“Without counsel, plans go wrong, but with many advisers they succeed.” – Proverbs 15:22 (NRSV)

In yesterday’s post we discussed the friends one surrounds themselves with, but it isn’t only that his acquaintances and friends have been sent to prison or indicted. We also have to consider those who advised him on matters and have been fired. To disagree with this president is to lose your job. According to Wikipedia, as of May 25, 2020, there have been 415 people in the Trump administration who have been fired or resigned.

The current president often compares himself with Abraham Lincoln, but it was Lincoln who filled his cabinet with adversaries and opponents.

In 1860 Lincoln won the Republican primary over three more famous men, Salmon P. Chase, William H. Seward, and Edward Bates. Even more extraordinary was that “…He appointed all three rivals to his cabinet—-Seward as secretary of state, Chase as secretary of the treasury, and Bates as attorney general.”

That information was taken from Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book Team of Rivals about Lincoln’s cabinet. The following quote is from her book as well:

“Good leadership requires you to surround yourself with people of diverse perspectives who can disagree with you without fear of retaliation” — Doris Kearns Goodwin