Trump Appoints 22-Year-Old Ex-Gardener and Grocery Store Assistant to Lead U.S. Terror Prevention

https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-appoints-22-y-o-ex-gardener-grocery-store-assistant-as-us-homeland-department-terrorist-chief/

The inexperienced 22-year-old reportedly tasked by Donald Trump with tackling U.S. extremism was working as a neighborhood gardener just five years ago and in a grocery store as recently as August 2023, the Daily Beast can reveal.

Thomas Fugate, who graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio just 12 months ago, is currently heading up the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships at the DHS, as first reported by ProPublica Tuesday.

The center, also known as CP3, plays a vital role supporting nationwide efforts to combat terrorism and hate-fueled violence.

But according to the youngster’s LinkedIn page, Fugate has almost no experience in this field—and in 2020 was working as a self-employed ‘Landscape Business Owner.’

There isn’t much else on his resumé to suggest Fugate has the requisite skills to weed out terrorists. Prior to his work as a gardener—while studying for a degree in politics and law—Fugate worked at an H-E-B supermarket in Austin, Texas, as a ‘Cross Functional Team Member.’

According to his LinkedIn, he would “perform various activities around every department of the store, fulfilling key duties contributing to store operations.”

Since leaving college, Fugate has had a meteoric rise in the political world, having served as an “advance team member” on President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, according to his LinkedIn page.

An avowed Republican, he also interned at the Heritage Foundation, the think tank behind Project 2025, and for Texas Representatives Terry Wilson and Steve Allison.

Fugate was reportedly hired as a “special assistant” in an immigration office at the DHS in February, according to ProPublica. He then took over CP3 after its previous director quit.

Fugate did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment.

“Tom Fugate has performed well in his current role as a Confidential Assistant in our Immigration & Border Security suboffice,” a senior DHS official told The Daily Beast. “Due to his success, he has been temporarily given additional leadership responsibilities in the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships office (CP3). This is a credit to his work ethic and success on the job.”

Fugate set up a political Instagram account last year, where his profile contains the motto, “Men used to do great things. I believe they still can.”

He has posted a number of photos from the campaign trail and his time in Washington, D.C.

He also posted a video that showed him with a host of lesser lights in the Republican party, including the disgraced former congressman Madison Cawthorn, Kennedy Center President Ric Grenell, and MAGA personality Riley Gaines. He is also pictured with Texas Governor Greg Abbott and former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

An older account in the name of Trey Fugate on X suggests that he was a fan of LEGO and Star Wars. He used the social media account to call on Texas politicians “to protect the international affairs budget!” and “Help the global poor, save lives.”

That was just two years before he launched his new MAGA personality with the thomas4texas Instagram account, saying: “Legend has it that Thomas Fugate didn’t start the fire , but that is always been burning since the world’s been turning . Welcome all to my new account for public service, community involvement, and politics . Recently things have got to the point where I felt like my main account has become too focused on politics, so I wanted to switch things up!”

The plethora of selfies and portraits plastered across his social media accounts suggest that the wryly arched eyebrow Fugate chose for his LinkedIn profile—a photograph taken in front of the seal of the Department of Homeland Security—was very much a knowing choice from a young man who seems to think he is destined for the top.

This is what happens when you take bullying out of the schools

>>1409892 (OP)
Well guys, let's see. Either this guy is somehow a terror prevention prodigy who'll be incredible at the job... or he'll have no idea what he's doing, and we'll be more vulnerable than ever.

God when people said they wanted younger people in charge, they didn't mean fresh out of fucking college. You have to have some time to gain experience first before you become the head of something.

>>1409892 (OP)
Okay, he's an ugly, unqualified dweeb who took an emberassing picture, it's funny.
But why did he actually get the job? Is his dad somebody?

>>1409903
>Is his dad somebody?
That or he was the online friends with somebody's racist alt account.

>>1409903
He interned for the Heritage Foundation.

Seriously. That's his qualification.

>>1409909
I don't think that's enough to get him to the head of the department.
If he was a pretty blond girl with good knees I could see how an intern could work her way up the Trump ladder. But not this ugly dweeb.
He's someone's son/grandson/nephew, which is how he got the internships in the first place.

>>1409910
The requirement for a position in the Trump administration is simply a willingness to never say no to Trump. How else do you think Pam Bondi got to be AG?

>>1409911
God this fucking admin. Trump would never allow someone who would say to no to him in power, but the problem is "agrees with everything Trump says" is literally the only thing these people know how to fucking do, so when they're not in contact with him they're absolutely useless at their jobs (and when they are, all they can do is execute Trump's retarded ideas without realizing they're retarded).

>>1409898
No; the end result of ending bullying is the proliferation of Democrat policies and ideology, which is to corrupt, kill, and destroy

The Briben administration allowed in millions of foreign terrorists, just a few days ago one of these foreign terrorists firebombed a peaceful protest. So much for """"qualifications"""". It's an easy job and Bribens people fucked it up, I have 100% confidence a motivated 22 year old raised on good values can do a better job than Bribens people, who, again, allowed millions of foreign terrorists and terrorist sympathizers into the country.

>>1409914
>The Briben administration allowed in millions of foreign terrorists, just a few days ago one of these foreign terrorists firebombed a peaceful protest.
That guy came in on a visa that only expired in March of this year. If anything Trump failed to remove him once he overstayed.

>>1409916
Why did ICE, who was being pressured all year to deliver big deportation numbers for Trump, deliberately ignore someone with an expired Visa?
Why are we wasting time raiding pizza shops to release everyone when there's literally a list of expired visa holders to follow up on?

This story is about Trump fucking up and his bootlickers falling over themselves to blame anyone else

>>1409918
>Why did ICE, who was being pressured all year to deliver big deportation numbers for Trump, deliberately ignore someone with an expired Visa?
Probably because they're also being trained to hyper focus on border jumpers too.

>>1409916
If anything, he shouldn't have been allowed into the country anyways but Briben let him in regardless. Briben let in millions of these terrorists, I'm sorry Trump and ICE haven't managed to track down every single one of these millions of people in a few months but rest assured he's working on it, as you leftists would know because leftists piss and moan every single time ICE nabs one of these criminals

>>1409920
Bad Shill

>>1409920
>If anything, he shouldn't have been allowed into the country anyways but Briben let him in regardless.
He had a valid visa and wasn't on a watchlist. You can't really deny at that point, you coping bot.

Notice how the Ivan who keeps using the word 'Briben' is desperately trying to derail the topic of the thread.

>>1409923
Its more that the local shill is mentally ill and thinks this lame trolling is saving this board from the imaginary leftists in their head.

>>1409922
>Wasn't on a watch list
It's called having common sense. Mudslime jihadi sympathizers do not belong in the country.

>>1409914
>just a few days ago one of these foreign terrorists firebombed a peaceful protest
It's funny you should bring that up, schizo.
OP's article doesn't even mention a very big piece of this puzzle.

>The fate of CP3 is one example of the fallout from deep cuts that have eliminated public health and violence-prevention initiatives across federal agencies.

>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.

Source: https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-dhs-thomas-fugate-cp3-terrorism-prevention

So Trump and Elon slashed the budget and personnel in this counter terrorism department by 75 percent, in order to reallocate funds to rounding up brown people who are washing dishes and planting gardens and because they don't want anyone looking into right wing terrorism anymore.
In the weeks since then, as you pointed out, a terrorist firebombs peaceful protestors.
Now, rather than restore funding or bring back qualified people, they're putting a brown-nosing intern in charge, because they know he'll do what he's told and cover up any potential terrorist activity from their side.
And if a few Americans die from preventable terror attacks as a result of all of this, that's a loss this administration is willing to accept.

>>1409929
>And if a few Americans die from preventable terror attacks as a result of all of this, as long as it can be spun into something that looks bad for Democrats that's a loss this administration is willing to accept.
fixed that for you

>>1409923
The "topic of the thread" is a massive nothing urger. Leftists fought tooth and nail for criminals and terrorists from the ME, Africa and SA to flood the country and now that Trump is doing something about it you pretend to care about terrorist prevention. The fact of the matter is you have no right to complain about who Trump appoints because your side chose people who were allegedly """"qualified"""" yet still allowed millions of terrorists into the country. In fact leftists called anyone who critized allowing millions of terrorists into the country "Nazis". You have 0 right to talk shit about border and terrorist security, you are the party of terrorism, human trafficking and border crimes

>>1409929
We wouldn't need this department if it wasn't for leftist open border policies in the first place tbqh

>>1409932
So you agree we do need this department.

>>1409934
No, because Trump is leaving the job to ICE to deport these millions of criminals Briben let into the country. Sorry they aren't doing it fast enough for you but if it wasn't for constant leftist obstruction the job would be much easier.

>>1409931
You write like one of Peter Thiel's 23 year old interns.

Imagine how far advanced the Biden Derangement Syndrome would have to be to start using words like "briben" in every post.

>>1409936
Ah, I see.
So the Trump admin put this unqualified intern in charge of the department because it's obsolete and redundant and they don't want to waste anyone with actual skill or experience on it. I'd imagine he probably agreed to a fairly low salary in exchange for the impressive title he can put on his resume.
But then if that's the case, why not just eliminate the department entirely?

>>1409921
>>1409922
>>1409923
>>1409925
He's an illegal who had no fucking business being here and let in by a criminal deviant like Biden no less. Just admit you want anyone but white men in this country and then hang yourself with rope

>>1409946
We could use the name Brandon but we're not boomers so briben it is. Stay mad retard

>>1409977
cope harder
Trump let a criminal assault Americans because he's weak on immigration.
He can't even make sure people with expired Visas leave.

>>1409977
When did you start believing the white replacement meme was real?

>>1409979
I'll never understand why you people think it's so clever to say words wrong.
>Stay mad retard
Likewise.

>>1409892 (OP)
He's not qualified. That's the point. Trump doesn't want anyone in the room that could contradict him or tell him he's wrong about something. There's a lot of reasons for that, but the biggest is that he's just that pathetic.

Oooh! Sounds like now's the time to commit some domestic terrorism.

>>1409901
Your fault for putting a senile corpse and trannies in power for the past four years

>>1410045
Trump seems to be just as senile as you accused Biden of being, and the trannies were more qualified for their jobs

>>1410046
Yeah? Show me trump falling over or trying to shake hands with people that don't exist or speaking on an empty stage with his elbows frozen at 90 degree angles like he's standing at a goddamn podium

>>1410046
>Trump seems to be just as senile as you accused Biden of being
ffs, this was already settled just last year when they debated. Trumps fatass ran circles around biden's feeble geriatric attempts at speaking
The entire world saw it. Live.

>>1410050
>Trumps fatass ran circles
confidently babbling nonsense doesn't mean he's sane

>>1410050
And harris wiped the floor with dumbass donald so badly that he refused to debate her again

And >>1409913 is the end result of taking bullying out of the schools

>>1409892 (OP)
>>1409903
Unironically will be more effective then some 60 year old boomer still crying about weed.

>>1410100
>60 year old boomer crying about weed
Why are you even a conservative if you don't stand against drugs you fucking moron? We STOPPED the predatory legalization of weed in Florida with CONSERVATIVE votes. Jesus made it quite clear that the path to heaven runs through sobriety, and spending your time proselytizing to the lost on places like 4chan. If you're going to defend the inexperienced by praising ILLEGAL DRUGS, then you should join the lost souls in the Democratic party. Us conservatives want to instill good morals on the populace, such as by the continuation of the drug war, and the banning of pornography. That's how we did it when this country was great under Reagan.

>>1410127
trump isn't a conservative, neither is the vast majority of his voterbase. Weed is a bipartisan issue that has a majority support just not the super majority it needed in the florida vote.
Also the reason i bought weed up is because it's all those fucking old farts did from the democracy party especially that cunt schumer, oh vote for us and we'll try to reschedule it oo i didn't bring it up for a vote this time maybe next maybe next maybe next keep voting for me though.

These old losers don't do anything they find an issue people care about and appoiint people who just dance around the issue.
Trump's appointee will move infinitely faster then any of those "qualified" old losers ever would.

>>1410151
>Trump's appointee will move infinitely faster then any of those "qualified" old losers ever would.
They'll also break things faster than they ever could. Unfortunately, you can't fix those things as fast either.

>>1410151
>Trump isn't a conservative
Hilarious. Trump is more committed to maintaining the natural social order than any other politician. Through tariffs and his tax bills he's has effectively replaced the progressive income tax with a sales tax. Now the useless bottom 49% has to pay their fair share. With the big beautiful bill, we'll kick these lazy stay at home sons off Medicare and get the economy productive again

>It's these old peoples' fault
When you get older, you'll realize there are those meant to lead, and others to follow. Your bitterness to those whom time has revealed to be leaders suggests that you are likely a bitter follower, and your opinion is unneeded.

>>1410172
Stop with your cringe ass villain monolog.

>>1410176
It's "monologue", but feel free to point out the holes in my logic as soon as you're done policing free speech shithead

>>1410179
don't bully hir too much, its not their fault MAGA has to hire retarded college kids to all their positions.
I'm sure they're doing their best

>>1410172
what about trump is conservative? the guy's a newyorker cunt through and through.
>When you get older, you'll realize there are those meant to lead
you sound like one of those old losers who can't do anything properly but comes into a job demanding respect because of their age, how pathetic of you so much self-projecting.
>respect my senority!

>>1410161
Given how shit the system is that'll be an improvement either way.

>>1410213
You're gonna miss the working parts of the system when they're gone retard.

>>1410246
the working part of the system is literally getting people killed with billions going to embezzlement.

>>1410333
And now it's going to be worse.

>>1410396
good maybe the issue will be solved when more leftists cunts get affected now too

>>1409913
>which is to corrupt, kill, and destroy
so republican ideology

>>1410333
Cool so you have irrefutable objective proof of that?

Or are you talking out your asshole?

>>1410469
He saw some tweets saying that and now he believes it.