Outside the Beltway

President Donald Trump monitors U.S. military operations in Venezuela, from Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday, January 3, 2026.
Official White House Photo by Molly Riley

“Serious” People in Serious Times

Clowns on display.

Steven L. Taylor
11

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President Donald Trump monitors U.S. military operations in Venezuela, from Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday, January 3, 2026.
Official White House Photo by Molly Riley

So, in perusing social media, I noticed someone make a reference to the fact that in the makeshift situation room at Mar-a-Lago, on one of the big displays in the background, you can see X on display.

Update: Note that these are all official White House photos.

And sure enough:

One BlueSky sleuth thinks that it was OSINTdefender’s X feed. You know, who needs the US intel community when you can have open source info? Look, do I think that there is some efficacy to be had in monitoring social media by the CIA? Sure. But not at this level, unless you are amateurs who think that the world runs on social media.

But nothing can bear the smiley face behind Pete “Lethality” Hegseth:

Source: Official White House Photo

I am constantly reminded of Logan Roy telling his children, “You aren’t serious people.”

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11 responses to ““Serious” People in Serious Times”

  1. Modulo Myself Avatar
    Modulo Myself

    Cold War America required a seriousness which is no longer of use. Nuclear war was not winnable, and the freaks who thought it was had to be handled carefully. Injustice in America had to be examined to show the world America was free. You had to be careful of crazy theories and the casual contempt for humanity that led powerful people to think the Nazis in the 30s were onto something.

    That’s all gone and it’s just a clown show because there’s no actual threat. We still expect the ghosts of the past to rise up and create a sense of shame. But it ain’t happening…Venezuela, the border, ‘narco-terrorism’…these are not real threats to anybody in power, unless maybe Hegseth is buying some coke cut with too much fentanyl.

    4
  2. Kathy Avatar
    Kathy

    I’ve not seen any reports of US troops in Caracas or elsewhere, no occupation, the rest of the Venezuelan government remains in place, so it looks a lot like regime non-change.

    Kind of like they took the boss out in a videogame and declared they won.

    6
  3. Sleeping Dog Avatar
    Sleeping Dog

    The oil industry isn’t very excited about Venezuela. One industry analyst was quoted at Politico that reviving Venezuela’s oil industry is a 10 year, $100M project, one that no investor is likely to undertake with oil at $57/barrel. The industry is suspending exploration and shelving expansion plans till the price goes up. Given that the rest of the world is moving to renewables that may be a long time.

    3
  4. a country lawyer Avatar
    a country lawyer

    What could be more indictive of lack of seriousness than leaving Washington and the secure situation room, to oversee a major military operation at a resort between rounds of golf. To make matters worse, it appears from the pictures, that a supposedly secure situation room is simply a tent constructed in the middle of a resort hotel or golf club. I wonder, are they using the hotels wifi?

    12
  5. Scott F. Avatar
    Scott F.

    Source: Official White House Photo

    They CHOSE to post those pictures. No surreptitious photojournalist captured them off-guard. What a horrific own goal by the purported masters of branding.

    4
  6. Steven L. Taylor Avatar
    Steven L. Taylor

    @Scott F.: I meant to underscore that fact and forgot to do so. These are all from the official Flickr page.

    2
  7. Gustopher Avatar
    Gustopher

    These are very serious people. You can tell because many of the photos are in black and white, and all the people are clothed.

    (If there were naked people, it would be artistic.)

    4
  8. DK Avatar
    DK

    @Gustopher: If the men in that photo were nude, it would be a hate crime.

    6
  9. Jay L. Gischer Avatar
    Jay L. Gischer

    Do y’all remember the TV show Home Improvement? Where Tim Allen played a character that spoofed performative masculinity? (Yes, I understood that show as a satire, but some didn’t.)

    I think Pete Hegseth is the meaner version of Tim Taylor (Tim Allen’s character). All performance, no actual ability, constant masculine insecurity. But he looks good on camera and gets good ratings.

    1
  10. CSK Avatar
    CSK

    @DK:

    I can’t stop laughing.

    @Jay L. Gischer:

    That’s why Trump picked Hegseth: He looks good on camera.

  11. James Joyner Avatar
    James Joyner

    @Steven:

    Note that these are all official White House photos.

    @Scott F.:

    Having spent so much time on the official White House Flickr page for many administrations over the years, I’ve noticed that this one, while it clearly employs high-quality professional photographers, posts quite a lot of non-hero shots that wouldn’t have made the cut for any previous team. This was not an issue with the Trump 45 White House.

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