[Salon] Trump is in - The Spectator World



As some here may have heard, the US Imperial System is crumbling. At least you would if you’re smart enough, and perhaps even more if you’ve read Chalmer’s Johnson’s trilogy of the collapse of the U.S. Imperial System. Which actually begins "at home," as what political theorist Sheldon Wolin described as “Inverted Totalitarianism,” 

And Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi, with her trip to Taiwan, have done almost all they can do to continue the acceleration of that  with bringing us almost to the brink of nuclear war now. But the “starting point for that latest “acceleration,” which has been steady since the end of the Cold War and USA’s gargantuan hubris, but with incremental phases accelerating it even more, I contend, was the Trump administration, achieving all that Sheldon Adelson and Benjamin Netanyahu asked of him. And even more, in the Mideast to where they handed governance of that to Israel, and Israel’s front groups, the UAE and SA. 

And in Asia, to include Russia as substantively in Asia, where he embarked upon Steve Bannon’s scheme for controlling Eurasia in the MacKinder/Theodore Roosevelt/Republican tradition, beginning with using legitimate grievances against China, as pretexts and cover to expand and accelerate achieving military domination over China. And over Russia, only seemingly placing Russia lower in priority for war, while he “Built the Greatest Military in the World,” and withdrew the US from every Arms-Control Treaty he could  An impossible to miss signal to both China and Russia, while he expanded military operations  on each of their peripheries as he consolidated their encirclement with redeployments of the USMC from the Mideast to the Pacific Command ("Trump’s ending the endless wars,” screeched The American Conservative magazine)  and to Scandinavia, while simultaneously preparing for war with what was to be called Camp Trump in Poland, in “tribute" to him. 

Throughout all the vast military preparations for expanding US Perpetual War, his vanguard of lying propagandists insisted that he was ending the endless wars and invoking “Realism and Restraint” as his policy, while not "decoding” that to mean what it does. Which is that “American Interests” has an expansive meaning beyond anything that his so-called “non-interventionist Conservative” and National Conservative supporters/promoters are letting on. Which is, U.S. “national interests” under Trumpism is the "Total Military Domination of the World,” just like Cheney/Wolfowitz first declared in 1991. The only disagreement to that by Trump who to prioritize for destruction first, and how much more money should the Republicans dedicate to “Defense” above the Democrat’s each cycle. 

And Singing Hosannas to Trump throughout his reign, and now lying and working incessantly for his Restoration, with Biden giving it to him on a plate by continuing Trump’s military/CIA expansionist policies of provocations and Low-Intensity Conflict policies against Russia since before 2014, but accelerated under Trump, per members of his own administration. 

And singing those hosannas loudest was The American Conservative (TAC) magazine, Hillsdale College (I repeat myself), Claremont Institute, and Spectator World. With the loudest of all (in my opinion) being Mollie Hemingway, featured as a “foreign policy expert” by TAC and Quincy Institute as I’ve shared before, and Amber Athey, who can be “seen” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvhS3wnAGNE

With both so practiced at lying (in my opinion) at touting Trump’s “Realism and Restraint,” and worked so arduously at promoting Trump’s “Common Plan” to wage war against any deemed “resistance to US policy, even for legitimate grievances," to paraphrase the Cheney Doctrine, that they rate right up there with the greatest propagandists of all time! 

And it begins in earnest now, with Amber Athey here, with us soon to be hearing again how "Trump will fight the Blob.” Which is still chortling over all that Trump gave them, in perpetuity, during his reign. TAC and QI must get Athey/Hemingway on as soon as possible as “foreign policy experts" to pontificate how Trump will “end the endless wars” which the “Democrats” alone get us into!

In the tradition of propaganda as this woman once did for a previous “Man of Peace!” 


No apologies: I don’t think Riefenstahl knew how far that “Man of Peace” was going to take his “Quest for Peace,” as his “Peace Though Strength” policy would lead him to Stalingrad, and back. And I’m not saying Trump would ever have extermination camps, though being fully supportive of “Detention Camps," as with Palestine, and with the bi-partisan support given for what is equivalent; draconian jails sentences for “Whistleblowers.” And military detention for dissidents envisioned, and authorized, under Sec. 1021 of the NDAA, still in effect as Public Law. Which Trump endorsed on taking office, as has all Presidents since its passage. 

But here is Amber, enthusing over Trump’s lying! Which I’m sharing knowing a lot here will give it a “thumbs-up.” But perhaps a few here might see the lying duplicity (in my opinion) in this, of Trump, and his propagandist, “Greater” even than Trump’s political opponents.



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There was no escalator this time — but former president Donald Trump still announced his candidacy at one of his own properties. This time, it was at his Palm Beach, Florida, resort in Mar-a-Lago in a swanky ballroom. The room was adorned in gold and Trump had a row of American flags at his back as he said he would run for president for the third time, hoping to win the 2024 presidential nomination.

Trump earned some ire from the GOP base last week when he attacked Florida governor Ron DeSantis and Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin, but this has not released his grip on the Republican Party. He opened his speech by promising, “America’s comeback starts now.” It’s “Make America Great Again,” but…again. 

His 2016 announcement focused on the unfettered illegal immigration harming the American worker and the bad trade deals that offshored manufacturing, a message that allowed him to break the so-called “blue wall” in the Midwest. This time, the story was about how far the US has fallen since his presidency ended two years ago. Trump spoke about the economic greatness, energy independence and global power that he brought back to the country. Biden has overseen historic levels of inflation and illegal immigration, as well as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Under our leadership, we were a great and glorious nation,” Trump said. “Most importantly, we were a free nation. But now we are a nation in decline.”

If you watched CNN ahead of the announcement, they reported that no one really wants Trump to run. Yet as usual, the reports of Trump’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. Anyone who says the walls are closing in, or that they’ve finally got him, is short-sighted and, well, wrong. Dave Chappelle explained Trump during his Saturday Night Live monologue this past weekend. Trump, he said, is the most honest liar. He argued that Trump tells the truth about his own dishonesty. But Trump is really an “honest liar” because although he sometimes exaggerates the truth, he is always basically right. This is something that appeals to the average American, as it should, and seemingly cannot be replicated by any another politician.

There are conservatives who have good reasons to want to move on from Trump. Even I was frustrated after last Tuesday’s disappointment, and I am a big fan of DeSantis. Trump’s endorsements in toss-ups didn’t pan out as well as one would hope. He attacked some of the best people in his party. But there is an intangible quality to Trump when he hits the target. When Trump is focused, he can’t help but win.

“This is not a task… for a conventional candidate,” Trump said Tuesday night. “This is a task for a movement.”

There was no attack on DeSantis, or mention of Kari Lake’s election being stolen in the Arizona gubernatorial election, or serious backtracking on 2020. Instead, Trump talked about his hope for the nation’s future and the many accomplishments during his first term.

“The Washington establishment wants to silence us,” Trump said, as CNN conveniently cut away from the speech and allowed its so-called analysts to weigh in.

The reality is that even though there was anger and skepticism over another Trump term, his base heard his speech Tuesday night and looked on with the same optimism they had in 2016. He said what even the Republican Party would not say with vigor ahead of what should have been a sweep in the 2022 midterm elections. They tried to coast into victory, but Trump still wants to fight.

“This campaign will be about issues, vision, and success,” Trump said.

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The biggest question is if Trump will be able to take on the losers in his own party. It will matter in a general election in 2024. McCarthy, McConnell and McDaniel blew the 2022 midterms. They likely aren’t going anywhere; Trump has endorsed two of them. When Trump first ran in 2016, he talked about the swamp and the institutional rot in the GOP and how it handicapped good people. If he is going to capture that outsider magic once again, he has to demand that better people be put in charge of the Republican Party machine.

Trump’s biggest asset, arguably, is that he was the father of the GOP’s realignment. He became a hero of the working class and championed policies that put blue-collar Americans and the country as a whole above the elite class. If he can recapture that energy and leave behind the petty spats in favor of success stories, he will perform well in 2024.

“We will again put America first,” he said. “This won’t be my campaign. This will be our campaign.”

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