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Donald Trump Finally Comes Out of the Closet
Michael
Krieger
18
August, 2017
The
firing of Steve Bannon is in my opinion the most significant event to
happen during the Trump administration thus far. Moreover, it will
have massive reverberations across the U.S. political spectrum for
years and years to come. I wasn’t planning on writing today, but
this news is so incredibly significant I find myself with little
choice.
Taking
a step back, part of the reason I was immediately able to see through
the Trump con was due to my upbringing in New York City. The guy was
constantly in the news my entire life, so I had a pretty decent
understanding of where he was really coming from and what makes him
tick. The mindset of your typical NYC-based billionaire real estate
developer is filled with all sorts of perspectives and priorities,
but thoughts of populism are not amongst them.
Trump
used populism to get elected, and then as soon as he won, immediately
appointed some of the most destructive oligarchs imaginable to run
his administration. The reason I warned about this incessantly at the
time, is because I learned the lesson from the Obama administration.
People = policy, and the people Trump was elevating were almost
unanimously awful. Irrespective of what you think of Bannon, him
being out means Wall Street and the military-industrial complex is
now 100% in control of the Trump administration. Prepare for an
escalation of imperial war around the world and an expansion of
brutal oligarchy.
The
removal of Bannon is the end of even a facade of populism. This is
now the Goldman Sachs Presidency with a thin-skinned, unthinking
authoritarian as a figurehead. Meanwhile, guess who’s still there
in addition to the Goldman executives? Weed obsessed, civil asset
forfeiture supporting Jefferson Sessions. The Trump administration
just bacame ten times more dangerous than it was before. With the
coup successful, Trump no longer needs to be impeached.
Here’s
another prediction. Watch the corporate media start to lay off Trump
a bit more going forward. Rather than hysterically demonize him for
every little thing, corporate media will increasingly give him more
of the benefit of the doubt. After all, a Presidency run by Goldman
Sachs and generals is exactly what they like. Trump finally came out
of the closet as the anti-populist oligarch he is, and the results
won’t be pretty.
The media took Donald Trump, cut his balls off, and handed them to Goldman Sachs.
Mission accomplished.
Corporate
media got the scalp it wanted, so the hysterical criticisms of him
will die down. This is not to say I think the media will become
pro-Trump, it just means the obsessive and aggressive propaganda will
be dialed back considerably. Trump is now inline, and he will be
rewarded by the establishment for that. He will learn that the more
he gets with the program, the easier his life will be and the more
secure his power. He is merely being conditioned, and my forecast is
that Trump will gladly embrace the worst parts of the establishment
going forward. Why? Because Trump’s true worldview fits in way more
with Goldman Sachs and the military-industrial complex than with
populism. It always has. The whole thing was just an act to get
elected. Firing Bannon is just Trump coming home to who he always
was. A ruthless oligarch.
Now
I’m going to make a few predictions about the political environment
going forward. First, I think right-populism or the “new right,”
is deeply damaged and this presents a huge opportunity for
left-leaning populists if they are smart about it. Let’s begin by
discussing why this is so problematic for the “new right.”
At
this point, something has become undeniable. Trump voters who
supported him based on the idea that he would bring forth an agenda
of economic populism got played. I understand that many other people
just voted for him as a middle finger to the system, but for the true
believers who thought he had their backs, it’s now long past the
time to pack up your bags. I don’t say this out of pleasure, I
genuinely hoped he would push forth an agenda of economic populism,
but now we know for certain this is never going to happen. That much
is pretty undeniable.
Nevertheless,
just because something is undeniable, doesn’t mean it won’t be
denied. Too many people have invested way too much in Trump to admit
they got played. Sure, there will be outrage for a few days and
people will swear to be “off the Trump train,” but as soon as the
next wedge social issue gets played up by the media, they’ll be
right back onboard. I expect excuses from “new right” leaders to
come within a few days, or weeks at the most. Remember, many people
built up their entire careers and public profiles by cheerleading
Trump into office. Most of these people are egomaniacs. What does an
egomaniac do when confronted with information that they got something
wrong? Do they publicly admit their error and give credit to those
who voiced skepticism, or will they figure out a way to change the
subject in order to maintain their relevance and position amongst
their fans? I think you know the answer.
As
such, right-populism is at a crossroads and this is what I expect to
happen. The same people who so passionately convinced people to get
on the “Trump train” will be far more concerned with maintaining
as much of their social media status as possible, versus doing what’s
right for the country.
There are enough unthinking fans out there to
allow this to happen. That said, the movement will be harmed
immensely because enough intelligent people will see that many of
these new right pundits aren’t who they say they are. The
credibility gap will widen and widen, as it should. Trump was a fake
and if you were so easily tricked by Trump, why should we trust you
on any other subject?
Right-populism
is now very much discredited, as its leader has been shown to be
nothing more than a narcissistic con-man. This will not be an easy
hole to dig out of, yet with some deep reflection, my hope is a new
right populism can emerge that is more in tune with Rand Paul than
Donald Trump. That’d be nice, but I have my doubts.
As
such, an enormous opportunity has opened up for left-leaning economic
populism. I already predicted this wave in a piece a few weeks ago
titled,Politics of the Next 4 Years – Part 1 (Rise of the ‘DirtbagLeft’). Here’s some of what I wrote:
This
faction of leftism is waging war against Clinton neoliberal frauds
and Trump’s fake populism at the exact same time. Not an easy thing
to do, but I think there’s a huge and growing unsatisfied demand
for such a perspective.
A
lot of you will discount the appeal of this movement because many of
its most high-profile members are unabashed socialists. This is a big
mistake. Remember, Donald Trump won the Presidency not because he was
especially great or loved, but because his opponent was terrible, he
talked in populist terms, and people just wanted to give a middle
finger to the political establishment and corporate media. If that’s
right, what’s to stop a movement from winning power if it promises
to flip the bird to both Trump and Clinton while also making you
laugh? Not much.
I
think the “DirtBag Left” will catch the Trump team completely off
guard over the next few years. The reason Trump’s prospects look
pretty good right now for a second term is because there’s no real
organized opposition to him. By real organized opposition, I mean a
movement driven by actual ideas and passion that is also working on a
plan to run a competitive candidate in 2020. The current “resistance”
consists of Hillary donors, neocons, the corporate media and elements
of the deep state. While Trump complains about this opposition
constantly, he doesn’t realize how good he has it. The American
public hates those factions more than they hate Trump, and nobody
wants to vote for that discredited garbage in 2020.
If
the genuine left is smart, it will take a step back and see this for
the gigantic opening it is. Lots of Trump voters are now up for
grabs, and if they can come up with a genuine message of economic
populism that avoids the typical leftist pitfalls — such as
supporting misguided young people dressing up like ninjas, carrying
flags and hurling rocks at people trying to give a talk — the
opportunity to create a populist movement of immense national
significance is there. People across the country are craving it, but
they want nothing to do with antifa, political correctness, or
aggression against free speech. Noam Chomsky gets it, and I hope
others heed his words.
Noam Chomsky: Antifa is a 'major gift to the Right'
As
such, here’s what I would recommend to any burgeoning populist
movement wanting to unite the country against oligarchy, as opposed
to just becoming a leftist echo chamber. It is the exact same thing I
suggested to Trump, but he obviously didn’t listen.
Election
2016 has been extremely bittersweet for me. On the positive side,
through both the Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump grassroots
movements, we have seen clear proof that a huge number of Americans
accurately understand that the current system is totally rigged and
simply not working for them. These people didn’t migrate toward
these two candidates for some tweaks to the system here and there,
their supporters want full scale paradigm level change.
As
such, rather than dwelling on the differences between these two
populist movements, let’s consider some of the areas where they
overlap.
1.
Trade — Opposition to NAFTA and current “trade” deals such as
TPP, TTIP, and TISA have been central to both the Sanders and Trump
campaigns.
2.
War and militarism — Whether you believe Trump is sincere or not,
opposition to Obama/Clinton interventionist overseas wars were key
talking points for both Trump and Sanders.
3.
The system is rigged — The painful acknowledgment that the U.S.
economic system is a rigged scam that fails to reward hard work, and
is more akin to a parasitic, predatory oligarchy with very limited
social mobility, has been a key campaign theme for both Trump and
Sanders. The economy is increasingly dominated by near-monoploy
giants who relentlessly push for more power and more profits
irrespective of the cost to society, whether that cost be war,
poverty or social unrest.
4.
Money in politics — The rigged economic system described above
aggregates wealth into an increasingly small number of hands. Those
hands then buy off politicians and rig the political process. A
rigged economy and rigged political system perpetually feeds itself
and endlessly grows at the expense of the public like a terminal
cancer. Both Trump and Sanders emphasized this problem.
5.
Rule of law is dead — Sanders focused on Wall Street bankers, while
Trump focused on Hillary and her inner circle of cronies, but the
overall point is the same. Rich and powerful oligarchs are above the
law. We all know this, but Washington D.C. refuses to do anything
about.
Populism
isn’t dead in America, but right populism as it exists today is. I
just hope the next iteration is a lot more genuine, and a lot more
sane.
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In
Liberty,
Michael
Krieger
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