reflectivepundit

Donald Trump’s Rush to Strongman Rule

By Brigitte L. Nacos

Donald Trump’s nominations of Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense, Tulsi Gabbard for Director of Intelligence, and Matt Gaetz for Attorney General drove the reality home that the former and future U.S. president follows his fascist campaign rhetoric and the equally undemocratic “Project 25” playbook as he selects the supporting cast for his second presidency.

Trump did not hide his sinister plans during his campaign. On the contrary. He repeated, again and again, that he and his MAGA crowd were in an existential battle against the demonic “enemy within” which he attacked as more dangerous than foreign enemies. Thus, the alleged “deep state” of “liberals, socialists, and communists” had to be destroyed to make way for the MAGA revolution.

Trump added to his many lies, when he claimed no knowledge of “Project 25” during the campaign. Now, he and his transition team and some authors of the detailed blueprint for the deconstruction of the administrative state are hard at work to implement the prescription for building a government in which the Dear Leader has total power.

I know that the term “fascist” is over- and misused. Trump, like other fascists before him, called his alleged enemies frequently fascists in the latter part of the campaign. Now, we see unmistakable signs of a coming fascist state here in the United States of America.

The main characteristic of fascism is that all powers are in the hands of the leader. In this case only people totally loyal to Donald Trump, not to the U.S. Constitution, have been and will be appointed to and nominated for the highest positions in the administration.

Gaetz, Gabbard, und Hegseth pass this loyalty test with flying colors. The normal qualifications for such positions, namely, expertise, integrity, and independence are completely irrelevant in a fascist regime and thus, now, for Trump and the enablers around him.

Therefore, it does not matter whether the GOP Senators reject one or more of Trump’s nominees. Whoever is not confirmed, will be replaced by another Trump loyalist, who will be equally eager follow Trump’s wishes.     

Fascist leaders leave the legislative and judicial branches in place but do away with the check-and-balance system in which the branches share power. Trump has a compliant Supreme Court in place. The other day, he signaled that he also wants an impotent congress. He demanded that the GOP majority leader in the U.S. Senate must order a recess of the upper chamber which would eliminate the confirmation process altogether in a violation of the “consent and advice” role of the Senate.  

Fascist leaders do not accept term limits. They want to be leaders for life. Yesterday, Trump told GOP members in the House of Representatives, “I suspect I won’t be running again—unless you do something. Unless you say, ‘He’s so good, we have to just figure it out.’” Contrary to some reports, this was no joke. Rather, Trump launched a trial balloon that he will eventually follow up with a push to getting rid of the two-term limit.

Less than two weeks after Trump’s election victory and more than two months before his inauguration, the strongman is rapidly consolidating his power.

Once he gets back into the White House, he will be ready and able to implement his extremist policies.   

The Paradox of Donald Trump’s Victory Makers

By Brigitte L. Nacos

A few days after Donald Trump moved into the White House in January 2017, he signed an executive order that prohibited citizens of Muslim majority countries to enter the United States. He frequently called Muslims and Arabs at home and abroad terrorists. Yet, before Election Day, two Muslim and Arab leaders in Michigan endorsed Trump. One of them called the GOP candidate “a man of peace.” In Dearborn, where 55 percent of residents are of Middle Eastern descent, and in neighboring Dearborn Heights, where more of a third of citizens are Muslims and/or Arabs, Trump beat Kamala Harris handily. Most of these Trump voters are upset about President Biden’s support of Israel’s actions in Gaza and Lebanon. But if they believe that Trump will be more helpful to Palestinians and the Lebanese population, they are mistaken. Netanyahu celebrated Trump’s “historic victory” knowing that his strongman colleague will not interfere with his controversial policies.

Exit polls revealed on Election Day that 54 percent of voters had an unfavorable view of Donald Trump and 55% considered his views “too extreme.” Yet, Trump won the national popular vote along with the winning Electoral College votes. In other words, although a majority of voters had very negative views of Trump, enough of them voted for him.

Given Trump’s starring role in the repeal of Roe v. Wade and the horrific consequences of draconian anti-abortion laws in a bunch of states, it was no surprise, when opinion polls suggested that a sizeable majority of well educated, white suburban women, especially Independents, would vote for Harris this time around. It did not happen. Harris won merely 54 percent of the women’s vote nation-wide. It was not enough. In Montana and Missouri abortion rights amendments passed with strong female support. But ironically, many of the same female voters ignored the threat of a national ban of abortions under the coming Trump presidency, when they cast their votes for the GOP candidate.

Since he entered the political arena in 2015, Donald Trump has called Latinos criminals, rapists, animals, and carriers of diseases and bad genes. Yet, 54 percent of Latino men voted for the former president compared to 44 percent for Harris. In 2020, Joe Biden received 59 percent and Donald Trump 36 percent of the male Latino vote. In some states, namely Pennsylvania and Michigan, the Latino share of the vote might have contributed to Trump’s victory.

In sharp contrast to many other countries, America is still not ready to elect a woman president. This time, voters picked the same narcissist for the second time, while rejecting his highly qualified female competitor.