The Orange Man Introduces America’s First ‘Weaponized’ Presidency
And, who better to lead the band than our national Bully in Chief?
Yeah, I know, in Reagan’s days the CIA used to simply murder candidates we didn’t like, even those already elected, particularly in Central America. But Reagan, the Great Communicator, was a kindly old B-Movie actor, so he remained unscathed. Meanwhile, a record number of his chief cooks and bottle washers shuffled off to prison terms.
Seems almost like old times, eh?
Except that the Orange Man hasn’t any of Reagan’s grace or joie de vivre to soothe the voters with a wink or a grin. More of a thug than a smooth operator, the Orange Man ran a different brand of politics, based on what else? what he knew best, thuggery and extortion.
Which didn’t just happen. The country wouldn’t stand for that. Like a crooked back-room card game, or a run-of-the-mill swindle, it took some setup. In these more modern times, media was simply background noise, the internet and social media were where the game was played.
Never a serious politician, the Orange Man was made for the game.
Facing Hillary Clinton, perhaps the most gifted candidate by background and experience, he prowled the stage behind her, muttering and stealing the scene. His responses were accusatory, charging Clinton with crimes while in office and demanding ‘lock her up.’
He didn’t have campaign appearances, he held rallies, with dedicated MAGA supporters, many of them flashy young women, always cheering in the background. It wasn’t political, it was evangelical, snake-oil rhetoric.
There was no way he could win, but he did. And then, with a four-year ‘stolen election’ timeout for Joe Biden, he won again.
This time was different. The Republican Party had been brought to heel, the Supreme Court stacked with three of his appointees, and the least able cabinet in history, confirmed at the levers of power by a captured Congress.
The nation was about to find out what dictatorship in a democracy looked like.
It’s largely understood that dictators surround themselves with other dictators, as long as they are followers, not leaders. Thus, Hungary’s Victor Orban, Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman, and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, headed the Orange Man’s list of coming attractions. Mostly minor players, but for Mohammed bin Salman, whose real estate deals with Trump in Saudi are in the works.
Our president turns sharply toward the building of personal finances in his second term, with his family business actively expanding in Saudi Arabia. For instance, a new tower in Jeddah and a number of Trump branded developments are part of a growing real-estate development there, as well as other licensed or development-partner projects in Oman, Qatar, and the UAE.
Let’s not forget that the Orange Man offered a Trump named crypto currency (World Liberty Financial), and just before his second inauguration, issued a ‘meme-coin’ called $TRUMP. At least one investor from the Gulf region (the United Arab Emirates) publicly disclosed a major investment in the venture — $100 million in World Liberty Financial, plus a separate $2 billion stablecoin application by an Abu Dhabi firm.
The Emoluments Clause be damned, the presidency has become nice work, if you can get it. Our president has shown a unique ability to get it.
His peace plan for Israel-Hamas includes a Las Vegas style middle east Casino project on what was once Gaza, no Palestinians invited, except perhaps as kitchen help.
Trump has vast experience in that area, having filed six corporate bankruptcies, all tied primarily to his Atlantic City casino empire. Perhaps that experience would be better defined as half-vast.
The so-called author of The Art of the Deal, routinely negotiated the shedding of debt, while retaining ownership stakes, which means the same businesses cycled in and out of bankruptcy.
Putin, however, remains an unanswered question.
There are many explanations, none of them verified conclusively. Some say Putin bailed him out financially during one of his many business difficulties. Others suggest he was sexually entrapped, as was (and is) a Russian ploy with visiting foreigners of either wealth or power. No one seems to know, but the bromance is solid enough to prevent any substantial military help for Ukraine, which the Oval Office occupant dangles like a golden possibility, just out of reach.
Then, of course, there is the matter of what some call ‘pay for play,’ the threat of military or tariff punishments if things don’t go the Orange Man’s way.
In ongoing trade conflicts across Europe, he’s repeatedly threatened both up and down sweeping tariffs on European goods. Particularly steel, auto and aluminum imports, bouncing back and forth from 10 to 50%, apparently based upon who whispers in his ear to suggest the whim of the moment.
But that too is personal profit based, as some speculate that this is a case of ‘insider trading.’ Hundreds of billions have been made or lost as stock markets responded. Advance knowledge, of course, would be illegal, but almost impossible to track.
“Who, me? I just made some lucky bets.”
On his return to a second term, the president quickly imposed tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, as part of a promised revival of his “America First” policies. This was a reversal of a congressionally approved trade agreement, negotiated and completed entirely within Trump’s first-term administration.
Tariffs, for most presidents (and the terms of the Constitution), are strictly the business of Congress.
After the Colombian government rejected two U.S. military deportation flights, both declared illegal by U.S. courts, Trump threatened 25% tariffs on all Colombian imports, along with visa restrictions and other retaliatory measures.
Instead of historic (and carefully negotiated) trade policies, this illustrates how tariff threats are currently used as a tool (or an inducement, or an extortion) to influence foreign government behaviors, from trade balances to immigration policy to energy procurement decisions.
Hey, what the hell, a buck is a buck. Only Harry Truman thought it stopped on his desk.
Militarily, the Orange Man reportedly threatened ‘bombing,’ if Iran did not come to agreement on a new nuclear deal by a certain deadline, following that with an actual attack.
Without consulting Congress, (why bother?) the president has unilaterally used the threat of military force as a primary instrument of foreign policy. He revived threats against Venezuela by calling President Maduro a hemispheric danger (on no evidence), and signaled readiness for “direct action” against Hamas in Gaza, Houthi forces in Yemen, and Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria.
He further threatened to conduct military operations inside Mexico (our sovereign neighbor to the south) to destroy drug cartels. Then issued sharp military cautions to China over Taiwan and North Korea after renewed missile tests.
His threats extended to force deployment as well, ordering an aircraft carrier strike group into the Caribbean
That was a pointed warning to the democratically elected President Maduro of Venezuela, also striking alleged drug cartel boats (without convincing evidence), in an unmistakable show of coercive intent.
Together, these actions reflect a foreign policy built on public ultimatums, rapid escalation, abject stupidity, and visible displays of American power gone rogue.
But, we love you.