Dem
51
GOP
49
Normally, the cabinet personally appointed by a president supports the president when he is running for reelection. But Donald Trump is unusual in so many ways. One of them is that of the 42 cabinet and quasi-cabinet and other top-level officials he appointed, only 24 support his White House bid, three actively oppose it, and 15 are keeping their mouths shut. They are no doubt quiet now out of fear for what he would do to them if he is reelected. Richard Nixon merely had the IRS go after his enemies. Trump would probably ask his buddy Vladimir Putin for his favorite recipe for polonium tea. After all, it's apparently not illegal if the president does it.
Here are the supporters and others:
In many cases, the supporters are some combination of hypocrite and coward, although the mix differs from person to person. William Barr said in July 2023, "I have made clear that I strongly oppose Trump for the nomination and will not endorse Trump." Then he endorsed him this year. In February, Nikki Haley said: "Donald Trump can't win a general election." Then she endorsed him in July. Even people who left the Trump administration on bad terms, like former AG Jeff Sessions, have come back with their tails between their legs and endorsed Trump. There aren't a lot of profiles in courage here, except for John Bolton, Mike Esper, and Mike Pence.
But even among the people who are silent, we have a pretty good idea how they feel. For example, former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson once said: "He's a fu**ing moron." Former DNI Dan Coats once said: "He doesn't know the difference between the truth and a lie." Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said: "The depths of his dishonesty is just astounding to me... He is the most flawed person I have ever met in my life." Former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said: "Today's violent assault on our Capitol, an effort to subjugate American democracy by mob rule, was fomented by Mr. Trump." Former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos resigned in protest after the coup attempt and blamed it on Trump. Elaine Chao (a.k.a. Mrs. Mitch McConnell) e-mailed her staff that she was deeply troubled by the coup attempt. It is a fair bet that some of the others are not exactly neutral but are keeping quiet simply to avoid Trump's famous retribution. (V)