Ever since Donald Trump was re-elected, I have been haunted by a passage in Machiavelli’s “The Prince.”

“Whoever becomes the master of a city accustomed to freedom, and does not destroy it, may expect to be destroyed himself; because, when there is a rebellion, such a city justifies itself by calling on the name of liberty and its ancient institutions, never forgotten despite the passing of time and the benefits received from the new ruler.”

Trump intuitively grasps this. Now “master of a city accustomed to freedom,” he is determined to destroy it before it destroys him.

The president-elect's Cabinet nominations make this clear. They include individuals who will hunt down immigrants with the goal of expelling them (by the millions), others who will politicize the military and compromise U.S. intelligence, still others who will gut and weaponize the Department of Justice, and an entitled anti-vaxxer who will undercut many of the agencies that protect our health. In addition, his energy policies will exacerbate rather than mitigate the ravages of climate change.

Finally, Trump’s creation of a new office — the Department of Government Efficiency, led by two untethered billionaires — will shred scores of programs........

© The Hill