Trump is removing the mask, after lying to us for over a year about not knowing anything about Project 2025. Former President Trump, who had previously distanced himself from Project 2025, is now picking key architects for future cabinet positions, and they are doozies.
The 900-page conservative policy blueprint, which has frightened Democrats, appears to be moving from the margins to centre stage in Trump’s intentions for a possible second term.
His selection of Russell Vought, a co-author of Project 2025, to lead the Office of Management and Budget, along with several other picks tied to the project, tells us he was lying (surprise!) when he repeatedly disavowed the Heritage Foundation’s project to dismantle America’s government; we saw a smaller version of this in 1981, when Reagan took Heritage’s 1980 “Mandate for Leadership” and implemented nearly 80 percent of its suggestions, including massive tax breaks for
President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, an outspoken critic of COVID-19 lockdowns and co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH), indicates a drastic break from accepted public health tactics.
The Great Barrington Declaration advocated for herd immunity through natural infection, a method severely criticised by health authorities, including former NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins, who described it as risky and out of step with mainstream science.
If America had pursued herd immunity, it could have resulted in millions more fatalities, especially among the vulnerable. Bhattacharya’s opposition to lockdowns and vaccine requirements, combined with his endorsement of herd immunity, raises concerns about how far the NIH may be weakened under his head.
This appointment, along with other contentious nominations such as Bob Kennedy, a known vaccine sceptic, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, suggests a shift away from science-based public health policies in our agencies, which were specifically designed to promote science-based public health.
This might weaken not only efforts to manage contagious diseases, but also public trust in health institutions, endangering the integrity of American public health and scientific research. More deaths and diseases? Many Americans may have unknowingly voted for this outcome.
Trump’s nomination of John Phelan, an art collector and Republican megadonor who has never served in the military, as Secretary of the Navy marks yet another drastic departure from standard nominees.
Phelan, who runs the private investment business Rugger Management and previously managed investments for billionaire Michael Dell, sponsored a high-profile event for Trump at his $38 million house in Aspen, Colorado, raising a large sum of money.
Now Trump is rewarding him. Phelan’s lack of military experience undermines the Navy’s leadership, since his only qualification appears to be shovelling cash to Trump.
This selection raises concerns within the military about the prioritisation of political loyalty above experience in vital defence posts, which could jeopardise the effectiveness and integrity of military leaders. Exactly what Putin wants Trump to do. Surprised? No…
Trump’s appointment of Russell Vought to run the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) represents a significant step towards incorporating Christian nationalist ideals into government governance. Vought, a self-identified proponent of “Christian nationalism,” falsely asserts that the United States was created as a Christian nation and should be governed accordingly.
Vought’s organisation, the Centre for Renewing America, prioritises affirming the United States as a Christian nation, arguing for a kind of Christian supremacy in which, despite the presence of several faiths, Christianity is central to a government-approved American identity.
This shatters the separation of church and state, marginalising non-Christian populations and eroding the pluralistic basis of American democracy. If you are not a Christian, or if you are not the right-wing Christian pushed by Trump and his multimillionaire televangelist huckster fans, buckle up. The voyage is about to turn rocky.
Trump’s selection of Elon Musk to run the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has sparked serious worries that the grifter in the White House intends to encourage banking and financial grifters to defraud us all.
Musk has publicly advocated for the abolition of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), saying, “Delete CFPB.” There are too many duplicative regulatory agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), formed in 2010 following the Bush Crash, is the primary organisation protecting consumers from unscrupulous financial practices.
Its demise will expose customers to exploitation and enormous rip-offs by financial institutions. Musk’s leadership of DOGE, combined with his enormous economic interests and political power, suggests that he and his allies may benefit from silencing regulators, exacerbating the problem of crony capitalism.
He has already asked for the defunding of a government organisation that assists low-income rural residents in obtaining broadband, claiming that his company Starlink should supply the service.
This action is consistent with long-standing Republican efforts to limit the CFPB’s jurisdiction in exchange for large contributions from banks and financial businesses, raising concerns about the maintenance of critical consumer safeguards for ordinary working people. Prepare to be ripped off big time.
Elon Musk’s backing for Donald Trump and involvement with far-right conspiracy theories have offended many Tesla owners, resulting in an outpouring of anti-Musk sentiment within the community. Matt Hiller, a Hawaii-based aquarium worker, has noticed an increase in sales of anti-Musk stickers, with hundreds sold daily to Tesla owners looking to disassociate themselves from Musk’s political sympathies.
These stickers include statements such as “Anti Elon Tesla Club” and “I Bought This Before Elon Went Crazy.” Hiller, who decided not to buy a Tesla because of Musk’s behaviour on Twitter, observes that many Tesla owners are now embarrassed to drive their vehicles.
Will right-wing Tesla consumers compensate for the loss of environmentally concerned customers who had previously supported the car? Apparently, Elon is betting on this, as Tesla is his primary source of money.
Fascists must band together, or so Bolsonaro believes: he told an interviewer that he needs Trump’s support to retake power in Brazil. He has been accused with staging a coup in his home country and says he hopes Trump will impose harsh sanctions on Brazil if they continue to prosecute Bolsonaro or prevent him from running for president again. The world’s dictators, including Trump, Bolsonaro, Orbán, Putin, Xi, and others, appear to be banding together to undermine democracy.