reflectivepundit

Is Today’s America Still a Democracy?

By Brigitte L. Nacos

In his latest column in the New York Times titled “Democracy Is on the Line in Israel and America,” Thomas Friedman wrote, “Are we seeing the slow-motion collapse of the rule of law in the United States and Israel at the same time?”  It is too early to answer that question, but it is no longer too early to ask it.”

I am sure that James Madison, one of the Founding Fathers and the fourth U.S. President, would not merely ask but also answer the two questions Friedman raised in the headline and first paragraph of his commentary—certainly with respect to the United States.

As Madison wrote in Federalist #47,

“The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.”

He added that “the preservation of liberty requires that the three great departments of power should be separate and distinct.”

Today, President Trump is firmly in charge of the legislative branch while threatening judges who are ruling against the daily abuse of power by the White House and other administration officials.

The Republican majorities in the U.S. House and Senate are not “separate and distinct” but obedient pawns of the president. By willingly and enthusiastically handing over their constitutional powers to the executive, they are abandoning their role as the “first branch of government.”

Unlike the congressional GOP, some members of the judicial branch—judges and prosecutors-- have resisted interference by the president’s eager servants. More recently, the ruling clique has not merely threatened to fight non-compliant judges but disregarded and acted contrary to their rulings. Last weekend, the Homeland Security Department deported alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador, although a U.S. judge had blocked the removal. Similarly, a Lebanese professor at Brown University was deported in defiance of a court order to halt her deportation.

The so-called Border Czar Tom Homan, said on FOX News, “I don’t care what judges think…I’m proud to be a part of this administration. We’re not stopping.”

Since the courageous judges do not have the means to enforce their rulings without the assistance of executive departments, the president and his administration are now paralyzing independent judges and rely on loyalists in the judiciary to support their cause.

The triple separation of power designed by the Framers of the Constitution to safeguard liberty and justice--and thus democracy—is crumbling within the first 100 days of Trump’s second term.

 

King Don’s Court Prefers Complicit Reporters

By Brigitte L. Nacos

In the new White House order, the best and brightest political reporters representing the legacy press have lost their advantage to asking questions as part of the so-called press pool which has a limited and rotating number of wire, print, and television reporters. Traditionally, the pool members are selected by the White House Correspondents’ Association and share their first-hand observations with other White House reporters with both sides trusting each other.

All this changed eight days ago, when the White House announced that it would take control of the selection of pool members. Just as far-right online and television channels were regularly called on by Trump’s press secretary in the early weeks of his second term, they now are part and parcel of the press pool during events that allow only a limited number of reporters. This now prominent clique of MAGA courtiers mimics and promotes the narcissistic traits of their idol who strives to be king.

Take last Friday’s “made for television” assault on Ukraine’s president Zelensky by President Trump and his sidekick Vice-President JD Vance. After Trump himself had greeted Zelensky earlier with the loud remark directed towards the press, “He’s all dressed up today…,” a reference to Zelensky’s usual field uniform in support of his forces fighting Russia’s invading army, a pool “journalist,” asked the Ukrainian president, “Why don’t you wear a suit? You’re at the highest level in this country’s office, and you refuse to wear a suit. Just want to see if…do you own a suit? A lot of Americans have problems with you not respecting the office.”

As it happened, this White House selected pool member represented a far-right cable channel with a history of conspiracy theories. He played his role to the full satisfaction of those who selected him over reporters who understand the crucial role of the press in a democracy—among them the Associate Press wire service. Note, that no far-right or any other White House reporter has asked Elon Musk during his repeated performances in the Oval Office why he did not wear a suit. Presumably, they all know that President Trump would not like such a question.

Even more shocking was the presence of a man working for the Russian government wire service TASS among pool reporters during the pro-Russian rhetorical assault on Zelensky. The White House claimed later that the guy was not approved for the pool and removed once his presence became known.

That is not credible. Whoever has been in the White House as member of a foreign press outlet knows that nobody without secret service clearance and security checks all along gets near or into the Oval Office. In this case, another pool reporter observed that White House officials, who reviewed reporters’ credential before allowing them to enter the Oval Office, waived the TASS reporter in. Thus, a journalist representing and paid by the Russian government attended the event that a Kremlin spokesperson characterized later as demonstrating that both governments have “coinciding visions.”

The Trump/Putin Peace Initiative: Are NATO Allies and Ukraine Sold Down the River?

By Brigitte L. Nacos

In his book “Time to Get Tough: Make America Great Again” Donald J. Trump presented the principles of a “credible foreign policy” in seven bullet points. The third principle stated, “Stay loyal to your friends and suspicious of your enemies.” Never mind what he or his ghostwriters wrote and he said years ago. In the first few weeks of his second presidency, Trump has shown no loyalty to the dependable Western allies and no suspicion but rather friendship to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The president’s announcement that he and Putin will meet in Saudi-Arabia to negotiate a Russian-Ukraine peace arrangement sold NATO allies and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky down the river. Zelensky and NATO leaders were informed after Trump and Putin had spoken and found out that they would not be part of the peace negotiations.

The White House did not reveal what the president promised Putin at the expense of Ukraine. But one of his talking heads, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, told European leaders that Ukraine would not get back all the territory Russian captured since 2014. He also nixed the idea of Ukraine becoming a member of NATO and excluded US participation in a possible European peace force between Russia and Ukraine. In short, the U.S. gave away the store before the peace negotiations started. Moscow celebrated the good friendship between the strong Russian and strong American leader.

During his visit at NATO headquarters Hegseth told the allies furthermore that they could no longer count on the full commitment of the U.S. because, as he put is, the “stark strategic realities prevent the United States of America from being primarily focused on the security of Europe.” The Associated Press reported on this today under the headline, “NATO is in disarray after the US announces that its security priorities lie elsewhere.”

Ultimately, what is playing out now may well transcend the relationships between the U.S., NATO, and Putin.

With Putin leader no longer kept in line by a NATO lead by the U.S., he may act on other territorial ambitions sometime in the future. Trump has his own expansion plans that are no longer laughing matters: He continues to threaten Canada that it must become the 51^st US state, Denmark to hand over Greenland, and Panama to give the Panama Canal back to the United States.

Und China’s Xi’s design for Taiwan is no secret.

Strongmen tend to admire each other’s forceful and ruthless words and deeds. As fantastic it may seem at first sight, the reality of today’s line-up of dominating leaders could result in a new imperialistic world order in which super-strongmen Trump, Putin, and Xi each get and dominate their own sphere of interest.   

The drumbeat of shocking actions inside the U.S. has dominated the news since Trump returned to the Oval Office. That may explain, why there is not much attention in the news to the rapidly changing realities in international relations that could eventually prove as harmful as the domestic challenges.

Similarities and Differences between Car Pioneers Henry Ford and Elon Musk

By Brigitte L. Nacos

Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, had the foresight to produce the first automobile that was affordable for the middle class. But the successful industrialist, who became one of the wealthiest persons of his time, was also a staunch antisemite. To spread anti-Jewish biases, he purchased in The Dearborn Independent, for which he wrote a series of conspiratorial articles about the so-called global Jewish threat. After some of those racist articles were published in book-form and translated into several foreign languages, Germany’s Adolf Hitler made no secret of his admiration for Ford’s anti-Jewish tracts. Indeed, in 1938 Hitler awarded Ford with the “Grand Cross of the German Eagle,” Germany’s highest award for foreigners.

A century later, Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla Motors, had the foresight to build electric vehicles that were applauded for their environmental benefits. Once he became the richest man in the world, Musk bought the social media platform Twitter and altered it into a far-right online media named X that did not fact-check certain hate speech. The day Trump was inaugurated, Musk used the “Heil Hitler” salute in his appearance before a celebrating MAGA crowd. Six days later, he gave his explicit support to the neo-Nazi Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD) Party in Germany declaring in his virtual speech that it was time for Germany to “move on” from “past guilt.” His listeners understood what he meant, namely, that the German people should simply forget about the holocaust and the death of six million Jews during Hitler’s Third Reich.  

Henry Ford was a politically influential player in the first decades of the 20^th century. But neither Ford nor any other unelected person was ever given so much direct decision-making power as Musk got within the first two weeks of the Trump regime. That was his award for donating $277 million to the Trump campaign 2024.

The other day, it was reported that Musk and his minions gained unprecedented access to the Treasury Department’s records of the recipients of government payments. One can only assume that this is a key to the work of his imaginary Department of Government Efficiency and/or the new rule of revenge in the administration. The abrupt closing of the USAID agency’s headquarters and its work around the world is also part of the executive power grabs at the expense of the legislative branch.

The Republican majorities in both houses of the Congress are on their knees and not willing to defend their constitutional roles. Many are happy sycophants; others know better but are afraid of MAGA’s revenge against anyone not 100 percent behind the authoritarian rule of the oligarchs.

Those, who criticize congressional Democrats for not fighting what is unfolding, forget the restrictive role of the minority. It is only, when the negative consequences of the just started tariff war and other ill-advised policies of the current administration hit home in the electorate, that Democrats can and must blame those who caused the dilemmas to come…

Musk’s “Heil Hitler” Salute and Trump’s Pardoning of January 6th Terrorists

By Brigitte L. Nacos

I am old enough to remember Germans greeting each other saying ‘Heil Hitler” while raising their arms in the Roman or fascist salute. Not doing so, could and in fact did result in somebody reporting them as possible dissidents to the Nazi leader and his regime.

Today, “Heil Hitler is chanted and the raised arm salute displayed by neo-Nazis and White Supremacist here and abroad in their on- and offline gatherings.

Yesterday, as I watched Donald J. Trump’s coronation on television, nothing shocked me more than the behavior of richest man in the world, Elon Musk: While he addressed a jubilant MAGA crowd in Washington DC’s Capitol One Arena, he pounded his chest and then raised his arm in the fascist way screaming “Yes” and then turned around so that the people behind him could see his fascist salute as well.

This public spectacle by Trump’s most generous campaign benefactor and primary advisor came a few hours before the once-again president signed the executive order granting pardons to his supporters who attacked the US Capitol and police officers on January 6, 2021 to keep Trump in power.

Among the 1,200 or so men and women are the leaders of paramilitary groups, such as the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, whose members acted during and after Trump’s first presidency as “body guards” at MAGA events. They will soon be free to carry weapons and carry out political violence without fearing law enforcement interference.

This presidential decision did not come as a surprise. Trump promised all through his campaign that he would free all what he called “political prisoners” or “hostages.” Many of these people may never attack police officers again or commit other violent acts.

 But the hardcore members of the para-military groups will be soon available to move in their violent ways against former and present critics of Trump and his regime.

Autocratic leaders having paramilitaries at their disposal like Hitler had his vicious SS stormtroopers, is a sure sign that such strongmen can and probably will circumvent the normal law enforcement and judicial processes to move against their perceived enemies.

If the first hours of the second Trump presidency are guideposts for what will follow in the days, months, and years ahead, I pray for our democracy.