that the substitute President and the real President's wife, the First Lady, want to have enacted. They are informed by the power brokers that there is none. In this fictional story, the audit reveals there is more than enough money available by clearing out the graft.

— Written by Wembley

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Who is Wembley?

Wembley is the nom de plume for an older gentleman who loves history and politics, writes often, but is technology challenged. He wants so much for people to read what he writes. After many arguments over the subject, he doesn’t want to build a following or even have his own substack… even though he has much to say. He absolutely insists that I publish it for him.

So, he will write and I will publish. This is just a short essay he wrote. One of many.

The older generations have so much to teach us.