The dizzying pace at which The Don and his cronies are trying to dismantle our government is unprecedented and terrifying. So many of the working class people (men in particular) who support him are thrilled with his exploits of tearing things down: they love the idea of this greater-than-life guy taking on “the man.” They have felt denigrated by the liberal elites and the “administrative state”; as well as threatened by the rise of women, people of color, and the LGBTQ community into positions of significance. One could say that the fear and anger generated towards immigrants in the Great Replacement Theory could be extended to the above groups as well. The Don swinging his dick all over town makes them giddy. He is showing all those elitist leftists that their days are numbered- that there is a new sheriff in town. Actually, to be more exact: a new King in this country. As The Don said: “He who saves his country does not violate any law.”
The tragic part for his supporters and our country is that the emotional connection to this toxic man, which allows them to keep singing his praises, blinds them to the devastating impact his actions will have on their lives. Their guiding light is their belief that they will regain their prominence and resume their proper place in the hierarchy. Their abeyance to the king gives them hope, inspiration, and purpose: they are believers, tethered to a higher calling and consequences be damned.
Like in any cult, they can not see how they are being used. They don’t understand that they are just lowly, expendable subjects in his kingdom. He just needed them to help him ascend to the throne; now that he has assumed the mantle, he has no need for them. Let’s face it: millions of white working class people rely on Medicaid for their health insurance and the cuts he plans to make will have a devastating impact on many of his followers. They are not processing any of this. They are just wrapped up in the thrill of his destroying D.E.I and the general culture war. The question is: will there be a point when the rubber hits the road, and the actual real life consequences of The Don’s actions change their attitude? I’d like to say of course there will be; but the power of belonging to something higher than you is intoxicating. you feel special. You are even willing to sacrifice to be part of something special. It is the classic autocratic bargain.
The Don plugged into the disenchantment and convinced people the once-great America had fallen into darkness and needed to be restored to its greatness. That is a powerful message to many who have felt the ‘American Dream” was out of their reach. He convinced people that America is a failing nation and he alone could fix that.
I have at times compared The Don to Hitler; they both share the distinction of being malignant narcissists. The people of Germany were despondent and wayward after WWI. Their country was in tatters. The German people were humiliated by their loss and the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Along came Hitler with the promise of restoring Germany to its proper place in the world order. The German people wanted to believe he was their savior. The rest is history. I don’t believe we will experience anything as extreme as the “final solution,” the scapegoating of Jews and the need to exterminate them because they were less than human and “poisoning the blood” of the German people, but we do see parallels in The Don’s targeting of large groups of Americans. We see scapegoating of immigrants and members of the LGBTQ community. We see degradation of women; we see his dismantling and defunding of anything having to do with D.E.I. I can imagine The Don ordering the military to perpetrate violence (even murder) on civilians who defy him; after all, during the protests over the heinous murder of George Floyd, he suggested shooting people in their legs, but the Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper, persuaded The Don to back off.
What Hitler and the Don have in common is that they are amoral. They do not flinch at destroying someone. They are both messianic, driven by vengeance and believe they have been anointed; they follow a delusional calling to do what it takes to consolidate power and restore their country to greatness. The Don’s comment after the attempted assassination was “I was saved by God to make America great again.”
Not only does The Don want to make America Great Again, but his messianic vision to remake the international order is also frightening. As the most powerful man in the world, with the most lethal military, he is using his bully pulpit to play whack-a-mole with other countries.
He has threatened to annex Greenland and the Panama Canal, renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and continues to taunt Canada that they should become the 51st state. He has suggested displacing all the people living in Gaza to create a Mediterranean Riviera.
He has frayed our relations with Europe threatening our allies with a trade war, causing Europe to lose its trust in us. We have met with Russia in Saudi Arabia without Ukrainian or representatives from Europe to decide the fate of the war in Ukraine. The Don has promulgated his usual lies to justify his positions, stating that “Ukraine started the war and threatened if they don’t play ball that ”Ukraine could become Russia” He even accused President Zelenksy of being a “fascist.” Further evidence to Europe that the U.S can no longer be trusted to be an ally.
Less than a month into his second term, Mr. Trump has eviscerated U.S.A.I.D., the U.S. foreign aid agency long reviled by Moscow. Even religious organizations, which are partially funded by the government, have been impacted. Caritas International, a confederation of international Catholic relief agencies, has warned that the cuts are catastrophic, and said that the “ruthless and chaotic” way that the administration has made its cuts “threatens the lives and dignity of millions.” The Pope himself has criticized the administration’s cruelty and inhumanity. So much for Christian love and compassion. People are already dying and more will. The sense that America is a partner has been shattered. We are losing all the good will our generosity has created.
Shadow president Elon Musk has publicly advocated in favor of Germany’s far-right movement. Here’s Musk: “Only the ADF can save Germany.”
At the Munich Security Conference J.D. Vance stunned the participants by admonishing European leaders to drop their so-called firewall and allow the hard-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, to enter their federal government. German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, accused Vance of unacceptably interfering in his country’s imminent elections on behalf of a party that has played down the atrocities committed by the Nazis 80 years ago. Rather than meeting with Scholz, he met with the head of the ADF.
Vance decided to take a side trip to Dachau, one of the concentration camps where tens of thousands of Jews were exterminated. He told reporters he had read about the Holocaust in books, but that its “unspeakable evil” was driven home by his trip to Dachau, “It’s something that I’ll never forget, and I’m grateful to have been able to see it up close in person.” Hey J.D., it seems like you forgot as soon as you finished your “tour” of the camps. How do you say that, and then embrace a right-wing party that outwardly denies that the Holocaust was a big deal? Your hypocrisy is despicable, as also witnessed in lecturing European leaders that they were failing democracy while you work to dismantle it in your own country.
The Don has also put our national security at risk.
Tulsi Gabbard, who is now officially the Director of National Intelligence. The sycophantic Trumpublicans have turned over our National Intelligence Service to someone known to be Russia friendly. Here’s the response in Russia to Gabbard’s appointment: “The C.I.A. and the F.B.I. are trembling,” the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda crowed after her nomination was announced. Another Russian state outlet called Gabbard a “comrade.”
The person in charge of all our intelligence information is a star in Russia. We all know that Don is a Putinphile. What allies are going to feel comfortable sharing intelligence information with the U.S. with this unsavory dynamic duo? Who could trust us with intelligence information? What happens if this distrust leads to information being withheld that has real national security consequences for the U.S.? What about Gabbard selling classified information to the highest bidder?. It’s a new reality show called: “Highest Bidder.” Something like the “Price is Right,” except we are figuring out the cost of secret intelligence information rather than washing machines
A new international order is being sculpted at a dizzying pace for all of us to witness. It reminds of the the nursery rhyme, “Humpty dumpty. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men, couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again.”
But there is hope. Town Hall meetings ares springing up all over the country confronting Republican legislators. People are beginning to experience the direct impact of losing their jobs from Musk’s slash and burn policies. Courts are pushing back at actions that seem to be unconstitutional. The people are fighting back. The chaos and mismanagement of policy choices are finally getting through to the people. We have to keep pushing the information out about whay is really going on. I don’t think people really voted for this. In fact, 83% of Americans disagree with decision to pardon the January 6th insurrectionists!. The people are our only hope to turn the tide. “We the people” has never mattered so much
The Grand Offal Party 