The New Statesman

Trump has proved, I think the diplomatic way to put it, is very flexible and very pragmatic in getting this far, in that he will tell different groups what they want to hear.

Just a few days from Donald Trump's second inauguration as US president, hearings to confirm

the team around him have started in earnest. Lots of people can latch on to what he presents.

They can also project. They can say, actually, Trump's the sort of person who wants to cut the

size of the state. Or you can have other people and say, actually, Trump is the sort of person who wants to cut the size of the state.

Or you can have other people that say actually Trump is the sort of person who wants to re-energize

the state to re-industrialize America.

Both of those things are compatible with what Trump says because he is very ambiguous.

During the election, Trump managed to pull together a coalition of competing interests, different groups with different priorities, all of whom see value in his presidency.

I don't attribute it at all to his ability as someone who was able to carry out a kind of careful balancing act between interest groups.

I think it's just that he has become such an unreplicable force

in American life that politics has become nothing more than how close you can get to Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

Trump's picks for the officials in his government see the same, perhaps uneasy coalition.

There are mainstream experienced Republicans, hardcore Maga believers and Silicon Valley billionaires.

That last group are called The Disruptors on the cover of this week's New Statesman magazine.

This is Insight from the New Statesman.

I'm Kate Lamble.

And today, we're asking, can these different groups work together?

I think there's absolutely a multi-car pile-up waiting to happen within this administration.

And what happens if, or more likely, when they fall out?

Let's start, though, by meeting the different groups surrounding Trump.

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