Trump: The Imperial Oligarchy
Published in La Raźon
(Spain) on 1 February 2025
by Carlos Antonio Carrasco (link to original)
(Spain) on 1 February 2025
by Carlos Antonio Carrasco (link to original)
Translated from
by Tom Walker.
Edited by Michelle Bisson.
It looks like former President Joe Biden was not exaggerating when he warned in his farewell address that an oligarchy was taking over the country. It’s not just the appalling Elon Musk, the richest person in the world, as Trump’s ad hoc co-ruler, but also a dozen billionaires taking jobs at a high command level or as regular advisers with decision-making capacity. The term “oligarchy” picked up a pejorative meaning in Russia after the implosion of the Soviet Union, when friends of the new government divided up state-owned enterprises and other sources of easy money, which made them very wealthy.
Maybe it’s different for the U.S., but it looks the same: very wealthy people who are also powerful politically. Many of them are even moving to Washington, where they are choosing huge, very expensive mansions. There is Howard Lutnik, for example, nominated for Commerce secretary, who reportedly has paid $25 million for a French-style mansion. Others don’t need to live in the capital to enjoy the sweetness of power, like Charles Kushner, Trump’s father-in-law, who will serve as ambassador to Paris.
Meanwhile, Trump’s first executive orders addressing domestic as well as foreign issues, have had a seismic impact around the world. Domestically, issues range from seemingly superficial measures like sexual identity to the anti-immigration phobia that rages relentlessly. The recent crisis with Colombia, in which the White House imposed its will on humiliated Colombian President Gustavo Petro and his sovereignist chirping, is an example.
In the international arena, we have been waiting for actions following up on Trump's aggressive invocation of Manifest Destiny. Trump could roll back the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, which granted Panama full sovereignty over the Panama Canal. Aside from the impetuous desire to buy Greenland or to annex Canada as the 51st U.S. state, Trump appears to be willing to use “bulldozer diplomacy” quickly to increase customs duties on imports to get the results he wants. It might work in certain cases, but not in all situations. Increasing tariffs on imports may lead to serious retaliation, including from EU or China, which are very leery of the Trump's unpredictability, something Trump brags about.
Geopolitically, his intervention in the cease-fire negotiations in Gaza, was positive, although it frees up deployment of powerful 2,000-pound bombs to Israel with no known purpose. Trump’s idea of moving the Palestinian population to neighboring Arab countries is simply bizarre. With regard to his vaunted negotiations for peace in Ukraine, we’re still waiting for the heralded personal dialogue with Vladimir Putin to produce results.
In short, before the fateful end of his first “100 days,” it is already possible to discern the outline of Trump’s objectives: not just to “Make America Great Again,” but also to use all means to project the image of the all-powerful emperor of the world from his oligarchic republic .
Maybe it’s different for the U.S., but it looks the same: very wealthy people who are also powerful politically. Many of them are even moving to Washington, where they are choosing huge, very expensive mansions. There is Howard Lutnik, for example, nominated for Commerce secretary, who reportedly has paid $25 million for a French-style mansion. Others don’t need to live in the capital to enjoy the sweetness of power, like Charles Kushner, Trump’s father-in-law, who will serve as ambassador to Paris.
Meanwhile, Trump’s first executive orders addressing domestic as well as foreign issues, have had a seismic impact around the world. Domestically, issues range from seemingly superficial measures like sexual identity to the anti-immigration phobia that rages relentlessly. The recent crisis with Colombia, in which the White House imposed its will on humiliated Colombian President Gustavo Petro and his sovereignist chirping, is an example.
In the international arena, we have been waiting for actions following up on Trump's aggressive invocation of Manifest Destiny. Trump could roll back the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, which granted Panama full sovereignty over the Panama Canal. Aside from the impetuous desire to buy Greenland or to annex Canada as the 51st U.S. state, Trump appears to be willing to use “bulldozer diplomacy” quickly to increase customs duties on imports to get the results he wants. It might work in certain cases, but not in all situations. Increasing tariffs on imports may lead to serious retaliation, including from EU or China, which are very leery of the Trump's unpredictability, something Trump brags about.
Geopolitically, his intervention in the cease-fire negotiations in Gaza, was positive, although it frees up deployment of powerful 2,000-pound bombs to Israel with no known purpose. Trump’s idea of moving the Palestinian population to neighboring Arab countries is simply bizarre. With regard to his vaunted negotiations for peace in Ukraine, we’re still waiting for the heralded personal dialogue with Vladimir Putin to produce results.
In short, before the fateful end of his first “100 days,” it is already possible to discern the outline of Trump’s objectives: not just to “Make America Great Again,” but also to use all means to project the image of the all-powerful emperor of the world from his oligarchic republic .
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