This is the person Trump put in charge of terrorism prevention...pic at link.

[Native]

X post by Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy this morning:

As our nation girds for possible Iranian terrorist attacks, this is the person Trump put in charge of terrorism prevention.

22 years old. Recent work experience: landscaping/grocery clerk.

Never worked a day in counter-terrorism. But he's a BIG Trump fan. So he go the job.

Link to tweet

And here's a typical MAGA supporter's reply (in case you still think these people can be reasoned with):

To be honest sometimes we need younger folk in these positions—besides anything they are probably good at video games, which means they will be good at doing things IRL—I think this was a very good choice and support this decision fully to place this man in the role.

Link to tweet

[Bayard]

1. But he does have that eyebrow thing going for him

[DFW]

3. So, make him an understudy to Stephen Colbert, not Valerie Plame. n/t

[tanyev]

4. Wonder how many photos they took before he was satisfied?

I’m ready for my closeup now!

[Native]

6. Works well with that tie.

[mcar]

2. Sweet jumping Jesus on a pogo stick!

[Native]

5. Be sure to check out my update (and the replies to this idiot). He doubles down by saying if you were his parents you'd

be proud of him, and we need to give him a chance. ROFL

[mcar]

10. Yes, a wonderful choice because...video games

To be honest sometimes we need younger folk in these positions—besides anything they are probably good at video games, which means they will be good at doing things IRL—I think this was a very good choice and support this decision fully to place this man in the role.

[Native]

13. don't forget - he can also stock a mean shelf!

[mcar]

14. And, I bet he has nice plants in his office!

[Buns_of_Fire]

7. Damn. I was SURE "Big Balls" would get the nod.

Who better to strike fear in the hearts of tourists? Er, "terrorists". As you were.

[stillcool]

8. He did intern at the Heritage Foundation

and he graduated last year. What would he need to know about violent extremism?

“The Intern in Charge”: Meet the 22-Year-Old Trump’s Team Picked to Lead Terrorism Prevention
One year out of college and with no apparent national security expertise, Thomas Fugate is the Department of Homeland Security official tasked with overseeing the government’s main hub for combating violent extremism.
by Hannah Allam
June 4, 2025, 6:30 p.m. EDT
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-dhs-thomas-fugate-cp3-terrorism-prevention

When Thomas Fugate graduated from college last year with a degree in politics, he celebrated in a social media post about the exciting opportunities that lay beyond campus life in Texas. “Onward and upward!” he wrote, with an emoji of a rocket shooting into space.

His career blastoff came quickly. A year after graduation, the 22-year-old with no apparent national security expertise is now a Department of Homeland Security official overseeing the government’s main hub for terrorism prevention, including an $18 million grant program intended to help communities combat violent extremism.

The White House appointed Fugate, a former Trump campaign worker who interned at the hard-right Heritage Foundation, to a Homeland Security role that was expanded to include the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships. Known as CP3, the office has led nationwide efforts to prevent hate-fueled attacks, school shootings and other forms of targeted violence.
------------------------
The once-bustling office of around 80 employees now has fewer than 20, former staffers say. Grant work stops, then restarts. One senior civil servant was reassigned to the Federal Emergency Management Agency via an email that arrived late on a Saturday.

The office’s mission has changed overnight, with a pivot away from focusing on domestic extremism, especially far-right movements. The “terrorism” category that framed the agency’s work for years was abruptly expanded to include drug cartels, part of what DHS staffers call an overarching message that border security is the only mission that matters. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has largely left terrorism prevention to the states.

[haele]

15. Heritage Foundation...of course

The "Heritage" in the title actually refers to personal family heritage of its membership, not the heritage of the United States.
It's really the American Feudalist Society.

[Native]

16. Some speculate he might just be a placeholder to pivot the program or shut it down entirely, per Grok

AI's take:

DHS is spinning it, saying Fugate did well in a junior role on immigration and border security, so they gave him this gig “temporarily.” But here’s where I raise an eyebrow: national security folks are calling this move reckless, especially since the Trump admin seems to be shifting counter-terrorism resources toward border security and leaving violence prevention to the states. Some even speculate Fugate might just be a placeholder to pivot the program or shut it down entirely.

Link to tweet

[stillcool]

18. Another spoke in the wheel

No resume required, but acting abilities are a huge plus. These agencies are in the hands of the people that have engineered the Take-over for a very long time. Like the Heritage Foundation.

[johnnyfins]

9. Makes sense

TSF doesn't want to prevent terrorism. He wants the chaos.

[tanyev]

11. Because that worked so well in Iraq in 2002.

This little novice went to market . . . in Baghdad Jan 31, 2004

At Yale University, Jay Hallen majored in political science, rarely watched financial news channels and didn't follow the stockmarket.

All of which made the 24-year-old an unlikely pick for the difficult task of rebuilding Iraq's shattered stock exchange. But Hallen, a private-sector development officer for the United States-led Coalition Provisional Authority, was given the job immediately after arriving in Baghdad last September.

Hallen admits that he wound up in Iraq rather by accident. In 2002, he began pursuing a White House job and, though none materialised, he stayed in close contact with the man who interviewed him, Reuben Jeffrey. When Jeffrey went to Iraq last summer as a senior economic development adviser, Hallen emailed to ask whether there were any job openings. "Be careful what you wish for," Jeffrey, who is now an aide to Iraqi administrator Paul Bremer, told him in reply.

A few weeks later, Hallen got a phone call from a Pentagon personnel officer, who told him he had been given a job in the Coalition Provisional Authority starting in Baghdad in less than a month. "Needless to say, I was in a mild state of shock," he says.

https://www.afr.com/companies/manufacturing/this-little-novice-went-to-market-in-baghdad-20040131-k294j

In Iraq, the Job Opportunity of a Lifetime
By Ariana Eunjung ChaMay 23, 2004

When the U.S. government went looking for people to help rebuild Iraq, they had responded to the call. They supported the war effort and President Bush. Many had strong Republican credentials. They were in their twenties or early thirties and had no foreign service experience. On that first day, Oct. 1, they knew so little about how things worked that they waited hours at the airport for a ride that was never coming. They finally discovered the shuttle bus out of the airport but got off at the wrong stop.

They had been hired to perform a low-level task: collecting and organizing statistics, surveys and wish lists from the Iraqi ministries for a report that would be presented to potential donors at the end of the month. But as suicide bombs and rocket attacks became almost daily occurrences, more and more senior staffers defected. In short order, six of the new young hires found themselves managing the country's $13 billion budget, making decisions affecting millions of Iraqis.

Others from across the District responded affirmatively to the same e-mail, for different reasons. Andrew Burns, 23, a Red Cross volunteer who had taught English in rural China, felt going to Iraq would help him pursue a career in humanitarian aid. Todd Baldwin, 28, a legislative aide for Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), thought the opportunity was too good to pass up. John Hanley, 24, a Web site editor, wanted to break into the world of international relations. Anita Greco, 25, a former teacher, and Casey Wasson, 23, a recent college graduate in government, just needed jobs.

For months they wondered what they had in common, how their names had come to the attention of the Pentagon, until one day they figured it out: They had all posted their resumes at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative-leaning think tank.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2004/05/23/in-iraq-the-job-opportunity-of-a-lifetime/56eed6e7-f407-4d97-a29e-f6b8cbc88301/

[Botany]

12. Can you know about a book from its cover?

In this case I would say yes. He has stupid jack wagon written all over him. Even if you forget about
his left eye and eyebrow which might be from birth or a medical condition.

He can bag groceries and run a wheelbarrow of mulch and those are good qualities to have
in international affairs.

[onethatcares]

17. coalition provisional authority experience

the perfect guy .

Did we ever find out where that 64 billion dollars went after the pallets of bills were loaded on the planes?

Pfft. not like we need healthcare, or educational opportunities, or food for kids and seniors.

Like I said, "The perfect guy"

[KentuckyWoman]

19. Modern day

Snidely whiplash.