Everything is broken

After seven months and counting of the Trump regime, it’s common for us to feel as though everything is broken.

I was recently reminded of one historian’s analysis of Project 2025 (Democracy Americana, February 2024). Zimmer noted that the new regime would be guided by two orientations: (1) Dismantle government — aimed at fulfilling the libertarian dream of making government smaller, particularly in the interest of big business and the wealthy (2) Mobilize and weaponize government — seeking to realize a reactionary vision of regime change, restoring an anti-liberal or postliberal order. In what follows, I’m going to refer to these orientations or principles as (1) the wrecking ball and (2) the iron fist.

Quite simply, the president and his advisors, his supporters and his minions, have taken a wrecking ball to American politics and society. No doubt the litany of troubles is very familiar:

Given his momentary grant of authority, Elon Musk used “DOGE” (officially the U.S. DOGE Service) to forcibly collect data, close government offices, cancel contracts, and impose hiring freezes & RIFs (around 10% of federal workforce) across a range of agencies — many of which turned out to be those that either regulated or competed with Musk’s own companies. SSA, IRS, CFPB, CMMS, EPA. The effort claimed savings of $160 billion, which was far from the $2 trillion in “waste, fraud, and abuse” Musk initially aimed to eliminate. Through such efforts, the federal government has shed thousands of employees with great experience in public service and significant expertise in policy matters.

Guided by the prescriptions in “Mandate for Leadership” (also known as Project 2025), the regime has set out to remake the federal government. “People are policy” has been the watchword. Get rid of people in the agencies who might not support the “conservative” (read reactionary) direction favored by the president, then there will be no opposition. Through executive orders (a sustained effort to rule by decree), the current government has weakened, undermined, or abolished agencies that addressed important matters such as economic conditions for labor and business alike, research into and forecasting regarding weather and climate, medical research and public health advice, as well as food assistance both domestically and internationally. Nonpartisan agencies known for their expertise and independence (BLS, CDC, FEMA, the Federal Reserve) have been or are being turned to the president’s personal and partisan purposes.

The policy goals set forth in Project 2025 thus have been largely achieved. The administration (regime) has been able to rescind appropriations, engage in deregulation, promote school choice, support sexuality & gender orthodoxy (biological sexes; transgender bans), end DEI initiatives, restrict availability of abortion services, defund public media, withdraw from international agreements & partnerships, mass deportations, end “weaponization” of decision making, create loyal civil service, emphasize fossil fuels, limit foreign aid, impose tariffs, etc., etc.

In the book Comeback, M. Steven Fish reminds us that today’s politics is rooted in dominance — a reality-shaping, conflict-embracing style of leadership. Like other autocrats and their movements, Trump and his allies always talk tough and try to project an image of strength. Think about his preening during press conferences or his reliance on executive orders. Recall the made-for-TV capture and deportation raids that ICE initially operated, each carefully filmed and some narrated by Dr. Phil. Consider as well the pervasive memes with countless portrayals of the leader with an athletic physique or being an avenging superhero.

Unilateral declarations of “emergencies” emphasize that there is but one sovereign. These declarations are backed up by growing and developing a substantial armed force. ICE agents and National Guard troops are deployed to address seemingly rampant crime and lawlessness or widespread interference with or defiance of authority. The militarization of policing has been decades in the making, but it may be reaching full flower. Trump acted to use Homeland Security and military personnel to flex muscle in Los Angeles, more recently in DC, and he continues to threaten other cities (especially ones that elected black mayors). Further, the regime is seeking to have the National Guard in each state create a rapid response force to dispel threats to public order within an hour. (Republican governors have already been experimenting with this nationalized role for the Guard, using their state’s units to support Gov. Abbott at the Texas border or Pres. Trump in DC.)

Other shows of strength do not rely on force of arms, but instead on actions under the color of law. Using both presidential power, governmental authority, and the support of his coalition, Trump’s efforts in this domain fall into a familiar pattern of bullying, extortion, intimidation, and retribution. Consider how he has led the charge against elite law firms, elite universities, and major media organizations (and the conglomerates that profit from them). Let’s not forget the repeated attacks on immigrants, trans people, and other populations that are easy to demonize, target, deprive of rights, and persecute.

At this point, it is clear that the regime is pursuing this formula: Wrecking ball + Iron fist = Regime change. The ultimate goal is to remake government and society from top to bottom.

Some of Trump’s supporters claim that enemies within have wrecked American society so that it will take acts of will to restore it to greatness. Others assert that regeneration will come when Christians firmly control the “seven mountains” — family, religion, education, media, arts and entertainment, business, and government. Not only do populist authoritarians distinguish between friend and enemy, the good people and the bad elites, they also seek to rid society of perceived cultural decadence.

Many observers have long warned that, under Trump, we would enter an authoritarian era. This authoritarian breakthrough is marked by the consolidation of power into a centralized executive branch, the containment and suppression of dissent, and the erosion of constitutional checks and balances. The outward form of democracy may well remain but it is likely that its substantive content will erode further, if not disappear altogether. Additional gerrymandering, voter suppression efforts, as well as congressional and judicial obeisance, will establish a system bearing the hallmarks of competitive authoritarianIsm.

One useful overview of the authoritarian breakthrough we are experiencing comes to us from Christina Pagel, a data scientist at University College London (UCL). Pagel authors a newsletter called “Diving Into Data & Decision Making” and manages the “Trump Action Tracker.” Last week, Pagel categorized the more than 1,000 authoritarian actions that the regime has taken in the last 7 months alone, and the hits just keep coming …

Undermining the rule of law

• Attacking lawyers — restricting access to government, redirecting pro bono work

• Attacking judges — challenging their authority, firing immigration judges

• Ignoring the law — misleading or defying district courts, deprivations of due process, overstepping authority

• Erosion of checks and balances — pliant executive officials, congressional leadership, SCOTUS justices

Controlling information & civil society

• Changing media landscape — restricting access, threats & lawsuits, CPB defunding

• Reshaping culture — educational orthodoxy, book bans, gaining control over institutions, challenging museum content, targeting universities

• Undermining science & expertise — budget cuts, staff reductions, political appointments

• Corporate shakedowns — trade, stock ownership, logos, internal operations

Suppression & destabilization

• Weaponization — investigations, prosecutions

• Militarization — visible uses of force, immigration police state

• “America First” foreign policy — tariff policy as political pressure

At this point, it really does seem that everything is broken. This is not an atypical point of view, for solid majorities of the public continue to believe that the country is moving in the wrong direction. However, it is noteworthy that dissatisfaction remains the prevailing mood for the majority of the public.

The roots of this longstanding dissatisfaction and the current reaction to it run deep in our political culture. They also affect people across the political spectrum, as illustrated by this passage from a report of a recent encounter between a protestor and an ICE agent in DC:

“You guys are ruining this country. You know that, right?” one bystander said to the agents at one point during the incident. An agent, ironically clad in a rainbow face mask, replied “Liberals already ruined it.”

The explanations for our current situation — who’s to blame for shattering norms and institutions, which people and what forces are responsible for tearing the social fabric — are many. The ones we choose to accept are totally entangled with and deeply dependent upon our core political orientations — our basic understanding of how the world works, our assessment and evaluation of that world, and what we believe we should do to make it better. Addressing the very ideological conflict at the heart of political life is the very challenge we must now confront.

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Find the crossword puzzle here (courtesy of Crosshare): Everything is Broken.

Happy solving!

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