Just scratch the surface, and it is right there, in living Technicolor

There is far too much headscratching going on among liberals, progressives, and academics trying to explain what is happening to US democracy right now.

It is simple.

A small cabal of men are attempting to concentrate the maximum amount of wealth and power in their own hands, until they can bring down democracy.

There is no point in arguing whether this represents authoritarianism, incipient totalitarianism, technocracy, gangsterism, or fascism.

There is no perfect analogue.  History does not repeat itself.  Historical patterns fade and re-emerge, but this is a moment particular to the USA, right now.

Rights only exist under laws.  Laws have no value if they are not interpreted and enforced.

This administration breaks laws.  Daily.

A hand-picked Supreme Court has closed the circle.  The current president cannot be prosecuted for breaking the law while in office.

US citizens, legal US residents, and various other people are thus being made unfree, right now, in real time.

Every action being taken by the Trump administration is a direct quid pro quo to people and groups who can deliver him one or more of three things:

(1) Money
(2) Votes
(3) Power

The circles in the schematic shared here are the people or groups who have delivered one or more of those three things to Trump over the last three election cycles.

The colored balls inside the colored circles represent overlapping interests and ideologies between the various groups pumping cash into Trump‘s grift machine.

Trump has no ideological core or moral center.  He does not care about other peoples’ belief systems or motivations.

Everything is transactional.  Anyone who delivers money, votes, or power to Trump is “rewarded” with executive orders, policies, or legislation.

This isn’t anything new in USA politics.  It’s just never been concentrated to the center in such a blatant way.

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The rubber stamp icons represent the traditional public face of US democracy.

I have used a rubber stamp icon because the current regime is seeking to force the traditional pillars of democratic society to act as “rubber stamps” on Trump‘s agenda.

Trump‘s agenda, again, is simple.  Deliver money, votes, or more power to Trump, and your agenda gets included in Trump‘s agenda.

Three of these “rubber stampers” are still useful for giving voters (mostly Trump‘s “base”) the impression that the republic still stands, with its historical system of checks and balances.

Trump is willing to leave these in place for appearance’s sake, while actively hollowing-out their ability to actually function as a check on his own executive power.

(A) The legislative branch = politicians
(B) The judiciary = jurists and lawyers
(C) The executive = including the military and police forces

He has already bent the Republican Party (A) utterly to his will.

This is why he has turned to attacking law firms and judges (B).

He has removed any senior members of the military (C) who he perceives as placing the Constitution ahead of loyalty to himself.

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The other three rubber stamps are groups able to affect public opinion and discourse without necessarily contributing vast amounts of money to Trump or the Republican Party.

(D) Broadcast and social media
(E) Universities and academics (including historians, social sciences, economists, et al)
(F) Celebrities and influencers (including social activists, charities, non-profits, and NGOs)

Trump spent his first term neutering the independent press and media, by referring to legitimate journalism as “fake news”, while introducing “alternative facts” and spraying a firehose of lies in order to “flood the zone”.

In 2025, the independent media isn’t even allowed in the White House.

This administration is now going after universities and academics (E), social activists and influencers (F).

Some of the Trump administration’s most egregious actions manage to kill multiple birds with one stone.

Consider this example, how the “disappearing” of a pro-Palestinian rights activist plays to multiple Trump benefactors:

1) Israel (well, obviously)
2) US Zionists (obvious again)
3) Christo-fascists (Islamophobic to their core, but very pro-Israel due to their “end times” beliefs)
4) Conservative nationalists
5) Technocrats (who, incidentally, sell AI targeting tech to Israel)
6) White supremacists (less brown people, yay!)

In addition to making multiple groups of Trump supporters happy, such actions allow Trump to test the limits of executive power, while instigating fights with “non-obedient” universities, independent law firms, and free speech advocates and activists.

As already stated, Trump has no ideological core or moral center. It’s all about money and power.

Vance is far more dangerous, because he has an ideology to go with his desire for money and power.

From Hitler to Stalin to Pol Pot, it is the ideologues we should fear the most.

Vance is the pig in the poke, a Trojan Horse.

He is not who he says he is, from his fake “Scots-Irish” hillbilly identity to his political motivations.

I will be laying the receipts on the table in my upcoming podcast episode.

Keep this schematic to hand for future reference…