In regard to the president’s tendency to place loyalty above competence, I think of Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother. Besides being a minority Catholic in majority Buddhist South Vietnam, they placed personal loyalty way above competence. We know the rest of the story.
The recent comment from Sen. Bob Corker that the White House is an adult day care center seems applicable in regard to Joan of Arc’s almost rescuer, Gilles de Rais.
In his 1965 book, “The Trial of Gilles de Rais,” George Bataille writes, “He has no ability at all to defend himself.