The senseless tactic to paralyze all opponents

   

Stephen Miller
Trump's tactics to paralyze his opponents

Wolfgang Hansson

This is a commentary text. Analysis and positions are those of the writer.

Published 18.47

Quick version

• During his first month, President Trump has managed to confuse his opponents by quickly introducing a multitude of decisions and initiatives, making it difficult for them to have time to protest all the changes.
• Stephen Miller is leading Trump's strategy for social change, supported by the 2025 project, while resistance from Democrats and civil rights organizations has so far been weak, with the exception of some court interventions.
• Trump is also implementing drastic international political changes and has upset the world with controversial statements and decisions, which creates uncertainty about the future role of the United States in the global order.

BERLIN. During his first month in office, President Trump has managed to paralyze his opponents with a literal tidal wave of decisions and initiatives.

They are so disoriented that they cannot take it all in and protest against all the breakneck social changes that Trump is implementing.

         

        Kiev resident Stanislav: “Can’t see that we are on the road to peace”

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The tactic goes by several names in English. Flood the zone or shock and awe. But no matter what you call it, the purpose is the same. The decisions should be so numerous that no one can bear to oppose more than a fraction.

The tactic was introduced by Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon during the president’s first term.

But that time, Trump and his associates were not particularly well prepared. The victory in the 2016 presidential election came as a surprise even to Trump himself.

This time, Trump has had a large staff that has thought through every detail of what should be done. Within what is called Project 2025, action options in all policy areas have been developed.

The brain behind the tactic is Stephen Miller, a close confidant of Trump who was critical of immigration during his first term and who now serves as a homeland security advisor. He has effectively taken over the role of Trump's chief ideologue from Bannon.

Despite the fact that opponents knew that Trump would most likely start a tear, they have not managed to find any countermeasure.

In the first few weeks, the Democrats and a number of civil rights organizations were completely groggy from everything that happened. Completely taken aback. It is only in the past week that they have gotten over the shock and put themselves on the defensive.

Stephen Miller. Photo: Alex Brandon / AP

Ignore the courts

The only ones who have otherwise managed to foster any form of resistance are the courts, which have at least temporarily stopped some of Trump's decisions.

This has prompted Trump's Vice President JD Vance to hint that the administration may ignore some court rulings.

Which has led many to talk about a constitutional crisis in the United States. Even accusing Trump of trying to carry out a form of coup d'état.

The country's government is based on a system of separation of powers in which the power of Congress, the president and the Supreme Court is supposed to balance each other. Now Trump is trying to make himself some kind of autocrat at the expense of the other two branches of power.

It is difficult to judge whether he will succeed. But what he wants was clearly shown when he called himself king on his own social media platform, illustrated with a picture of a happy Trump with a royal crown.

The resistance has been made more difficult by Trump's attack on two fronts. In addition to his own presidential decrees, billionaire Elon Musk has basically been able to wreak havoc completely freely, slaughtering the federal state apparatus. Without being elected to any office.

He has more or less shut down all aid operations (the US is the world's largest aid donor) and fired people left and right within various agencies.

Donald Trump. Photo: AP

Not daring to oppose

Many say it is illegal because the federal authorities are established by Congress. If Congress decides to establish an aid organization, USAID, then a congressional resolution should be required to close it down.

Trump is still botching it and hopes that no one will be able to stop him before it is too late.

The fact that Congress also appears so paralyzed is because Trump has a majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Admittedly a small one, but still a majority.

The Republican members of Congress do not dare to oppose Trump in the slightest way. Even in the Senate, where the most experienced and traditional Republicans sit, it is almost dead silent.

Trump has had almost all of his controversial nominations for various ministerial positions approved. Most recently, the vaccine denier Robert F Kennedy Jr.

In addition to all the domestic political changes, Trump has also shocked the outside world with all of his geopolitical moves. Everything from wanting to seize Greenland to making Canada the 51st state of the United States to reclaiming the Panama Canal.

Even more insane is his idea to forcibly deport all Palestinians from Gaza and turn the enclave into a luxury seaside resort. The Riviera of the Middle East as he calls it. An ethnic uprising of enormous proportions that could be classified as a war crime.

A senseless U-turn

In his latest move, he accuses Ukraine of starting a war against Russia even though it was clearly Russia that invaded.

Trump is completely turning reality upside down to achieve his goals. In the case of Ukraine, it seems that he is so eager to achieve good relations with Russia that he is prepared to completely give up on the rules-based world order that has prevailed since World War II.

It is a completely senseless U-turn against the normal US stance, where Europe is their main ally and Russia is one of their worst enemies, along with China.

After Trump's election victory in November, I wrote a column asking how bad it could get. I tried to be a little optimistic, writing that if we survived Trump's first four years in power, the world could probably handle four more.

Today, I'm not so sure. If things continue at this pace, the world will be unrecognizable by the time Trump leaves office in 2028.

If he even does.