Trump's Tyranny
The American Empire is solidly behind both military conflicts on this planet, either of which could end in nuclear war. On June 12, 2025, World War Three began when Trump allowed Israel to attack Iran. Iran retaliated the following day. There is no end in site for this conflict, it is escalating as I write. The arrogant American government, while clearly supporting both Ukraine and Israel, is asking Iran not to strike American assets in the region, as if the Empire is neutral. When Iran does strike American assets, there is a very real possibility that Israel will view that as a permission slip allowing it to attack Iran with nuclear weapons.
We expected the worst environmental outcomes when Trump ran for and won re-election in November. Unfortunately, Trump and his administration are doing what we expected, though not totally.
At the time of the election in November 2024, I wrote this about Trump’s environmental policies
“One of Trump’s signature slogans is ‘drill baby drill,’ which means, as he has told us, his upcoming government, once installed after January 20,2025, will (1) increase government support for fossil fuels, (2) reduce support for solar, wind, and geothermal, (3) encourage more export of fracked natural gas, (4) eviscerate or close the Environmental Protection Agency, (5) open up public land to drilling; and (6) serve as a discouraging international model for other countries to follow (https://vitalissuesbobsheak.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=4795&action=edit).
Introduction
This post focuses on examples of Trump’s inflated self-image as a president who sees himself as being above the law, his implausible notion of making manufacturing in the U.S. a dominating global force, and how, as one example, his policies harm the poor.
#1 - A thirst for power
Trump casts himself as a superior president, among the best 3 or 4 presidents in U.S. history. Indeed, he has said his presidency is like being a king. He has also viewed himself as a “messiah,” as Robert Reich notes, Donald Trump keeps comparing himself to Jesus. “Whether he actually has a messiah complex or is just conning his supporters, he's playing to a growing GOP faction that wants America to be a white Christian Nationalist state, with Donald Trump as a divine ruler. Be Warned” (https://tiktok.com/rbreich/video/7384440520371899694)
Introduction
This post focuses on examples of Trump’s inflated self-image as a president who sees himself as being above the law, his implausible notion of making manufacturing in the U.S. a dominating global force, and how, as one example,
his policies harm the poor.
#1 - A thirst for power
Trump casts himself as a superior president, among the best 3 or 4 presidents in U.S. history. Indeed, he has said his presidency is like being a king. He has also viewed himself as a “messiah,” as Robert Reich notes, Donald Trump keeps comparing himself to Jesus. “Whether he actually has a messiah complex or is just conning his supporters, he's playing to a growing GOP faction that wants America to be a white Christian Nationalist state, with Donald Trump as a divine ruler. Be Warned” (https://tiktok.com/rbreich/video/7384440520371899694)
I know that those who read my articles will be interested to learn that President Donald Trump has appointed Martin Marks to be his administration’s liaison to the American Jewish community with the title Special Assistant to the President and Director of Jewish Engagement in the White House Faith Office. Marks, whose mother handbag designer Lana Marks served as US ambassador to South Africa in Trump’s first term, appears to be well qualified for the position as “Before turning to politics, [he] was a writer and owned a yoga studio in Palm Beach.”
Trump’s self image
-Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer quotes Trump: “I run the country and the
world” (https://theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/04/trump-second-term-
comback/682573
Trump’s enrichment
New York Time’s journalist Steve Rattner writes on April 27, 2025, how Trump is
the biggest beneficiary of his own chaotic economic policies
(https://stevenrattner.com/article/new-york-times-trumps-biggest-benefic…-
himself). He’s worth citing at length.
“No presidential administration is completely free from questionable ethics
practices, but Donald Trump has pushed us to a new low. He has accomplished that
by breaking every norm of good government, often while enriching himself,
whether by pardoning a felon who, together with his wife, donated $1.8 million to
the Trump campaign; promoting Teslas on the White House driveway; or holding a
private dinner for speculators who purchase his new cryptocurrency.”
Rattner delves into Trump’s motivation.
An America dying in dictatorship is fraught with horror, denial, angst.
Countless Americans now live in terror of the totalitarian state coming at us full bore.
As a people, we’ve flirted with homegrown fascism in our literature, arts and imagination. But we’ve only briefly confronted it in real time.
Obviously, it sucks.
But on a karmic level, based on what we have done to other peoples and nations, don’t we deserve it?
And won’t this Trumpian nightmare force us to confront the faults that have powered his rise?
America’s core freedoms have been a long term assumption.
Based on gender, sexual orientation, class, race, involuntary servitude, religion, national origin, etc, for millions that freedom has been a cruel illusion.
But in the larger flow of human history, we inherited from Indigenous America a unique sense of liberty. Few North American tribes were authoritarian in nature.
“Why do you think Trump is racist”. This question was asked of me recently, in all seriousness as far as I could tell. Since everyone in America knows he is racist, I am unsure why I am writing this. Here goes.