Glory to Ukraine!
Glory to the defenders of Ukraine and all modern civilization!
In today’s release:
- Two years ago, “Project-2025” was published: where is America heading?
▶ Let me say right away that no very significant events worth discussing in detail have occurred in the USA over the past two days.
The various American news of recent days are more illustrations of the general picture of America during the second presidency of Trump than news with direct consequences for the country and the world.
The second Trump presidency itself has consequences as a phenomenon.
Just these days in June 2024, that is, two years ago, “Project-2025” was published. The program was created by “The Heritage Foundation,” an organization that has been a kind of ideological think tank for the Republican Party since the mid-70s. After Trump appeared in American politics in 2015 and after he established complete control over the Republican Party, “The Heritage Foundation” transformed from a center of conservative political ideas into a center of ultra-right ideas. And “Project-2025,” with all its over 900 pages, is, as they say, the crowning achievement of ultra-right ideologues, serving as nothing less than a program for building an extremely authoritarian, essentially proto-fascist regime in the country, led by an all-powerful executive authority. An authority omnipotent in everything—from ignoring constitutional norms on the separation of powers in various matters to fully subordinating the system of the federal prosecutor’s office personally to the president, dismissing all “disloyal” people from all federal structures, and filling the vacated positions with politically loyal ultra-right individuals. It is also a program of the US abandoning the support and protection of democracy worldwide, refusing to spread liberal, democratic values globally.
Perhaps if another ultra-right candidate had become the 47th president, he might have advanced further in implementing this program by today than the current president. Another, meaning one focused on executing this program rather than on himself. But another ultra-right candidate probably couldn’t win the presidential election.
Due to various factors, Trump became the sole candidate for the ultraright, who had been courting him even before the 2012 presidential election (as Bob Woodward wrote in his first book on Trump in 2018), who managed to draw to the polls a coalition composed of those who always vote Republican out of tradition; ideologically driven ultraright supporters, around 20 million strong, who didn’t participate in elections before Trump; diverse individuals who believe that immigrants from Latin America are to blame for their problems; those who are disgruntled by rising egg prices and ready to vote for anyone promising to lower them; and, of course, those who aspire to be like a person who, by his own admission, can do anything—grab different women inappropriately, evade taxes (as they too would like to, thus favoring such a candidate).
The fact that the current president, due to his extremely narcissistic personality, is primarily focused on himself, on being the center of attention daily, on portraying himself as the author of grand projects, on attaching his name to everything possible and impossible, and on having his portraits displayed everywhere—from government building facades in Washington to passports and currency—and pays much less attention to everything else, gives America a chance that the full implementation of the program outlined in “Project-2025” might not succeed. Partial execution of this program will result not in an authoritarian regime but in a system with various elements of authoritarianism, reaching different stages of development but not completed.
Such a system could be dismantled, returning the country to the norms and values that have been its foundation at least since the mid-1960s—since the adoption of civil rights laws, voting rights, and the provision of medical insurance to retirees and low-income individuals. Returning to these norms and values will require significant effort. Primarily, society will need to elect different people to power initially. This is an absolutely necessary condition for the return.
Society has the opportunity to take the first step towards this return—less than five months from now, on November 3rd, people will go to the polls to elect the 120th Congress. This Congress could act as a barrier to further construction of authoritarian frameworks and could begin dismantling those elements and structures of the authoritarian regime that have already been created.
The news of recent days, changing like a kaleidoscope, forms a chaotic picture, reflecting, however, what we just discussed. The President does something in the direction of “Project-2025” and immediately gets distracted due to his narcissism with self-admiration. He starts something but quickly switches to something else if his endeavor doesn’t allow him to quickly show that he is better, smarter, and stronger than everyone. His decisions are blocked by the courts. And so on.
Here are the latest news items we haven’t discussed yet.
● Trump plans to ask the Senate to approve his former criminal lawyer, Todd Blanche, as the Attorney General. A good question is whether 50 Republican votes will be found in the Senate to confirm him in the position. Blanche, both as Deputy Attorney General and as Acting Attorney General after Bondi’s dismissal, has shown himself to be not just a loyal servant to the president but willing to do anything at his direction – initiating criminal cases against any individuals the president considers his “enemies,” absolving the president, his family, and businesses from responsibility for potential tax violations, not complying with the law on the publication of all documents in the Epstein case, and so on, and so forth.
● The 47th president, as reported by many media outlets, cursed Netanyahu during a phone conversation. There is nothing surprising about this. Only those who consider the 47th “Israel’s best friend of all time” would be surprised. Just like those who are currently paying $4.60 per gallon for gas – but believed, when they voted for Trump in 2024 when gas was $3.20, that Trump would make gas cheaper.
For the 47th president, the concept of “ally” doesn’t exist. He has no allies. He has interests. His current interest is to strike a deal with Iran at any cost, to open the Strait of Hormuz and reduce oil prices. Because otherwise, he will definitely have to deal with a new Congress that will shut down his “Project 2025.”
● The 47th president appointed staunch MAGA supporter Bill Pulte as Acting Director of National Intelligence. Several Republican senators have expressed dissatisfaction that the president appointed someone without any experience in intelligence or foreign policy to this position. Seeing that it would be impossible to confirm him in the Senate as a permanent director (there aren’t enough votes), the president stated that Pulte would work temporarily as Acting Director, and his task is to conduct a purge, reduce staff, and dismiss all disloyal individuals who worked under previous administrations.
This is entirely in line with “Project 2025.”
● The 47th president cannot reach any agreement with Iran. But he says he’s not in a hurry, that he can wait.
While waiting, he went to Wisconsin on Friday to speak with farmers in a swing district where there will be a battle for a House seat. He told the farmers about his “grand” projects to renovate the White House and Washington, saying that he could have stayed in the White House watching TV, but he loves and cares about them.
● Trump pardoned former GOP congressman Steve Buyer, convicted of insider trading in 2023. It’s a typical approach of the 47th: friends get everything, “enemies” get the “law.”
● A federal judge overturned the measures introduced by the Trump administration last year, which suspended the provision of asylum and the consideration of immigration benefit applications for citizens of 39 countries. In a 135-page court ruling, the judge stated that actions aimed at blocking access to the immigration system for those eligible for asylum and denying others temporary work permits effectively deprived large groups of people of the opportunity to remain in the country. The judge noted that these measures were motivated by “anti-immigrant sentiments” and contradicted immigration law.
● The Senate voted on a budget review procedure (which requires a simple majority for a bill to pass) for a bill allocating $70 billion to fund immigration police and border patrol, without setting any restrictions or rules that the immigration police must follow. The 52-47 vote was largely along party lines: 52 Republicans voted in favor, 46 Democrats and Republican Lisa Murkowski voted against. One Democrat was absent. The House of Representatives has not yet considered this bill.
There are 959 days left until the end of the story titled “Fear: Trump in the White House” © (the title of Bob Woodward’s book published in 2018).
Thank you to everyone who read. Take care of yourself and your loved ones. Take care of each other, help each other. Health to all.
Ultimately, what happens in the world depends on us. Whether we fight against evil, do Good, remain mere observers, wait passively and believe that someone somewhere will decide for us, or fight against evil and do everything possible for Good to prevail.
We must not allow evil to win. The victory of evil would mean the end of the world as we know it. We cannot allow this. Especially now.
Ukrainian Friends, I hug and love you all. Please take care of each other, I urge you strongly.
Ukraine is and always will be.
And evil will be defeated and punished. It is certain.
