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Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world
We all know the slogan. But Donald Trump will not make America great again by waging war against its domestic enemies. Instead, Trump’s campaign of revenge threatens the very foundations of American greatness.
The US military, the nation’s leading universities, the Federal Reserve, the justice system, the free press, the scientific establishment, even the health of American citizens are all at risk. The president-elect has nominated vengeful crackpots to key positions and promised to let people like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “run wild.”
The damage that Trump’s policies can do to America will please the country’s real enemies in Moscow and Beijing. They know from their own history that when a nation changes itself, its international power can collapse.
Trump’s MagaShock Soldiers believe that they can only make their country great again by first destroying their internal enemies. Trump has said that the “enemy from within” is more dangerous than Russia and China. Its speakers are willing to overturn America’s institutions in an attempt to retaliate.
Pat Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, wrote that “sometimes the fight must begin with the struggle against domestic enemies”. In a podcast, he demanded: “Any general, any admiral . . . that was involved in diversity, equity and inclusion programs or the woke scum had to go.”
Reports are already circulating that Trump plans to establish a “warrior board” with the power to force out top military officers, replacing them with loyalists. His team is also reportedly considering court-martialling some military leaders for their role in the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
In his first term, Trump was outraged when “his” generals insisted that their loyalty was to the Constitution, not to him personally. Senior officers have resisted Trump’s calls to deploy troops on US streets for Black Lives Matter protests.
This time Trump will want full obedience from his newly promoted corporals and colonels, especially if he plans to deploy the military to carry out mass deportations of illegal immigrants. But purging its most senior generals could weaken the country and confuse its military.
America’s intelligence services are also at risk. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, is known for her sympathy for Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. She has consistently echoed Russian propaganda, suggesting that NATO expansion is responsible for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and that the United States is operating secret biolabs inside Ukraine. His appointment will raise concerns among US allies, chief among them Britain, who routinely share intelligence with the US.
American science and medicine lead the world. But Trump has proposed putting a conspiracy theorist in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services. Even the Trump-supporting New York Post concluded after meeting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that he was “nuts on so many fronts.” If RFK imposes his vaccine antagonism on America as a whole, he will sow the seeds for future pandemics.
Seven of the world’s top 10 universities are in the United States. But America’s educational institutions are also included in the list of Trump’s enemies. Its allies claim that universities are hotbeds of “enlightenment” and antisemitism. Bill Ackman, a financier who supports Trump, recently opined that Yale is “no different than Hamas.” An attack on awareness can be used as a battering ram to try to get universities to acknowledge broader issues. Over time, America may see a threat to the intellectual freedom on which great universities depend.
Freedom of the press, which truly distinguishes America from its totalitarian rivals, is also under threat. Trump has filed several lawsuits against media outlets that have offended him — a favorite tactic of authoritarian regimes.
Trump sees any kind of independent institutions as a threat. There is widespread speculation that his administration will try to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell. Powell has reminded reporters that Trump is “not allowed by law” to force them out.
But Trump has his own views on the rule of law. Matt Gaetz, his nominee for attorney general, was under investigation by his Republican colleagues for alleged ethics violations, including having sex with a minor. Gaetz, who has denied the allegations, claims he believes he, like Trump, is a victim of a political justice system. Other close associates of Trump, such as Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro, have recently been released from prison.
These are angry men, intent on revenge. They could use the justice system to pursue their enemies. This will be bad news not only for those who get caught in the witch hunt, but for the entire country.
American greatness is founded on the rule of law. This is one of the main reasons why foreigners rely on US assets and the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. Investors may be rightly spooked if Trump uses the justice system to go after his enemies and reward his billionaire cronies.
Instead of making America great again, Trump’s attack on American institutions will make America more like Russia and China. Putin and Xi Jinping will benefit. America and America’s allies will have to bear the brunt of it.
gideon.rachman@ft.com
