Ronny Jackson mess perfectly sums up Trump presidency

President Donald Trump, speaking at a news conference Wednesday afternoon, appeared to stand by Ronny Jackson, his suddenly beleaguered nominee to head up the Department of Veterans Affairs, even as he appeared to toss him under the bus.

Calling Jackson — who removed his name from contention on Thursday — “a fine man,” Trump all but urged him to not take the job. “I wouldn’t do it. What does he need it for? To be abused by a bunch of politicians who aren’t thinking nicely about our country,” Trump said, before going on to blame Democratic obstruction for the suddenly stalled appointment.

Actually, the Ronny Jackson mess is entirely Trump’s fault. And it’s basic to his way of doing business. In fact, it represents a great deal of what we’ve come to expect from this presidency.

As it turns out, the Trump administration did not conduct due diligence on the appointment. But in this case, it doesn’t matter. Because Jackson should never have been nominated in the first place — which highlights how often Trump attempts to appoint people to positions they have no business being in.

Remember Betsy DeVos, who couldn’t answer basic questions about education policy at either her confirmation hearing or on “60 Minutes”?

Jackson, who is Trump’s personal physician, almost certainly received the nod only because he gave Trump what he wanted — obeisance.

Jackson first received significant public attention when he declared Trump’s health excellent in a manner so over the top that it sounded like a real life Onion video. So Trump picked Jackson despite his lack of significant administrative experience, something one might think necessary to run an agency that has more than 375,000 employees. It appears no one bothered to run anything more than a cursory background check, so they missed the allegations that started surfacing over the past couple of days, overprescribing medication and on-the-job boozing.

Complaining that the White House didn’t conduct proper vetting is to miss the point. The real problem is that Trump’s requirements for service are the opposite of good governance. We don’t know who Trump will nominate to replace Jackson. But here’s one thing I can promise. Competence won’t even be on the list of requirements for getting the job. HELAINE OLEN, WASHINGTON Editor’s note: Helaine Olen is a contributor to The Washington Post’s Plum Line blog.