hutch wrote:
It’s amazing how often I find your takes completely wrong. It’s like you just post whatever you want to believe facts be damned. Being the head of VOA is a better prize than Ambassador to México.
well, at least we share one thing in common: it’s amazing how often I find your takes completely wrong, too!
in this case, i truly believe that ambassador to MX >>> head of VOA: trump doesn't care about VOA. she will get zero percent of trump's attention there. she will not have the ability to barge into the oval office with her concerns. leading the VOA puts her in the outter circle of trump's orbit with limited opportunities to get face-time with the prez. maybe she'll get invited to the christmas party.
on the other hand, immigration and the border were central themes in trump's campaign. he's already talking about tariffs on mexican imports, starting mass deportation, investing in border security, sending the US military into mexico to fight the cartels, mexico is now the US's #1 trading partner, etc - all things that have a big chunk of trump's mindshare. the mexican ambassador, while not central to the decision-making process on these topics, will be part of the conversation. there will plenty of direct communication between the embassy in mexico city and the oval office & state dept. it will have more visibility to both trump and the public than the VOA.
i truly believe that kari lake would much rather be trump's woman in MX, vs. running a propaganda mouthpiece that trump won't think about.
hutch wrote:
At VOA you oversee about 1000 employees and a budget of $270 million.
this is attractive only if you have traditional career aspirations (i.e. you or i would probably prefer VOA over an ambassadorship). kari lake wants power, not experience running a large organization. she has political aspirations, and "former head of the VOA" doesn't bring clout. an ambassadorship to the US's #1 trading partner ranks higher. not drastically higher, but still higher. also, it comes with a life-long title. the power-hungry love titles.
hutch wrote:
Oh and for someone with political ambitions being in DC is so much better than Mexico City….
agreed (!), but even more important for maga sycophants is getting time with trump, which, oddly enough, will be easier to do from MX than from down the street in DC.
hutch wrote:
well who’s kidding who? for anyone really…
i've been to mexico the country several times but never mexico the city. developing world megapolises don't really interest me, and based on what i've read el distrito federal is falling apart in several different ways…
