It's been just over a week since Donald Trump secured his place in history as the next president of the United States, moving him right into big decisions about who will serve in his administration. More than 4,000 government positions and 300 direct positions to the president must be filled by January 20 and must be chosen carefully.
Just a few days after the election, headlines published in liberal media outlets like The New Times accused Trump's transition team of "being chaotic" and too slow to get the positions secured with qualified people. The narrative? He's never been elected to anything and has no idea what he's doing.
They're wrong.
According to data compiled on previous presidential transitions, Trump is not only right on schedule with his appointments, but he's ahead of the game with his announcements for Attorney General, CIA Director and National Security advisor today.
Calm down, folks: Donald Trump has plenty of time to name his cabinet https://t.co/iESuYNXcXB pic.twitter.com/xs3AxxYoYy
— Chris Cillizza (@TheFix) November 17, 2016
.@krauthammer: The media coverage of Trump’s transition is remarkably over the top (via @BretBaier) pic.twitter.com/cfcPjSmDmV
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) November 17, 2016
Former Obama campaign manager David Axelrod, who also helped with the transition team post-Bush administration, is also pushing back on criticism of Trump's process and progress.
Lots of reasons to be concerned about @realDonaldTrump transition but the pace of announcements isn't one of them. That's not a fair shot.
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) November 17, 2016
We hadn't made any major appointments at this point in 2008. I don't remember being criticized for it. https://t.co/3yXvA8g6bL
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) November 17, 2016
Trump is doing just fine, despite what his most ardent media critics are saying.