‘Shock and Awe Against American Traditions’: Maddow and Wallace Sound Alarm on Trump’s Unqualified Loyalists

As the nation watches President-elect Donald Trump unveil his cabinet choices, MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow and Nicolle Wallace have expressed deep concerns over his apparent preference for unqualified loyalists over experienced leaders. During a candid discussion on Thursday afternoon, Maddow warned that these appointments are not just surprising—they may be a calculated attempt to reshape America’s sense of normalcy.

“It’s time Americans get real and realize this is really what we’re up against,” Maddow declared, addressing the stark reality she believes the country must confront. Trump’s picks for cabinet positions, including figures like Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (R-HI), have raised eyebrows and sparked criticism, with many wondering whether these controversial figures can truly meet the demands of high office.

For Maddow, though, this is not just about questionable qualifications; it’s a strategy meant to jolt and destabilize. “This is meant to adjust our sense of what is normal, what is possible, and to sort of disorient us,” Maddow explained. “It’s a shock and awe campaign against American traditions and mores.” Trump’s picks, she continued, are intended to make Americans feel uncomfortable—to unsettle the public’s expectations of government and prepare them for what she described as “the most radical pronouncements and actions.”

Maddow believes this feeling of disbelief is no accident. “We’re supposed to feel the way we do right now. That’s a part of it.” The reference to “shock and awe” struck a chord with Nicolle Wallace, who likened the approach to the early strategy of the Iraq War, where an intense bombing campaign sought to overwhelm and disorient. “It doesn’t signal he’ll succeed in successfully demolishing American democracy,” Wallace pointed out.

“But it does mean that we, as a press, still every single time chase the shiny objects,” naming Trump’s recent appointments like Gaetz, Gabbard, and RFK Jr. as some of these “shiny objects.” Wallace elaborated on why figures like Gaetz and Gabbard serve as distractions for the media and the public. She described how their appeal rests partly on resentment toward the Democratic Party and media elites, coupled with Trump’s promises on issues like the economy and immigration.

“The people in charge of those two things,” Wallace remarked pointedly, “one of them is an alleged child sex trafficker, and the other, by her own telling, a dog killer.” Trump’s choices, she added, may be rooted in loyalty, but competence appears to be lacking. For Wallace and Maddow, the crux of the issue is that Trump’s cabinet picks, though highly controversial, may be diverting the media’s focus from what truly matters: the potential erosion of institutional norms.

The hosts questioned whether this selection of loyalists and controversial figures is a strategy designed to further Trump’s agenda without scrutiny, while also testing the media’s response and the public’s acceptance of these shifts. As Maddow concluded, she emphasized the need for Americans to stay vigilant and engaged, recognizing these choices for what she believes they are: an attempt to redefine what is acceptable in governance.

For Maddow and Wallace, Trump’s cabinet selections serve as a “shock and awe” strategy—not to improve governance, but to alter American standards in a way that could have lasting impacts. Their warning is clear: the country must resist becoming desensitized to these appointments, lest this new, disorienting version of “normal” becomes a permanent reality.