The Times They Are A-Changin’: The Fourth Reich

 

 

“If I could make the world as pure
And strange as what I see
I’d put you in the mirror
I put in front of me”  

 

 

Right-wing dictators love to express their nations strength through sport. There was Mussolini with the Italian football team and their successive World Cup triumphs in 1934 and 1938, Hitler with the 1936 Olympics, and, more recently, Argentina’s brutal military junta led by General Jorge Videla and the 1978 World Cup. 

 

Looking back, both Italy and Argentina’s success at those tournaments weren’t a great surprise. At the current tournament the US team aren’t expected to progress much further, a fact that appeared more likely when their top-scorer Folarin Balogun was sent off, probably harshly, for serious foul play.  

Fifa then confirmed his one-match ban, and their disciplinary code does not permit appeals against sending’s-off. 

Enter Trump, whose three calls to Fifa saw the suspension overturned.  

Football aside, America was celebrating 4th July, with this year marking 250th anniversary. 

Trump used the occasion to deliver a direct on the “communist menace” in the US, framing its supporters as “the enemy of July 4th 1776”. 

Ironically, the site of his rant was the Black Hills, which the US government illegally seized from the Sioux Nation in 1877 after Congress forced the tribe to cede land it had been guaranteed under treaty. 

 

‘Enter Trump, whose three calls to Fifa saw the suspension overturned’

 

Trump said US exceptionalism was rooted not only in its constitution, but its distinctive culture and identity, suggesting that people were trying to “beat the American spirit out of us” and “alienate us from our history”, vowing to an overwhelmingly white crowd: “We are going to give our country its identity back.” 

Democrats were described as communists posing an existential threat to the US. A rebuke clearly aimed at Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York and a democratic socialist, who has delivered a pro-immigrant address viewed as aimed at Trump and his MAGA movement. 

“A generation after we fought and won the cold war against the menace of communism, there is now a resurgence of the communist menace in our land, including from newcomers to our country who embrace ideas totally opposed to our way of life and our great success.” 

Communism, he said, was a greater threat to American liberty than WW1 and WW2, and the 9/11 attacks: “It’s the enemy of the constitution. Above all, it’s the enemy of July 4th, 1776 … Communism is the exact opposite of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It’s death, tyranny and the pursuit of evil.” 

“As for those who peddle Marxist lies about our heritage, tell our children that we live on stolen land or that our heroes were oppressors, they’re doing something much worse than slandering our past. They are slandering and attacking our future – not going to let that happen.” 

Trump then urged Congress to terminate the filibuster and pass the Save America Act, which has been widely criticised as a voter suppression bill. “We do that, we’re not going to lose an election for 100 years. The communist party is made up of illegal immigrants, criminals and everybody that doesn’t want to work.” 

Clearly, the potential rejuvenation of the Democrats by Mamdani, along with a Fox News poll which,  supposedly shows “socialism gaining ground with young voters”, and with the forthcoming mid-term Trump fears becoming a lame-duck president. 

 

“socialism gaining ground with young voters”, and with the forthcoming mid-term Trump fears becoming a lame-duck president

 

Young voters may not want Trump but they are far from being socialists calling for the state to own and control the means of production. If anything they are “democratic socialists”, much like Europeans social democrats who favour a predominantly market-driven economic system where there are rich and poor, with policies to rein-in markets and inequality with progressive taxation, social security, and regulations. 

Trumps message is that these policies as un-American. Whereas, in reality, the US  has a history of social democracy; the 1928 Social Security Act, which provided security  for the disabled the unemployed and retirees passed into law in 1935. A national minimum wage was established in 1938. The big healthcare programs, Medicare and Medicaid, weren’t established until 1965 — but even that was 60 years ago. 

Progressive taxation was, until Regan took office in 1980, a feature of US fiscal policy. The 1950s-60s especially, had very high taxation. 

 

‘Trump has raked in $2bn since returning to office’

 

Elsewhere, another famous American, Pope Leo used the occasion to remind everyone of the underlying principles of the founding fathers: “This historic anniversary presents ⁠us with the opportunity to reflect once again on ​the ​nation’s founding principles ​in the hope that America will remain ​ever true ‌to the ​dream ​that has earned it the title of land of the free and home of the brave.”  

The Pope has previously clashed with Trump over his immigration policies, calling in November for “deep reflection” in the US about the treatment of people held in detention. Relations worsened further after he condemned the US-Israeli war in Iran. 

Only days before Leo’s speech, VP Vance said the Vatican’s views on immigration were “troubling”. 

Whilst there is much to admire in America, there is nothing to admire in the current administration. 

 

‘Whilst there is much to admire in America, there is nothing to admire in the current administration’ 

 

The war with Iran has left the US weaker and Iran stronger. Trump’s dismantling of the post-1945 rules-based international order is taking the country away from a system that only ever benefited the US, allowing it to grow stronger and richer.  

He is also championing white supremacy, whereas the US Constitution guarantees foundational rights to all immigrants regardless of legal status, including the Due Process Clause (which prevents the government from taking life, liberty, or property without fair legal proceedings) and birthright citizenship (the 14th Amendment right that grants automatic citizenship to almost everyone born on US soil) 

The constitution has long been regarded as the guarantor of the country’s stability preventing a president ruling as a monarch, and enriching himself and his family. There are emoluments clauses to guard against the receipt of foreign gifts and the pursuit of earnings outside the job of serving the people as president, and  a series of checks and balances to ensure powers were separated rather than concentrated in a single pair of hands.  

 

‘the constitutions text grants him “the right to do whatever I want as president”

 

Unfortunately, in Trump, the constitution has come face-to-face with exactly the kind of figure the founder fathers feared. The constitutions great weakness, is the fact it cannot enforce itself. 

Last week, the supreme court, authorised the administration’s ending of temporary protected status (“TPS”) for migrants, meaning that more than 1m people. In addition, the court also ruled against the right to recourse to the courts when the executive overreaches. 

This is the culmination of Trump’s claimed during his first term that the constitutions text grants him “the right to do whatever I want as president”. 

Recent headlines show him doubling-down of this, with the release by the US Office of Government Ethics revealing that Trump has raked in $2bn since returning to office. Around half of this is from cryptocurrencies, but there is also golf courses and Trump-branded bibles, and lucrative overseas deals. There is also tributes from foreign nations, such as the Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar. 

One can only hope American’s come to their senses sooner rather than later. 

 

“Out of my mind on saturday night
Ninteen-seventy rollin’ in sight” 

 

The thing with Trump is he never ceases to amaze, disappoint, and horrify at the same time.

That anti-communist script is straight out of Uncle Adolf’s playbook. Stab-in-the back, lies, ranting, etc..

I had begun to wonder when he would tamper with the World Cup, and in doing so, he has destroyed the integrity of the US team and any success they might achieve. Hopefully, Belgium duffs them up tomorrow morning.

There is much to like and admire in America, hopefully this current loss of their moral compass is temporary.

With that in-mind, the lyrics that top and tail this article are chosen to prove that there was once greatness in America. We start with “Pale Blue Eyes” by The Velvet Underground and end with “I Feel Alright (1970)” by The Stooges.

Enjoy!

 

@coldwarsteve

 

Philip Gilbert is a city-based corporate financier, and former investment banker.

Philip is a great believer in meritocracy, and in the belief that if you want something enough you can make it happen. These beliefs were formed in his formative years, of the late 1970s and 80s

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