This is how dangerous the Trump oligarchy is

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A victory for the former president would shake America to its core.

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“A thick wedge belongs to a thick wedge.” This is a phrase used by those who want Donald Trump to win, or at least try to defend it. One of them is NZZ editor-in-chief Eric Gujer. In his poorly worded election advice for the former president, he noted that Trump “is a Darwinist for whom politics is a brutal struggle for power and prosperity,” and he didn't hesitate. affirmed the current imperative. A stark contrast to the current president. “Anyone who longs for the good old days as much as Joe Biden does is going to be shipwrecked,” Gujjar said.

There is a fundamental flaw in his argument: Trump does not want to be a wedge between Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un. He hoped to become a leading member of the club and was rightly described by historian Anne Applebaum as the “dictator AG.”

Trump wants to be a dictator

The real danger posed by the former president's victory is that it would create an American version of an oligarchy, in which an all-powerful president backed by the Supreme Court and surrounded by ultra-rich entrepreneurs rules. Increasingly authoritarian.

Trump has made no secret that he is working to achieve such a situation. He was known to want to be a “day one dictator,” promising his evangelical followers that they would only have to go to the polls once and he would solve the problem. He has also threatened to revoke the licenses of unpopular television stations, jail critical journalists, use the judiciary to retaliate, and accuse Mark Milley and Liz Cheney of treason and execute them.

People who know Trump say it was all just talk. In fact, soup is not eaten when it is cooked hot. may be. But is this really a good plan? no Has he done what he repeatedly and explicitly promised during the campaign?

Anyway. But what would a Trump oligarchy look like? Despite Trump's admiration for Putin, this may not be an exact replica of the Russian model. Oligarchies also differ. However, Franklin Foer noted in The Atlantic: “At their core, all oligarchies are the same. There is a symbiotic relationship between corrupt leaders and business elites, supporting each other.”

Jeff Bezos (centre) and his space companion.Image: trapezoid

Even in his first term, Trump tried to rally the tech oligarchs around him. At that time, he gathered Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Tim Cook and others around him with the intention of forming a powerful advisory board. Nothing happened. The situation in the White House was too chaotic, the organization was quickly disbanded, and the tech oligarchs played no role between 2017 and 2021.

At the same time, the situation changed fundamentally. Trump has four years of experience in the White House. He is no longer a newbie who doesn’t know which buttons to push in the complex American political machine. Instead of being surrounded by capable “adults” who can prevent the worst from happening, he will be surrounded by sycophants who carry out his orders unconditionally.

Economic and political conditions also changed. Thanks to the epidemic, industrial policies have been accepted by society. “Republicans and Democrats alike, to varying degrees, believe the government should act like an investment bank, not only providing billions of dollars in subsidies to certain sectors of the economy but also protecting them from foreign competition,” Fall said.

The ideological basis for a symbiosis between the White House and the tech oligarchs has been established. Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are expected to receive billions of dollars in government contracts to realize their space dreams. Cryptocurrency brothers like Marc Andreessen and Peter Thiel can count on dismantling cumbersome financial regulatory laws and rules.

Think of yourself as Iron Man: Elon Musk.Image: trapezoid

Together, Trump and the oligarchs can fundamentally change the American system. How they wanted to do this was spelled out in what is now known as “Project 2025.” The plan calls for the complete abolition of the Ministry of Environment or Education and the firing of thousands of disloyal officials. “We are in the midst of a second American revolution,” explains Project 2025 leader Kevin Roberts. “If the left allows it, this will happen without bloodshed.”

The latest polls give us hope of a break from the Trump oligarchy. However, if the polls are wrong, we may soon have to dress very warmly. “The people around Trump will be driven by greed but also by messianic fervor. The result will be something we've never experienced before,” Fall said.