How to Survive Trump/Musk’s Cruelty, and Lack of Forethought, Logic, Intelligence and Regard for the Law

“Trump is acting like a King because he is too weak to govern as a President” — Ezra Klein — The New York Times

On a frigid Monday afternoon, my wife and I joined a protest at Washington Square, in Manhattan. It was “President’s Day”, a holiday celebrated to mark George Washington’s birthday. The irony of the day was hard to ignore.

People of all ages were out in force, holding placards and banners, shouting and banging drums, expressing their anger and frustration at the rapid dismantling of norms and civility at the capital.

The blunt retrograde attack on the government and its institutions by unelected entities and oligarchs had hit a nerve.

After voting comes protesting and people were exercising their right peacefully.

On January 20th, a new administration took the reins of power and has run roughshod on everything imaginable, with a pace never exercised before.

With what Steve Bannon called “muzzle velocity”, they took USAID, The Kennedy Center, FDA, NIH, NEA, IRS, EPA, FBI, CIA, the National Parks Service and many other long established institutions and organizations that keep the nation safe and secure to what Elon Musk called the “wood chipper”.

He claimed Americans do not live in a democracy but instead a bureaucracy and he was freeing us from its tyranny out of the goodness of his heart.

In the name of saving the nation some money, checking fraud and waste and making the government lean, a decision was made to shock the system with no rhyme or reason, other than to implement the supreme leader’s “priorities” and “wishes.”

The supporters and enablers, which include Senators and Congressmen, see them as men of action, delivering on campaign promises for which they received a mandate. The commitment to drain the swamp and dismantle the “Deep State,” which unfairly targeted their great leader, is what they see is in progress.

Their leader now has a savior complex and has stated with little hesitation, that if he is “saving the nation,” anything he does cannot be illegal. The fact that he was spared from an assassin’s bullet, is proof that it is all part of god’s plan now. The first delusion of a dictator seems to have set in.

What is emerging though, is a picture of cruelty and complete lack of forethought, logic, intelligence and regard for the law.

With little transparency, stinking of immense conflict of interest and corruption, they have formed a band of upstarts, who are pushing committed, patriotic, hardworking largely apolitical civil servants to the curb and sacrificing people in poor nations, with an “America First” agenda which is mostly looking like “Line your pockets first” agenda.

In all the savings that is being offered and tax breaks proposed, not much is being spoken about increasing revenues by taxing the corporations, plutocrats and oligarchs who have fallen in line to support the emboldened leader.

Their riches have been promised to remain untouched and grow, so they could prop up the regime in return.

Also what is emerging is a plan to hollow out the current American government and replace it with an amiable one, so loyalty can be demanded and expected.

On January 6th, 2021 they tried to over throw the government from the outside. Now that they have the keys, it seems like they have decided to do it from within.

Then a fabricated cover image of Time Magazine, of the great leader wearing a crown with the caption “Long Live the King” appeared on the White House official Twitter page. Was it a taunt at all those who are perturbed by the head spinning actions of a leader who sees himself more unhinged than before?

Or was it meant to be a distraction to get all his detractors, from late night talk show hosts to the liberal media pundits to get caught in a bunch and chase their tails only to become a laughing stock of the right.

Its anyone’s guess.

But at the end of the day, the American experiment survives, only if the courts uphold the constitution and restrict the president from anointing himself king.

But this has been the modus operandi of the MAGA machinery from the beginning.

Flood the ecosystem with head spinning lies, fabrications and conspiracy theories. 

Distract the population with trigger issues like trans-gender rights, DEI, the Ukraine war, Pizzagate, immigrants eating cats and dogs and then bait the faithful and those on the fence for votes. A formula that has worked like butter, has no reason to relent now.

Now with all the cabinet nominations approved and sent along by an impotent Senate, the band of lackeys are in full formation.

Ready to implement an agenda of retribution, revenge and retrograde reduction.

Obedience will be called for and obedience will be given, regardless of what is right or good for the nation and the planet.

On the global stage, the days of America being a beacon for democracy are over. Dictators are in, Democracies are passé. Friends and allies are abandoned. An isolationist agenda with a false premise of serving America’s interests first, is on full display. Withdrawing from the WHO and dismantling USAID are clear indications of which way this country wants to turn.

Bullying weak leaders and appeasing autocrats is official foreign policy now.

Who is to restrain this cruelty? Who can stop madmen with chainsaws?

America is a federal system. Power is supposed to rest equally between the House, Senate and the Executive. States have power and so do officials at the county level.

But at the end of the day, the American experiment survives, only if the courts uphold the constitution and restrict the president from anointing himself king.

America succeeds and is able to generate unimaginable wealth, because the world trusts its institutions to be fair, reliable and above political meddling.

Some federal judges have ruled against the draconian and drastic measures implemented by the regime. But they have been ignored, creating a perfect storm for a constitutional crisis.

The administration can continue its onslaught while things move through the courts slowly, and that is what they have indicated they intend to do. Or is this their plan?

Whether the Supreme Court will hold as a bulwark against executive aggression is anyone’s guess. The court has lost credibility in the recent past by ruling against settled law and giving more power to the executive, successfully allowing an insurrectionist felon to move into the White House instead of the jailhouse.

With the newly elected leader shamelessly musing about another term, even though the constitution forbids it, he is essentially mocking the nation to dare him.

Some of his sycophantic followers are ready to endorse and placate this desire of open authoritarian ambition.

It seems like the survival of America is now left to its citizens. As all other options seem tainted and emaciated.

Of the eligible voters in this nation, the MAGA maniacs managed to win an election by a small majority of about two million votes. Using every twisted idea in the book, money and disinformation, they were able to sway enough people to cut off their own limbs. The archaic electoral college system secured them a decisive victory.

The two party system seems to have run its course as a viable representative method, as all checks and balances on power have withered away. The guardrails are bent and bruised.

In two years, which seems like an eternity, the House and Senate could flip. A special election in Florida could help the opposition in the House.

For a president who is willing to disregard the congress, this is something they are preparing for, with very few current elected Republicans willing to show spine. Hence the breakneck speed to overhaul the status quo.

Non-violent protests and civil disobedience have paid dividends in the past. Protests against the Vietnam War and the unrelenting agitation for Civil Rights were both a direct result of citizens saying enough is enough. When the system fore-sakes its people, history has shown, people show their power beyond the ballot box.

Whether there is an appetite for mass protest in the Tik-Tok generation, is a question for the ages. The protest I attended was filled with young people. Which certainly gave me a glimmer of hope.

One of the perils of life under authoritarian rule is that the leader seeks to drain people off their strength. A defeatism takes hold. There is an urge to pull back from civic life says David Remnick in The New Yorker.

It’s only a month and it feels like this has begun to set in.

As we emerge from winter’s grip, it is my hope that there will be a thaw in spirit across this land, for people to find courage, clarity and purpose.

---

Anand Kamalakar is a Brooklyn based documentary film director, producer and editor. His film OSBORNE will premiere on PBS nationwide next year.