{"id":159975,"date":"2026-08-10T11:35:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T19:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/08\/10\/thinking-about-trumps-brain-trust\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T11:35:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T19:35:02","slug":"thinking-about-trumps-brain-trust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/08\/10\/thinking-about-trumps-brain-trust\/","title":{"rendered":"Thinking About Trump\u2019s \u2018Brain Trust\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Consider President Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cbrain trust\u201d \u2014 the small group of people he consults before making major decisions.\u00a0Even mediocre people can make good decisions if they\u2019re surrounded by competent help.\u00a0(Some would say Joe Biden, a genial mediocrity, did that.)\u00a0How does Trump\u2019s brain trust measure up?<\/p>\n

Then I realized that you can\u2019t write about this subject.<\/p>\n

Excuse a brief digression:\u00a0I worked primarily for two large institutions before I retired.\u00a0At the first institution, a huge international law firm, the managing partner (who had attended a good college and law school, graduated at the top of his class, served as a U.S. Supreme Court clerk, and then had a spectacular legal career) sought advice from others with similar pedigrees.<\/p>\n

At my second employer, the CEO had graduated at the top of his class from a leading business school, worked at one of the \u201cbig three\u201d consulting firms, and moved from the management committee of the consulting firm to CEO of a big international company.\u00a0He was surrounded by folks with similar pedigrees and relied on them for advice.<\/p>\n

I felt relatively comfortable knowing the identities of the brain trusts.<\/p>\n

Compare this with Donald Trump and his brain trust.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

First, Trump himself.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trump cares about credentials.\u00a0When bragging about himself,\u00a0Trump boasts<\/a>\u00a0that The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is \u201cthe hardest school to get into, the best school in the world.\u201d\u00a0And Wharton is in fact a relatively tough school to get into \u2014 today.\u00a0Currently, the Wharton School admits about\u00a07.4% of applicants<\/a>.\u00a0In the 1960s, not so much.\u00a0When Trump was admitted into Wharton, the acceptance rate was over 50%.\u00a0The then-admissions officer at the Wharton School has explained that Trump\u2019s older brother, Fred, was one of the admissions officer\u2019s best friends.\u00a0Fred set up an interview for Donald.\u00a0\u201c[T]he young\u00a0Donald Trump [w]as<\/a>\u00a0an average, forgettable Fordham University transfer student,\u201d but since more than half of all applicants were accepted into Wharton in the middle 1960s, that average, forgettable guy made the grade.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trump similarly claims to have graduated at the top of his Wharton class.\u00a0The\u00a0graduation program<\/a>, however, does not list Trump as having graduated with any honors.<\/p>\n

Trump likes credentials; he just doesn\u2019t have \u2019em.<\/p>\n

After graduation, Trump ran a private company \u2014 so no outsider ever passed judgment on Trump\u2019s skills \u2014 that was supported in part by\u00a0gifts from his father<\/a>.\u00a0Six of Trump\u2019s hotel and casino businesses filed for bankruptcy along the way.\u00a0Trump later became rich as a result of his presidency, but his pre-presidential life doesn\u2019t suggest that Trump had any particular brains or talent (except perhaps for showmanship).<\/p>\n

During his first term, Trump\u2019s Cabinet consisted largely of folks who were either well-credentialed or rich.<\/p>\n

His second term is different.\u00a0Trump now surrounds himself with the obsequious.\u00a0If you doubt the fawning, watch even a minute or two of the Cabinet meetings where Trump goes around the room having each Cabinet member lavish praise on him.\u00a0Trump\u2019s not exactly receiving honest opinions or hearing from viewpoints that differ from his own.<\/p>\n

Even those lavishing praise on Trump do not appear to be especially gifted.\u00a0Trump\u2019s Chief of Staff\u00a0Susie Wiles<\/a> was the daughter of NFL quarterback Pat Summerall.\u00a0After graduating from The University of Maryland, she went to work for Summerall\u2019s former teammate, Jack Kemp, who was then a member of Congress.\u00a0In the years since, Wiles worked her way up through the political ranks.<\/p>\n

JD Vance, a graduate of Yale Law School, author of a best-selling book, and one-time vicious critic of Trump, seemed to be an intelligent young man.\u00a0He then left his senses behind in a quest for political glory.\u00a0I doubt that Vance is an idiot.\u00a0Other than the \u201cleaving his senses behind\u201d bit \u2014 undoubtedly caused by his unrestrained opportunism \u2014 he belongs in a brain trust.<\/p>\n

Marco Rubio?\u00a0University of Florida, University of Miami Law School (cum laude<\/em>), and a political career.<\/p>\n

Pete Hegseth?\u00a0Valedictorian of his high school class, played basketball at Princeton, and graduated with no apparent honors.\u00a0Military service and television commentator.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s where I run into trouble.\u00a0If I were to say something disparaging about a school, or a failure to graduate with distinction, or the admissions standards for basketball players, people would rightly criticize me.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

I hate you elitists!\u00a0There\u2019re a lot of late bloomers in the world!\u00a0Why do you look only at someone\u2019s early academic pedigree and decide that marks them for life?\u00a0Even folks without fancy degrees can be very smart!\u00a0And smart people are hardly infallible:\u00a0Read\u00a0\u201cThe Best and the Brightest<\/a>\u201c! What\u2019s wrong with you?<\/p>\n

If the president\u2019s brain trust consisted of Beavis and Butthead, I couldn\u2019t criticize the pair:\u00a0People would say that I\u2019m a pointy-headed intellectual with no sense of the real America.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019m leaving it to you:\u00a0Wiles, Vance, Rubio, Hegseth, Russell Vought, Stephen Miller, Tom Homan, and the rest.\u00a0How are we doing?<\/p>\n

Is Trump receiving advice he should rely on?\u00a0How would his brain trust perform on a civics exam?<\/p>\n

I do have one closing question, just for my own edification:\u00a0The left says that I shouldn\u2019t judge people based on credentials \u2014 such as grades, quality of schools attended, and the like \u2014 because those criteria unfairly favor rich white people. The right says that I shouldn\u2019t trust people with fancy credentials \u2014 such as doctorates in economics and climate science \u2014 because then I\u2019m relying on condescending hypocrites.\u00a0I surely don\u2019t know enough about every subject on earth to independently decide who\u2019s competent and who isn\u2019t.\u00a0Is there any basis on which to judge, in advance, who would actually be good at a task?<\/p>\n

\n

Mark\u00a0Herrmann\u00a0spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and later oversaw litigation, compliance and employment matters at a large international company. He is the author of\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>The Curmudgeon\u2019s Guide to Practicing Law<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Drug and Device Product Liability Litigation Strategy<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(affiliate links). You can reach him by email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>inhouse@abovethelaw.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

The post Thinking About Trump\u2019s \u2018Brain Trust\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Consider President Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cbrain trust\u201d \u2014 the small group of people he consults before making major decisions.\u00a0Even mediocre people can make good decisions if they\u2019re surrounded by competent help.\u00a0(Some would say Joe Biden, a genial mediocrity, did that.)\u00a0How does Trump\u2019s brain trust measure up?<\/p>\n

Then I realized that you can\u2019t write about this subject.<\/p>\n

Excuse a brief digression:\u00a0I worked primarily for two large institutions before I retired.\u00a0At the first institution, a huge international law firm, the managing partner (who had attended a good college and law school, graduated at the top of his class, served as a U.S. Supreme Court clerk, and then had a spectacular legal career) sought advice from others with similar pedigrees.<\/p>\n

At my second employer, the CEO had graduated at the top of his class from a leading business school, worked at one of the \u201cbig three\u201d consulting firms, and moved from the management committee of the consulting firm to CEO of a big international company.\u00a0He was surrounded by folks with similar pedigrees and relied on them for advice.<\/p>\n

I felt relatively comfortable knowing the identities of the brain trusts.<\/p>\n

Compare this with Donald Trump and his brain trust.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

First, Trump himself.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trump cares about credentials.\u00a0When bragging about himself,\u00a0Trump boasts<\/a>\u00a0that The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is \u201cthe hardest school to get into, the best school in the world.\u201d\u00a0And Wharton is in fact a relatively tough school to get into \u2014 today.\u00a0Currently, the Wharton School admits about\u00a07.4% of applicants<\/a>.\u00a0In the 1960s, not so much.\u00a0When Trump was admitted into Wharton, the acceptance rate was over 50%.\u00a0The then-admissions officer at the Wharton School has explained that Trump\u2019s older brother, Fred, was one of the admissions officer\u2019s best friends.\u00a0Fred set up an interview for Donald.\u00a0\u201c[T]he young\u00a0Donald Trump [w]as<\/a>\u00a0an average, forgettable Fordham University transfer student,\u201d but since more than half of all applicants were accepted into Wharton in the middle 1960s, that average, forgettable guy made the grade.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trump similarly claims to have graduated at the top of his Wharton class.\u00a0The\u00a0graduation program<\/a>, however, does not list Trump as having graduated with any honors.<\/p>\n

Trump likes credentials; he just doesn\u2019t have \u2019em.<\/p>\n

After graduation, Trump ran a private company \u2014 so no outsider ever passed judgment on Trump\u2019s skills \u2014 that was supported in part by\u00a0gifts from his father<\/a>.\u00a0Six of Trump\u2019s hotel and casino businesses filed for bankruptcy along the way.\u00a0Trump later became rich as a result of his presidency, but his pre-presidential life doesn\u2019t suggest that Trump had any particular brains or talent (except perhaps for showmanship).<\/p>\n

During his first term, Trump\u2019s Cabinet consisted largely of folks who were either well-credentialed or rich.<\/p>\n

His second term is different.\u00a0Trump now surrounds himself with the obsequious.\u00a0If you doubt the fawning, watch even a minute or two of the Cabinet meetings where Trump goes around the room having each Cabinet member lavish praise on him.\u00a0Trump\u2019s not exactly receiving honest opinions or hearing from viewpoints that differ from his own.<\/p>\n

Even those lavishing praise on Trump do not appear to be especially gifted.\u00a0Trump\u2019s Chief of Staff\u00a0Susie Wiles<\/a> was the daughter of NFL quarterback Pat Summerall.\u00a0After graduating from The University of Maryland, she went to work for Summerall\u2019s former teammate, Jack Kemp, who was then a member of Congress.\u00a0In the years since, Wiles worked her way up through the political ranks.<\/p>\n

JD Vance, a graduate of Yale Law School, author of a best-selling book, and one-time vicious critic of Trump, seemed to be an intelligent young man.\u00a0He then left his senses behind in a quest for political glory.\u00a0I doubt that Vance is an idiot.\u00a0Other than the \u201cleaving his senses behind\u201d bit \u2014 undoubtedly caused by his unrestrained opportunism \u2014 he belongs in a brain trust.<\/p>\n

Marco Rubio?\u00a0University of Florida, University of Miami Law School (cum laude<\/em>), and a political career.<\/p>\n

Pete Hegseth?\u00a0Valedictorian of his high school class, played basketball at Princeton, and graduated with no apparent honors.\u00a0Military service and television commentator.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s where I run into trouble.\u00a0If I were to say something disparaging about a school, or a failure to graduate with distinction, or the admissions standards for basketball players, people would rightly criticize me.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

I hate you elitists!\u00a0There\u2019re a lot of late bloomers in the world!\u00a0Why do you look only at someone\u2019s early academic pedigree and decide that marks them for life?\u00a0Even folks without fancy degrees can be very smart!\u00a0And smart people are hardly infallible:\u00a0Read\u00a0\u201cThe Best and the Brightest<\/a>\u201c! What\u2019s wrong with you?<\/p>\n

If the president\u2019s brain trust consisted of Beavis and Butthead, I couldn\u2019t criticize the pair:\u00a0People would say that I\u2019m a pointy-headed intellectual with no sense of the real America.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019m leaving it to you:\u00a0Wiles, Vance, Rubio, Hegseth, Russell Vought, Stephen Miller, Tom Homan, and the rest.\u00a0How are we doing?<\/p>\n

Is Trump receiving advice he should rely on?\u00a0How would his brain trust perform on a civics exam?<\/p>\n

I do have one closing question, just for my own edification:\u00a0The left says that I shouldn\u2019t judge people based on credentials \u2014 such as grades, quality of schools attended, and the like \u2014 because those criteria unfairly favor rich white people. The right says that I shouldn\u2019t trust people with fancy credentials \u2014 such as doctorates in economics and climate science \u2014 because then I\u2019m relying on condescending hypocrites.\u00a0I surely don\u2019t know enough about every subject on earth to independently decide who\u2019s competent and who isn\u2019t.\u00a0Is there any basis on which to judge, in advance, who would actually be good at a task?<\/p>\n

\n

Mark\u00a0Herrmann\u00a0spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and later oversaw litigation, compliance and employment matters at a large international company. He is the author of\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>The Curmudgeon\u2019s Guide to Practicing Law<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Drug and Device Product Liability Litigation Strategy<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(affiliate links). You can reach him by email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>[email\u00a0protected]<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Consider President Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cbrain trust\u201d \u2014 the small group of people he consults before making major decisions.\u00a0Even mediocre people can make good decisions if they\u2019re surrounded by competent help.\u00a0(Some would say Joe Biden, a genial mediocrity, did that.)\u00a0How does Trump\u2019s brain trust measure up? Then I realized that you can\u2019t write about this subject. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":159957,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-159975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1256155083-9XZp3D.jpg?fit=724%2C483&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159975\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}