If you think things are bad now, then, brace yourself: it is about to get a whole lot worse. If you are alarmed at the speed with which the Trump administration has set about dismantling every institution of American government and every pillar of the international order, you must understand that this is not just the initial burst of activity, the “shock and awe” phase after which things will settle down: if anything, the pace will continue to accelerate.
The world has never before been faced with such a threat. The United States has handed the nuclear codes to a madman, a criminal, a would-be dictator and a moron, all in the same person. Whatever the purpose to which he directs these powers – to impress his dictator friends, to further enrich himself and his cronies, to seize absolute power or just to watch the world burn – we must hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
That’s a very good point. I think you’re right.
That was when the US moved from covertly to openly breaking international human rights laws, introduced indefinite detention without trial, legally authorised itself to invade Europe, curtailed civil liberties, and rolled out a multi-national network of surveillance of its own citizens.
It also undercut rational reactions to climate change and normalized working-class right wing pride in having a president who sounds stupid to educated people. All of these things are arguably the groundwork for what they have now.