Categorie archief: Geschiedenis & Politiek

This is the Significant Moment When Everything Went to Hell for America

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

America is turning into an autocracy very fast. Every week there are new lows – like last week the arrest of a judge and the week before that Trump (He/him) regime’s refusal to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia from an El Salvador prison camp – despite the supreme court ordering them to do so.

Of the 71 million Americans who voted him in office, some might be wondering; how did we get here? I’ll argue that one significant moment played a key role in creating this disaster.

On the eve of the election day, on October 26, 2024, the extremely popular podcaster Joe Rogan interviewed Trump. I couldn’t bear to listen to his horse crap, but I recently watched one minute of the three hour interview on YouTube. In the fragment, Trump asked Rogan: “Come on, you’re not a Harris guy”.

And you see Rogan thinking: ‘shit, this guy is right. I am not a Harris guy’. Joe Rogan is manipulated at the spot. He lets himself be fooled by this con man. After that, he lets Trump get away with blatant lies about the 2020 election, which looks very bad for his interview ethos. I stopped viewing right after that.

What I took away from this short moment is that Trump – terrible person that he is – has at least one ‘quality’ that enabled him to become the 47th president of the USA: he knows just what to say to people to make them vote for him.

Of course this won’t work with everybody, but then again, he didn’t need everybody. He needed 71 million voters. He already had his loyal fan base secured, so he had to convince millions of others to vote for him. He and his campaign team put in all their efforts to convince right leaning people like Rogan to go for the Orange Turd. They were successful.

After the show, Rogan did something he had previously said he wouldn’t do: he endorsed Trump. With his immense reach amongst people for whom Rogan is their single source of news – tragic as this may be – he may have decided the fate of the United States.

How will he feel now, three months after Trump took office, and the country is sliding fastly into an authoritarian regime?

What we are watching right now might be the End of the American Empire.

The country is ruled by a mad king. Trump’s cabinet meetings are excruciatingly horrifying to watch. Every cabinet member that speaks, including Musk, first praises Trump for the absolutely brilliant leader that he is. And what an incredible honor it is to serve in his cabinet.

Then they proceed to tell absurd bullshit to cover up for their criminal actions. In the last cabinet meeting, Musk – in full Dr. Evil mode – bullshits about how he found 150 billion dollars in waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government. He says that ‘people are receiving social security that aren’t even born yet.’

This is just too much bullshit to handle.

Everybody knows how he is going to get this 150 billion. He will do it by slashing social security, medicaid, and other programmes for the poor – and recklessly fire tens of thousands of essential government employees. And Trump is gonna let him do it. The money saved will be given to billionaires like them as a tax cut.

Some still consider Trump a brilliant businessman, but he’s terrible in business – and that’s a fact. I mean, he bankrupted a casino once. Now, he’s going to bankrupt the country. He’s a fuck-up and a major fraudster.

The financial markets – who foolishly believed Trump would be good for business before – have now realised the terrible truth. Trump is so totally unstable and deranged that the risk for the world economy (countries, companies, currencies, and debt) is great. They finally realised, just like some voters did, that having a psychopathic gangster in charge of the largest economy in the world, might be bad for business.

It would have been exactly the same if they would have handed the reigns of the American government to Vladimir Putin or Kim Jung Un. That’s what the American’s did who voted this nut job into the White House.

Thank you, Joe Rogan.

Now maybe I am thinking too much of his endorsement. On the other hand, Trump thanked Rogan especially at his inauguration. Imagine that; that you would be responsible by having a cruel psycho elected who would then go on to create terrible suffering for millions of people. Who would send innocent people to an El Salvadorian prison camp to be tortured.

I have no idea how he feels about it, but this is a wound that he will have to live with. The same goes for all Americans, whether they voted for Trump or not. This is a national trauma and it will take decades to recover from it.

But first, they will have to remove Trump from office. Can it be done?

It will be very hard, that’s for sure. And even if they succeed, they will have a massive challenge waiting for them.

Let’s say they’ll have a revolution and remove Trump from office, will the two sides – the MAGA and the WOKE – reconcile and together restore the damage the Trump regime has caused? Will they think: ‘let’s go look at the root causes of this whole thing? Where did we go wrong? What laws are we going to introduce together to make sure something like this never happens again?’

The probability that this will happen is very small. Trump is a very severe symptom of a lethal disease: a mind virus that once it spreads through society – enhanced by anti-social media and AI – makes the country divided and ungovernable.

To stop this mind virus, we – the world – must regulate social media and AI. With AI becoming more powerful every day, we need to move fast to prevent every other democracy from sliding off the rails in the coming years and decades.

This will not be an easy feat – and America is in terrible shape. Still, the possibility also exists that the right leaders arise out of this sink hole and put the country on the right course again. A crisis can do that sometimes.

Right now, the crisis is not yet big enough. There are still many people, inside and outside of the USA, deluded by Trump and think it might not be so bad. But if enough people conclude: ‘this is not what we want’ and start fighting back in every way they can, it might bring about a new era of hopeful change.

Is this the end for the USA of merely the passage into a new prosperous era? Only time will tell.

The Worst Dealmaker in the World

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

AI-GENERATED POLITICAL CARTOONS: Ghibli-style cartoon of Putin and Trump cutting and dividing a cake as a symbol of Ukraine.

In the early days of his young presidency, Donald Trump’s cabinet members couldn’t stop praising his dealmaking skills. I think it was his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, who said Trump was probably the only person in the universe who could negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

Lately, it’s been a little quieter on that front. Now that America is heading towards a recession and trillions in stock market value have been wiped out thanks to Trump’s tariffs, it’s hard to argue that he’s a great dealmaker – especially since he hasn’t secured a single trade deal to make up for the carnage he caused. How embarrassing.

During the campaign, Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours – a promise anyone with half a brain could see was complete nonsense. After all, to negotiate a successful deal, you need information about the other party that’s hard to come by. Trump doesn’t know anything about the conflict, and he doesn’t care either way. He just wants them to stop fighting and freeze the conflict as it stands. In other words: he wants to reward Putin for starting a war of aggression by handing him over occupied Ukrainian land. And when Zelensky refuses, Trump blames him for the war. Anyone can end a conflict by rewarding the bully and punishing the victim.

The USA has made it clear in the past week that they want both Russia and Ukraine to agree to a peace deal. In this proposed deal, only Ukraine is expected to make significant concessions – like giving up large swaths of land. Russia, on the other hand, is rewarded with the lifting of Western sanctions. If they don’t agree, the USA will simply walk away from the conflict.

J.D. Vance said the USA has engaged in “an extraordinary amount of diplomacy”. That’s total crap. What did they actually do? First, they sent an amateur delegation to Saudi Arabia to meet with Russia’s hardened negotiation team. The main topic of discussion? Restoring economic relations with the USA. Before that, Pete ‘Bourbon Pete’ Hegseth – already the worst Minister of Defense of all time – gave away all of Ukraine’s bargaining chips before negotiations even began.

Trump also proposed a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, which Zelensky agreed to – only for Putin to reject it without facing any consequences. More recently, the USA sent another amateur diplomat to Russia, special envoy Steve Witkoff, who praised Vladimir Putin in glowing terms as such a nice and trustworthy guy – while women and children are being raped and murdered in Ukraine under Putin’s orders.

Through all this so-called “extraordinary diplomacy”, the Trump regime hasn’t made a single demand of Putin – the aggressor in the conflict. Not one. What it has done is try to extort Ukraine – the victim – out of its rare earth minerals and natural resources. That effort failed, too.

You don’t have to understand negotiations to know this is the lowest level of dealmaking imaginable. It’s not even a serious attempt. It’s obvious that Trump wants nothing more than a cozy relationship with Putin, whom he so deeply admires. He couldn’t care less about what happens to Ukraine.

At this point, a few things are crystal clear. First, Trump is a terrible dealmaker who doesn’t understand history. Second, there’s clearly some kind of relationship between Trump and Putin, the nature of which remains mysterious. Is Trump just a fan of Putin’s authoritarian style – or is he a Russian asset?

Finally, it’s time for Europe to take the lead in Ukraine and step up efforts to pressure Putin and ensure a long-term Ukrainian victory. In its current state, America is a useless friend and ally. Let them first get rid of the disaster that is Trump – then, maybe, we can be friends again. Until then, it’s best they get out of the way.

Why the Ukraine War Might End Soon

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

On February 24, 2022, the Russian army invaded Ukraine. Many, including myself and Russian President Vladimir Putin, initially believed it would be a short operation. Putin expected to topple the Ukrainian government within three days and install a puppet regime, turning Ukraine into a vassal state. However, events unfolded quite differently.

Rather than surrendering and giving up their sovereignty, Ukraine sought Western support, receiving weapons that allowed them to fiercely resist the Russian invasion. To avoid appearing weak, Putin escalated the conflict into a full-scale war, which has now dragged on for three years. During this time, Russia has managed to occupy around 20 percent of Ukrainian territory, but progress has been painstakingly slow and has come at an enormous cost in human lives, financial resources, and military equipment.

Russia’s relentless ‘meat grinder’ tactics are unsustainable. The country is running out of funds to continue the war while its economy struggles with soaring inflation and high interest rates. This puts Putin in a precarious position. If the West maintains pressure and Ukraine continues to receive support, Putin may eventually be forced to withdraw – a move that would leave him vulnerable to backlash from Russian elites, the public, and key power groups.

So far, Putin has consistently framed the military operation in Ukraine as a necessary measure to protect Russian speakers and to achieve the ‘demilitarization and denazification’ of Ukraine. He claims that Ukraine has been under the control of neo-Nazis and Western influences, posing a direct threat to Russia’s security. But if he pulls out of Ukraine without achieving these objectives, how will he justify it?

Trump may have just provided him with a convenient narrative. According to expert Konstantin Samoilov, Putin could use the Trump administration’s pro-Russian stance to declare victory. Samoilov suggests that Putin might announce this on May 9 – Victory Day in Moscow.

“In my eyes, Putin has won”, Samoilov stated in a recent episode of Silicon Curtain. “For three years, he has been telling Russians: ‘We are not fighting Ukraine; we are fighting the collective West, led by the USA, which is using Ukraine as a proxy.’ Now he has an event in the White House where Zelensky was basically kicked out. Additionally, the U.S. suspended military aid to Ukraine, and Ukrainian forces withdrew from Kursk. That, to Putin, is a victory. On May 9, he might say: ‘Dear Russians, we have fought the USA – and we have won.’”

While an end to the war might seem like a relief for Ukraine and the West, Samoilov warns that Russia’s withdrawal could signal something even more sinister. “Putin will end the special military operation in its current form, only to replace it with something far worse. He will shift the Russian economy and society into full-scale war mode. He will say: ‘This war is over, but the threat remains – and now it is even bigger because it is Europe.’ The Kremlin will manufacture reasons to convince Russians that the real enemy is closer than ever, and the state will take complete control of the economy.”

I find Samoilov’s arguments compelling. The Russian military simply does not have the strength to continue pushing forward, especially if Europe remains committed to supplying Ukraine with resources – which I believe they will. As Silicon Curtain host Jonathan Fink points out, there are already signs that the Kremlin is preparing for this shift. Russian propaganda is framing recent U.S. actions as evidence that the Kremlin’s narratives were correct all along, reinforcing the image of Russia as the victor. Last week, Putin made Trump wait an hour before speaking to him in the ‘negotiations’ call to show the people that he was the big alpha male and Trump is basically his bitch.

Once again, we – the West – should not underestimate Putin as we did in the past. If he indeed ends the Ukraine war, we must assume that he will be back in full force. We are very far from a permanent peace with Russia, and arguably this can only be achieved if Russia is defeated. An inconvenient truth if ever there was one.

Putin’s Psychological Warfare Has Finally Paid Of – Big Time

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Vladimir Putin is having his best moment in three years. For much of the war, he appeared weak, unable to achieve what many believed would be a swift victory.

Consider the sheer size of Russia compared to Ukraine. And yet, after enormous human and financial costs, Putin has only managed to occupy about 20 percent of Ukrainian territory. Russia has suffered staggering losses – by some estimates 870,000 troops, alongside vast amounts of money and military equipment. His economy is in turmoil. In theory, the combined economic and military power of the U.S. and Europe could decisively tip the balance in Ukraine’s favor.

But geopolitical reality has taken a grim turn. 71 million voters made a catastrophic choice – electing a sociopathic criminal and convicted rapist to the presidency of the United States.

A lot has been written about the psychology behind this tragedy. What kind of country would elect this lying and grifting rapist not once, but twice? The answer lies in a potent mix of resentment, misinformation, and ideological extremism. Many Americans have allowed their hatred of liberals and minorities to blind them to the existential threat that a second Trump presidency poses. These voters display a troubling blend of egocentrism, racism, ignorance, delusion, and extremism.

Yet, we must not underestimate the role of a certain European dictator in this tragedy. For over a decade, Vladimir Putin has been waging psychological warfare against the West through social media and disinformation campaigns. His goal has always been to weaken Western democracies from within. And he has succeeded. Every major democracy is now plagued by far-right extremism. Societies are fractured, consumed by internal conflicts, and increasingly oblivious to the existential threats looming over them.

America is the first of Western democracies that is now in serious danger of collapsing. Trump has now – two months in power – begun defying court orders. Well at least one of them when a judge ordered his regime to return a plane containing alleged Venezuelan gang members. This marks a serious escalation. In the United States, the power is divided between three equal branches of government; the executive branch, the congress and the courts. Trump has already cowed the Republican-controlled Congress into submission. Now, he is setting his sights on undermining the courts. The question is: how far is he willing to go? I would say that with his completely deranged mental state at this moment, and all the terrible decisions he has made, eventually all the way. America is in deep, deep trouble.

The upside of all of this mayhem is that Europe is forced to get its act together – and help Ukraine to win the war. This is entirely possible because, as I wrote before, Putin is running out of money. However, intelligence provided by the US is still needed, so if Trump decides to stop sharing intel, Ukraine has to fight this war with blinders on. This is problematic and not something that is easily solved.

One immediate step Europe could take is utilizing frozen Russian assets under the Magnitsky Act to fund Ukraine’s war effort. To avoid destabilizing financial markets, this should be limited to assets proven to be acquired through corruption.

Putin is playing poker very well, but his cards – of which Trump keeps saying they’re so good – are really not that great. Unless of course, Trump really is a Russian asset for which quite a lot of evidence exists.

His latest remarks only reinforce this suspicion. This week, Trump suggested that the U.S. should take control of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, claiming that this would deter Russian attacks.

This idea is absurd on multiple levels. First, Russia is unlikely to target these plants due to the immense radioactive risk to its own territory. Second, if the U.S. controlled Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, it could hold Ukraine hostage by shutting off power and making political demands. Most disturbingly, as defense expert Jake Broe pointed out, this move would prevent Ukraine from developing nuclear weapons – a prospect that has gained traction since NATO membership is no longer an option. Preventing Ukraine from acquiring nuclear deterrence is precisely what Putin wants. Once again, Trump appears to be acting completely in Russia’s interests rather than America’s and Europe’s. Let that sink in.

These are some of the most perilous times in modern history. This is our World War II moment, and we are only at the beginning. Yet, history provides hope: authoritarian regimes often fail. Let’s hope this collapse happens before irreparable damage is done. And if there’s one lesson we must take away from this, it is that unregulated social media has been an unmitigated disaster for the West and an extremely powerful weapon for the autocrats. It must be reined in to ensure that another Trump-style catastrophe never happens again.