On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti Are we witnessing the death of expertise?
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Mar 23, 2026 
Tom Nichols, professor emeritus and Atlantic staff writer who wrote The Death of Expertise, discusses the erosion of expert trust and its risks to democracy. He analyzes presidential impulsiveness in war decisions. He critiques a weak, underqualified cabinet and warns how sidelining experts harms public safety and institutions.
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Wish Casting Replaces Deliberation In War Decisions
- The Trump presidency concentrates decision making around one willful leader who 'wish casts' outcomes rather than absorbs expert advice.
- Tom Nichols describes the president as unbriefable, often waving away military caveats and expecting quick, glorious results.
A Weak Cabinet Erodes Checks On The President
- The current cabinet lacks subject-matter competence and courage, undermining collective challenge to poor presidential choices.
- Nichols calls it the weakest modern cabinet and singles out inexperienced appointees like Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard as ill-equipped.
Loss Of Expertise Has Immediate Human Costs
- Eroding government expertise has direct human costs: deaths, economic harm, and degraded services.
- Nichols links vaccine refusal, battlefield casualties, and infrastructure failures to dismissing experts in policy roles.