Here’s the thing about Donald Trump’s firings this week

| 9:45 pm EST November 17, 2020
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In the ten days since he lost the election, Trump’s most high profile firings have been a not particularly respected Secretary of Defense that he knew no one would miss, and a DHS official who was basically planning to get fired. This is not some strongman reign of terror. Trump is cautiously firing only people he knows he can get away with firing. Trump is a defeated weakling trying to give the illusion that he still has muscle. Don’t fall for it.

Now if Trump completely changes direction and starts firing the people he knows he can’t cleanly get away with firing, such as the FBI Director or CIA Director, that’ll be one thing. But thus far we’re not seeing that kind of pattern at all.

Trump has a fairly consistent history of sitting around for days or weeks trying to work up the nerve to fire whoever he wants to fire, only for it to end up having far less impact than he was hoping by the time he finally pulls the trigger.