Palm Sunday: Trump Wars

It’s increasingly clear—duh!—that despite his mandate, Trump is in the middle of an existential conflict. He appears, in some cases—most notably regarding Palestine, but not exclusively—to be making compromises that, IMO, he shouldn’t make. I think I get what he’s trying to accomplish, and some will no doubt argue that without the compromises he could fail entirely. Just be aware of these issues.

Let’s begin with the key MAGA issue—regaining an industrial base for America. Trump has always been clear that that’s the key and I’m in total sympathy with that goal. Stating the principle is the easy part. Trump appears to have attempted a kind of Tariff Shock and Awe to force a crash remake of trade relations that would allow the US to begin an expedited return to its past greatness. China wasn’t buying any of that. What comes next?

Clearly, Trump is simultaneously working on getting control over the budget—that’s what DOGE is all about but also many of the Executive Orders. There are multiple reasons behind those initiatives, but regaining Executive influence over spending—after the SCOTUS’ wildly irresponsible rejection of the line item veto—is a major, perhaps a controlling, factor. These measures speak to the monetary issue. Regaining the industrial base will collapse the financialized economy of the Wall Street casino, ending the reign of King Dollar over the world but also restraining its distorting influence over American society. To soften the landing the US must get control over its debt.

These are the considerations that lead people like Philip Pilkington to urge Trump to pivot to the monetary front. Not being an economist, I can’t really speak to that. On the other hand, I do wonder whether Trump is already doing what he can in that regard—with one glaring exception, which we’ll get to. In defense of Trump again, yesterday I listened to Alex Krainer in a long but absorbing video:

Alex Krainer: Trump’s Tariffs Backfire? BRICS Unites Against U.S. Dollar Power

Krainer provides a good account of the complexities of the current situation. He traces the origins of the America crisis all the way back to 1971, when Nixon/Kissinger destroyed the US dollar with the explicit—yes, Krainer maintains this can be documented—goal of transforming China into the Sweat Shop to the World, while financializing the US economy on a King Dollar untethered from gold. We all know the result—and who can blame the Chinese from refusing to remain forever in a sweat shop status? Our ruling class was complicit in our downfall, which few of us understood at the time—the roots of 1971 go back even further. Trump, in effect, is attempting to reverse well over 50 years of American economic and geopolitical history, with most of the ruling class strongly opposing him because they interests are invested in American decline—it has enriched them.

All that would be difficult enough for Trump to deal with. However, to get back to the White House he made a deal with the devil. He didn’t exactly hide his intentions, but he soft pedaled them. He actively sought the financial support of the most extreme Jewish Nationalists, the indispensable supporters of not only the Jewish Supremacy Project in the Middle East as well as the Anglo-Zionist war on Russia. Wars around the world is the last thing Trump’s MAGA agenda can afford, yet this was the moral and financial compromise he made—with the goal of deal-making his way out of the wars. That is proving far easier said than done.

So, we’ll need to see how Trump will respond to what looks like a fail in his plans for Tariff Shock and Awe. China isn’t playing ball, and appears to have a strong hand—although not without pain, also:

For now, the Chinese are in no hurry to reciprocate to Trump’s climbdown:

Almost as bad, Russia—gunshy of another Western betrayal—is not willing to go as far as Trump had hoped in extricating the US from its self inflicted mess. Deadlines and expressions of anger—recall when Trump was “pissed off” with Putin, would be very angry if he decided Putin was “slow rolling” negotiations, was tired of negotiating over negotiations?—isn’t going to change that:

Nor will this:

Megatron @Megatron_ron

BREAKING:  Trump has extended sanctions against Russia for another year.

MAGA requires being in it for the long haul. The problem is that the US constitutional order isn’t conducive to long term strategic planning in an imperial context. It was designed for a representative republic, but in an imperial context it turns out to be all about instant gratification for vested interests.

In the meantime Russia will pursue its own interests. It will help Trump if their mutual interests coincide, but won’t undercut either China or Iran. And at the same time that Trump is seeking Russian help, bought Republicans—whose only plan is their political self interest—are giving Trump problems, as Larry Johnson recounts. Note that, whether intentionally or not, LJ seems to point toward the inter-connectivity of all the wars:

Trump now holds the success or failure of his Presidency in his own hands. If he endorses the Witkoff deal, he will earn the enmity of the Zionist cabal, but he will have a credible deal that will likely mark the end of the Iranian interest in building a nuclear weapon. Trump will have JD Vance and Tulsi Gabbard in his corner, along with his son, Don Jr., and the support of friends like Tucker Carlson and Elon Musk.

Witkoff already is a target of attacks by some unnamed Republicans over his negotiations with Russia:

Witkoff, an old friend of Trump’s who has helped secure key diplomatic victories for the president, has garnered some support from the Republican Party’s Ukraine skeptics but his proposals have stoked outrage among other Republicans who believe the administration has turned too sharply toward Moscow.

Some Republicans on Capitol Hill were so concerned about Witkoff’s apparent pro-Russia stance in the Carlson interview that several called National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio afterward to complain, according to a person familiar with the calls.

After he briefs Trump on his talks with the Iranian delegation, you can bet every penny you own that the details will be hastily leaked to every pro-Israel loon in Congress, and the howls of protest will erupt.

Here’s a key Russian interest:

Marat Khairullin @RealKhairullin

FederalPress interview:

MOSCOW, April 11, FederalPress. The West does not want to give up Odessa, but the originally Russian city will sooner or later become Russian. This was stated to FederalPress by military correspondent Marat Khairullin.

"The question of Odessa's fate consists of two components - purely military and political. The military issue is that as soon as we break the defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, they lose their ability to resist and we will be able to enter the Kherson region, move towards the Nikolaev and Odessa regions. There are no fortifications there. But how much time will it take to reach Odessa..." - noted Khairullin .

…

"The West is wildly unwilling to give up Odessa. It is a convenient base for them, they will cling to it with all their might. They are already saying today that NATO troops will be stationing their main contingent in Odessa," the war correspondent said.

In addition, another plan was discussed at the top. Odessa is a Russian city. Due to the fact that Ukraine destroyed the Russian language and persecuted the Russian-speaking population, some kind of observation point from the Russian Federation could be placed in Odessa. And elections at the local level should be guaranteed; now governors are appointed by Kyiv. This will help remove the risks of infringement of the rights of the Russian people in Ukraine. Khairullin noted that this concerns the structure of post-war Ukraine.

"There is also a geopolitical dimension, we are talking about strengthening Russia, not the West. There is a conviction that Odessa will sooner or later become Russian," the war correspondent concluded.

7:01 AM · Apr 12, 2025

Lastly, here’s an item that must have Jewish Nationalist heads totally exploding all over the DC area. The Jewish Nationalists managed to thwart Tulsi’s plan to bring in the “known anti-Semite” Danny Davis as a top aide, but now …

Scoop: Gabbard installs Iran dove to prepare Trump's intel briefing - Axios

Gabbard Quietly Picks Iran Dove to Key DNI Post - Newsmax

2 days ago Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard quietly appointed William Ruger, who has voiced support for diplomatic approaches to Iran, to a top post in the agency managing intelligence briefings to President Donald Trump, Axios reported Friday.. Ruger is listed as acting deputy director of national intelligence for mission integration on the ODNI website.

Scoop: Gabbard installs skeptic of military action against Iran ... - MSN

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has quietly installed William Ruger, a former Charles Koch Institute vice president and skeptic of military action against Iran, into a key position ...

And if you think that sounds bad, get a load of this re the Charles Koch Institute. That’s a Libertarian outfit, and they have had some interesting guest speakers on foreign policy:

The institute finances research, forums, and speaking tours regarding U.S. foreign policy, describing its worldview as one that "emphasizes the need to defend our territorial integrity from aggression, promote free trade, peacefully engage with the world, and serve as an exemplar of liberal values".

In 2016 The Intercept described the institute's foreign policy agenda as emblematic of "how foreign policy no longer neatly aligns with party politics", observing one event the organization hosted that appeared more like "a left-wing anti-war rally than a gathering hosted by a longtime right-wing institution". The same year it hosted a conference headlined by Chas Freeman, Stephen Walt, and John Mearsheimer.

Whoa, Tulsi!