If This Is Madness, There is a Method to It
Donald Trump wants to force America and the entire world to accept his big lies.
Imagine the scene: Donald Trump gathers his cabinet and other henchmen around the table for a government meeting. U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, a real estate dealmaker who managed to come back with a completely false understanding of Vladimir Putin's alleged peace proposal, addresses Trump: "There's only one thing I wish for: that that Nobel committee finally gets its act together and realizes that you are the single finest candidate since that Nobel award was ever talked about." The bootlickers applaud.
This is absurd, yet also not absurd. As Polonius said to Hamlet, "Though this be madness, there is method in’t."
The madness lies in asserting something false, contrary to all evidence and intelligence. The method is doing it again and again, relentlessly, at full volume, and with unwavering determination, until the public, numbed by the power of the blatant lie, submits to it. This is how Trump became president twice. This is how he got away with the outrageous lie of that his 2020 election victory was stolen, and this is how he was able to provoke a coup, including the storming of the Capitol, without being held accountable.
Many Failures
Recently, Trump has been wearing a cap that says he was right about everything, yet every day he is cited for lying. His actions, which are supposed to win him the Nobel Peace Prize, are laughable failures. Putin isn't considering giving up, nor is the North Korean dictator. (“I have a great relationship with Kim Jong-Un. I hope it stays that way. I think it will. I have a — I have a very good relationship. I understand him. I spend a lot of free time with him talking about things that we probably aren’t supposed to talk about. And, you know, I just — I get along with him really well. I think he has a country of great potential, tremendous potential.")
The tariff chaos and the attempted takeover of the Federal Reserve are jeopardizing the global economy. His miscast appointments (an anti-vaccine activist as health secretary, conspiracy theorists as intelligence chiefs) are both endangering public health and national security. The "purge" of countless federal agencies (firing 130,000 civil servants) threatens how the country functions. Immediately after the Alaska summit, Trump fired the CIA's top expert on Russia. The establishment of a paramilitary force and the destruction of the judiciary are leading straight to autocracy.
He constantly flirts with the idea of an unconstitutional third term. Insiders say he is completely serious about this. But, there is no effective resistance to the idea. If the Supreme Court grants him even more discretionary power in its next round of decisions, then it will be the end of U.S. democracy.
This isn't just a matter for Americans. In order to maintain a dishonest system, you must also ensure there are no better alternatives anywhere, and that includes in Europe. This is the reason why Putin wants to gain control of Ukraine.
And Europe?
Europeans must face this extremely uncomfortable truth. Trump wants them to adopt and internalize his nonsense as well. He wants Europe to demolish its wind turbines and use oil instead. He says Europeans should stop fighting the far-right parties in their own countries and stop controlling the hate on U.S.-dominated IT platforms. They should adopt his benevolent view of Putin. And they should accept what he once said: "The second time around, I run the country and the world.” If they do this, then it will be the end of the European way of life.
Imagine the scene: Donald Trump gathers his cabinet and other henchmen around the table for a government meeting. U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, a real estate dealmaker who managed to come back with a completely false understanding of Vladimir Putin's alleged peace proposal, addresses Trump: "There's only one thing I wish for: that that Nobel committee finally gets its act together and realizes that you are the single finest candidate since that Nobel award was ever talked about." The bootlickers applaud.
This is absurd, yet also not absurd. As Polonius said to Hamlet, "Though this be madness, there is method in’t."
The madness lies in asserting something false, contrary to all evidence and intelligence. The method is doing it again and again, relentlessly, at full volume, and with unwavering determination, until the public, numbed by the power of the blatant lie, submits to it. This is how Trump became president twice. This is how he got away with the outrageous lie of that his 2020 election victory was stolen, and this is how he was able to provoke a coup, including the storming of the Capitol, without being held accountable.
Many Failures
Recently, Trump has been wearing a cap that says he was right about everything, yet every day he is cited for lying. His actions, which are supposed to win him the Nobel Peace Prize, are laughable failures. Putin isn't considering giving up, nor is the North Korean dictator. (“I have a great relationship with Kim Jong-Un. I hope it stays that way. I think it will. I have a — I have a very good relationship. I understand him. I spend a lot of free time with him talking about things that we probably aren’t supposed to talk about. And, you know, I just — I get along with him really well. I think he has a country of great potential, tremendous potential.")
The tariff chaos and the attempted takeover of the Federal Reserve are jeopardizing the global economy. His miscast appointments (an anti-vaccine activist as health secretary, conspiracy theorists as intelligence chiefs) are both endangering public health and national security. The "purge" of countless federal agencies (firing 130,000 civil servants) threatens how the country functions. Immediately after the Alaska summit, Trump fired the CIA's top expert on Russia. The establishment of a paramilitary force and the destruction of the judiciary are leading straight to autocracy.
He constantly flirts with the idea of an unconstitutional third term. Insiders say he is completely serious about this. But, there is no effective resistance to the idea. If the Supreme Court grants him even more discretionary power in its next round of decisions, then it will be the end of U.S. democracy.
This isn't just a matter for Americans. In order to maintain a dishonest system, you must also ensure there are no better alternatives anywhere, and that includes in Europe. This is the reason why Putin wants to gain control of Ukraine.
And Europe?
Europeans must face this extremely uncomfortable truth. Trump wants them to adopt and internalize his nonsense as well. He wants Europe to demolish its wind turbines and use oil instead. He says Europeans should stop fighting the far-right parties in their own countries and stop controlling the hate on U.S.-dominated IT platforms. They should adopt his benevolent view of Putin. And they should accept what he once said: "The second time around, I run the country and the world.” If they do this, then it will be the end of the European way of life.
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