Not Without Incident: Questioning Big Brother's Platitudes

As we near the end of Donald Trump’s first year of his second term, we can say with certainty that, at least so far, he is a bitter disappointment and likely never had any interest in an America First platform. It is also obvious from his cabinet picks and policy decisions that he never intended to drain the swamp, clear out the deep state, or shift the focus of American foreign policy on the national interest, not the interests of other countries and alliances. In 2016, the magazine The National Interest hosted Trump for a speech on foreign policy, in which he laid out his America First vision for revitalizing and refocusing US foreign policy, and he said “My foreign policy will always put the interests of the American people and American security above all else. It has to be first. Has to be.”[i] While a few actions captured this, like his withdrawal from the TPP and the Paris Climate Accord, more showed a betrayal of this. How did staying in Syria, Iraq, and numerous other countries help the American people, or passing a tax cut that overwhelmingly favored the corporate elite? The list goes on, but the five problems with US foreign policy that Trump identified in this speech, that US resources are stretched too thin, allies are not paying their fair share, they feel that they cannot rely on the US (he refers to the Iran Nuclear Deal, which he would later rip up as president), adversaries do not respect the US like they used to, and that the US does not have a coherent and sound strategy for achieving its goals, have not been mended.[ii] What did Trump do to solve any of these huge problems? Very little, if anything.

After Trump left office to make way for the Biden regime, the US was still mired in conflicts across the Middle East and Africa, including Afghanistan, despite Trump’s negotiation of a deal to leave (it’s likely that if Trump had won in 2020, he may not have withdrawn US forces from Afghanistan, as he flip flopped on his sabotaged withdrawal from Syria in 2018)[iii] US grand strategy was as incoherent as ever under Trump. With resources still overstretched, as under his reign the defense budget ballooned, it did not get reduced, the declared focus of the Trump regime, countering China, led to a pointless trade war and funneling millions to states around it to be ‘deterrents’. In his second term, it is as if the Trump that campaigned in 2016 was replaced by a clone that parrots the talking points of the conservative elite. Where before he said that “Our goal is peace and prosperity, not war and destruction. The best way to achieve those goals is through a disciplined, deliberate and consistent foreign policy.”, in contrast with a reckless and aimless foreign policy, he now says that the US is going to keep killing people in international waters, they are going to intervene in Venezuela, as well as Nigeria to protect Christians, or so they say.[iv] His bombing of Iran was the opposite of diplomacy, as well as being the wet dream of many neoconservatives who Trump ran against in 2016 like John Bolton and Eliott Abrams.[v]

Last week, Trump, in an interview with FOX News’s Laura Ingraham, defended his decision to push H1-B visas to employ foreign workers in highly skilled jobs, and when asked if America has talented people, he said, “No, you don’t. No, you don’t have certain talents and people have to learn.”[vi] Trump has also announced a plan to enroll 600,000 Chinese students at American universities.[vii] Both these moves have enraged some pro-Trump conservatives, but they are not, despite their insistence that it is, shocking, as Trump has always been a globalist.[viii] Earlier this year, he considered making exceptions in his deportation plans for the hospitality and agriculture sectors.[ix]

Trump is also making the signature mistake that will probably cost the GOP the midterms next year. He denied the American people’s feelings about the state of the economy. When asked about people’s anxiety over the economy, he said that “polls are fake” and that the narrative that the people are not happy with the US economy is a “democratic con job”[x] This echoes the Biden regime’s insistence that inflation was always “transitory”, and that soon the economy would come roaring back into life.[xi] Overall, Trump’s approval rating is plummeting. According to Real Clear Politics, he currently has a 42% approval rating.[xii] He entered office with a 50% approval rating, and throughout both his terms he has never surpassed 50%, and he had his lowest ratings immediately after the J6 riot.[xiii] He has especially lost support among young voters, and the podcasters who these voters frequent have themselves expressed regret at having supported Trump, including Joe Rogan and Theo Von.[xiv] Back in June, after Trump’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Candace Owens said of Trump on Piers Morgan’s show that “He’s been a chronic disappointment. And I feel embarrassed that I told people to go vote for him because this wasn’t going to happen, and it is happening,”[xv] Months later, it, meaning endless war and globalism, is still happening. The one thing that Trump has not failed to do is disappoint, though he did secure the US border, but beyond that, he has been a monumental disaster for US foreign policy.

Before the 2024 election, I argued that he must win, not Kamala Harris. I do not take that back, as a Harris presidency would have been more of the same, however, it seems that even with Trump, we get more of the same. In the words of Tom Woods, “No matter who you vote for, you get John McCain.”[xvi] Trump’s second term may differ slightly from his first, but what remains is his willingness to go along with the permanent regime, chiefly in Venezuela and with support for Israel. Now we see a vicious fight over the Jeffrey Epstein files. Trump is attacking Reps Thomas Massie and Marjorie Taylor Greene.[xvii] In a Truth Social rant he made a gross reference to Thomas Massie’s wife, whom he married recently after his first wife died, and he said of Greene “All I see ‘Wacky’ Marjorie do is COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN!”[xviii] He withdrew his support for her, and he now calls her Marjorie Traitor Greene.[xix] This is reminiscent of Trump’s attacks on Jeff Sessions and countless others who at one time were in his inner circle/regime, but who ‘betrayed him’ and were subsequently expelled from the MAGA club, which is undeniably a cult of personality around Trump. This is a huge problem with the Trump movement, as rather than form around ideas, MAGA and America First have been formed by/around a single person, Trump. In his interview with Ingraham, he said MAGA was his idea, and “I know what MAGA wants better than anyone else.”, and yet, he lambasts the very people who hold him to America First promises.[xx]

Many brain-dead conservative commentators defend him, lashing out at whoever Trump does, exiling them from their movement. This replicates the tactics of the Democratic party, where deviations from the party line result in mockery and alienation. We saw this when even though it was clear to anyone with eyes and ears that Joe Biden’s brain was completely stewed, the Democratic elite scolded anyone who said otherwise. This was best captured in a Joe Scarborough segment on MSNBC where he proclaimed that this vegetative Biden was “the best Biden ever”, and he heralded this as a profound truth.[xxi] However, immediately following the now infamous debate between Biden and Trump in June 2024, he and others admitted that for the good of the country, Biden needed to step aside.[xxii] CNN’s Jake Tapper wrote and published a book with Axios’ Alex Thompson about the coverup of Biden’s melting brain.[xxiii] The illiberal liberal class are not a cult in the same way that the Trump movement is, as they are not coalesced around a personality, but they are undoubtedly a cult. After Trump was first elected in 2016, and early into his first term, there were attempts to define Trumpism and the Trump Doctrine. Notable examples are the work of Victor Davis Hanson, Michael Anton, and Robert O’Brien.[xxiv] This further illustrates the problem of the America First platform, as because it’s wedded to Trump, it is shaped and reshaped around whatever Trump does and how he does it. To an unwitting observer, unfettered support for Israel looks no different than unfettered support for Ukraine, which Trump and MAGA claim to be opposed to, but Trump is fervently devoted to Israel, and his acolytes twist themselves into pretzels to try to argue why support for Ukraine is not the same as support for Israel.

There are a few voices who are willing to call out betrayals of America First. That is why a figure like Tucker Carlson, whose audience dwarfs the likes of Mark Levin and Ben Shapiro, is maligned for his criticisms of US support for Israel and potential invasion of Venezuela. Because Carlson follows America First principles, not Trump and the people in power who claim to champion these principles, he is accused of trying to split the Right. Loyalty to Trump is valued more than adherence to principles. A prime example of this is Laura Loomer, who acts as Trump’s attack dog, ‘vetting’ people in his administration, potential appointees, and people in the government to check if they are sufficiently pro-Trump.[xxv]

Greene has made several comments in recent months about Trump and how she feels that he is not enacting an America First agenda. She responded to Trump’s rant against her on Truth Social by saying that she is shocked at how hard he is fighting to block the release of the Epstein files, “But really most Americans wish he would fight this hard to help the forgotten men and women of America who are fed up with foreign wars and foreign causes, are going broke trying to feed their families, and are losing hope of ever achieving the American dream.”[xxvi] The illiberal liberal class licks their lips at these civil disputes, seeing them as an opportunity to seize power back from the hands of the Trump regime and MAGA, however, the illiberal liberal class misunderstands the dispute. They share the view with the conservative elite that Carlson’s ‘softball’ interview of Nick Fuentes shows a shift in the GOP towards Nazism and white supremacy.[xxvii] Some Republicans are rushing to denounce Carlson and Owens at the behest of the rest of the illiberal liberal class.[xxviii] Fuentes’ rabid bigotry aside, the idea that platforming him is a sign that Carlson is himself vile and hateful, and that he is an “intellectual coward” who seeks to fracture the Right is absurd.[xxix] What angers Trump and his most loyal followers is that people like Greene, Carlson, and Owens are motivated by principle, not devotion to Trump. The US is not North Korea, or, it’s not supposed to be. Greene got involved in politics and ran for Congress because she was inspired by Trump’s original promise to the forgotten men and women of America, and now, because she expressed dismay at Trump’s actions, she is ousted from the movement. She has now officially resigned from Congress, saying that she refused to be a “battered wife” for the very person she fought to defend and get elected.[xxx] This occurred the same week that Trump met with NYC mayor elect Zohran Mamdani, whom he has repeatedly called a communist who was going to wreck his beloved city.[xxxi] After they had a cordial meeting, Trump appeared ready to work with Mamdani, and he referred to him as “a rational person”, however, Mamdani later said that yes, he still believes Trump is a fascist and a threat to democracy.[xxxii] That this meeting was so friendly angered some pro-Trump conservatives, who have been peddling the narrative that Mamdani is a jihadist who represents the takeover of America by Islam.[xxxiii] Trump’s priorities are, as always, driven not by principles, but by opportunism. As Politico’s Adam Wren and Lisa Kasinsky note, the MAGA/Trump movement is “defined more by id than ideology.”[xxxiv] This is why many of Trump’s decisions are so confounding to his opposition and supporters alike. He seeks to benefit himself, not a larger cause or goal. Meeting with Mamdani, in his mind, benefited him. Greene does not. She is hurting his legacy, tainting it, thus she must be cast out.

Based on his interview with Ingraham, as well as his latest moves, it seems that Trump is empire first, not America first. As Spencer Neale notes, even though he still has time to reverse course, his FOX interview and friendship with hawks like Rubio show that “America is likely to be in for a big dose of the old song and dance—the one where black suits in Washington, DC push our military weight around beyond our borders while hardworking Americans struggle to make ends meet.”[xxxv] It is past time to accept that Trump is not America First, nor is he Israel First, he is Empire First. It does not matter who gets elected, the permanent regime is the forever the victor.

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[i] Donald Trump, “Donald Trump Delivers Foreign Policy Speech – Center for the National Interest,” Center for the National Interest, April 27, 2016, https://cftni.org/recent-events/donald-trump-delivers-foreign-policy-speech/; Jacob Heilbrunn, “Why I Hosted Trump’s Foreign-Policy Speech,” POLITICO Magazine, April 27, 2016, https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/04/trump-foreign-policy-speech-why-i-hosted-it-213858.

[ii] Trump, “Donald Trump Delivers Foreign Policy Speech – Center for the National Interest.”

[iii] Lara Seligman, “How Iran Hawks Spurred Trump’s Syria Withdrawal and Misled the Kurds,” Foreign Policy, October 30, 2019, https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/30/iran-hawks-botched-trump-syria-policy-james-jeffrey-turkey/; Natasha Bertrand and Zachary Cohen, “Trump Admin Has Been Quietly Pushing to Retake Afghan Base from the Taliban for Months, Sources Say | CNN Politics,” accessed November 25, 2025, https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/18/politics/trump-bagram-base-taliban-afghanistan; Islomkhon Gafarov Akhmedov Shokhrux Saidov & Alisher, “Trump Dreams of Bagram’s Geopolitical Reemergence,” Geopolitical Monitor, October 14, 2025, https://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/trump-dreams-of-bagrams-geopolitical-reemergence/.

[iv] Trump, “Donald Trump Delivers Foreign Policy Speech – Center for the National Interest”; Associated Press, “Trump Threatens to Go into Nigeria ‘Guns-a-Blazing’ over Attacks on Christians,” US News, The Guardian, November 1, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/01/trump-nigeria-christian-persecution; Peter J. Quaranto and Tyler Jess Thompson, “Trump Presses for Post-Maduro Venezuela,” November 24, 2025, https://www.justsecurity.org/125552/trump-maduro-venezuela-warnings-aftermath/.

[v] David Klion, “Those Sometimes-Trump Neocons Are Returning to the Fold Over Iran | The Nation,” The Nation, June 20, 2025, https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/trump-neocons-iran-war/; Branko Marcetic, “Trump’s Iran War Is a Betrayal We All Saw Coming,” Jacobin, June 22, 2025, https://jacobin.com/2025/06/donald-trump-iran-war.

[vi] Zoe Richards, “Trump Calls H-1B Visas Necessary to Bring in ‘certain Talents’ That He Says the U.S. Lacks,” MSNBC, November 12, 2025, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/trump-calls-h-1b-visas-necessary-bring-certain-talents-says-us-lacks-rcna243367.

[vii] Morgan Phillips, “Trump Doubles down on Plan for 600,000 Chinese Student Visas despite MAGA Backlash,” Text.Article, Fox News, Fox News, November 11, 2025, https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-doubles-down-plan-600000-chinese-student-visas-despite-maga-backlash.

[viii] Will Steakin, “‘Where Is My President?’: Some MAGA Supporters in Uproar over Trump’s H-1B Visa Comments,” ABC News, November 13, 2025, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-maga-supporters-uproar-trumps-1b-visa-comments/story?id=127458610.

[ix] Laura Strickler et al., “Trump, in Reversal, May Exempt Farms and Hotels from Immigration Raids,” NBC News, June 15, 2025, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/trump-reversal-may-exempt-farms-hotels-immigration-raids-rcna212958.

[x] Donald Trump and Laura Ingraham, “President Trump: The Economy Is the Strongest It Has Ever Been | Fox News Video,” FOX News, November 11, 2025, https://www.foxnews.com/video/6384926758112.

[xi] Aaron Blake, “Trump’s Flailing on the Economy Is Worse than Biden’s | CNN Politics,” CNN, November 11, 2025, https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/11/politics/trump-economy-biden-analysis.

[xii] RCP, “President Trump Job Approval | RealClearPolling,” Real Clear Politics, 2025, https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/approval/donald-trump/approval-rating-2nd-term.

[xiii] “President Trump Job Approval | RealClearPolling.”

[xiv] Nikki Mccan Ramirez, “Theo Von, Joe Rogan, Other Manosphere Influencers Cool on Trump,” October 6, 2025, https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/theo-von-joe-rogan-manosphere-influencers-trump-1235441563/; Alexandra Marquez et al., “Pod Man out: Trump’s Support among Influential Podcasters Is Waning,” NBC News, October 5, 2025, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-support-influential-podcasters-waning-rcna233437.

[xv] Ashleigh Fields, “Candace Owens Says She’s ‘embarrassed’ She Supported Donald Trump,” Text, The Hill, June 25, 2025, https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5367995-candace-owens-says-shes-embarrassed-she-supported-trump/.

[xvi] Tom Woods [@ThomasEWoods], “Woods’ Law #3: No matter whom you vote for, you always wind up getting John McCain.,” Tweet, Twitter, April 9, 2017, https://x.com/ThomasEWoods/status/851074315047063554.

[xvii] Steff Danielle Thomas, “Donald Trump Intensifies Criticism of Marjorie Taylor Greene,” Text, The Hill, November 15, 2025, https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5607198-donald-trump-marjorie-taylor-greene-criticism-mounts/; The Associated Press, “MAGA Rift Grows as Trump Feuds with Greene before Key 2026 Midterm Elections – CBS Atlanta,” November 16, 2025, https://www.cbsnews.com/atlanta/news/maga-rift-grows-as-trump-feuds-with-greene-before-key-2026-midterm-elections/; C. K. Smith, “Isn’t It Ironic? Thrice-Married Trump Mocks Massie’s Remarriage,” Salon.Com, November 16, 2025, https://www.salon.com/2025/11/16/isnt-it-ironic-thrice-married-trump-mocks-massies-remarriage/?utm_source=website&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ogshare&utm_content=og.

[xviii] Sophia Tesfaye, “Donald Trump’s America First Movement Seems to Be Fracturing,” Salon.Com, November 15, 2025, https://www.salon.com/2025/11/15/donald-trumps-america-first-movement-seems-to-be-fracturing/?utm_source=website&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ogshare&utm_content=og; “MAGA Rift Grows as Trump Feuds with Greene before Key 2026 Midterm Elections – CBS Atlanta”; Smith, “Isn’t It Ironic?”

[xix] Nandita Bose, “Trump Withdraws Support for Longtime Ally Marjorie Taylor Greene,” United States, Reuters, November 15, 2025, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-withdraws-support-marjorie-taylor-greene-2025-11-15/; Coral Murphy Marcos, “Trump Ends Support for Marjorie Taylor Greene amid Growing Epstein Feud,” US News, The Guardian, November 15, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/14/trump-marjorie-taylor-greene-support.

[xx] Riya Misra, “How Well Does Trump Know His Movement?,” POLITICO, November 24, 2025, https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-nightly/2025/11/17/how-well-does-trump-know-his-movement-00655608.

[xxi] Why “this Version of Biden” Is Best Version of Biden, directed by MS NOW, 2024, 09:47, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pb6xXuU5wM.

[xxii] Jon Allsop, “Why Biden’s Debate Performance Was Not a Wizard of Oz Moment – Columbia Journalism Review,” July 1, 2024, https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/biden_debate_age_media_narrative.php; Michael M. Grynbaum, “Biden’s Closest Media Allies Urge Him to Drop Out After Debate – The New York Times,” The New York Times, June 28, 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/28/us/politics/biden-media-allies-debate.html.

[xxiii] Jake Tapper and Alexander Thompson, Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again (Penguin Press, 2025).

[xxiv]  Michael Anton, “The Case for Trump,” Claremont Review of Books, 2020, https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/the-case-for-trump/; Michael Anton, “THE TRUMP DOCTRINE: An Insider Explains the President’s Foreign Policy,” Foreign Policy, no. 232 (2019): 40–47; Victor Davis Hanson, The Case for Trump (Basic Books, 2024); Robert C. O’Brien, “The Case for Trump’s Second-Term Foreign Policy,” Foreign Affairs, November 5, 2025, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/case-trumps-second-term-foreign-policy.

[xxv] Antonia Hitchens, “Laura Loomer’s Endless Payback | The New Yorker,” The New Yorker, November 10, 2025, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/17/laura-loomers-endless-payback; James Risen, “Maga Influencer and de Facto National Security Adviser Laura Loomer Holds Outsized Sway on Trump,” US News, The Guardian, July 6, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/06/laura-loomer-donald-trump-maga-influencer.

[xxvi] Katherine Doyle, “Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Questions If Trump Is Still the ‘America First’ President,” NBC News, November 15, 2025, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/marjorie-taylor-greene-questions-trump-america-first-foreign-trips-rcna243323; Allison Pecorin and Alexandra Huxler, “GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Hits Back at Trump: ‘I’ve Never Owed Him Anything,’” ABC News, accessed November 25, 2025, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/gop-rep-marjorie-taylor-greene-hits-back-trump/story?id=127630572.

[xxvii] Ali Breland, “The Nick Fuentes Spiral,” The Atlantic, November 15, 2025, https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2025/11/nick-fuentes-tucker-carlson-randy-fine/684939/; J. Oliver Conroy, “White Nationalist Nick Fuentes Is Exposing a Civil War among US Republicans: ‘We Look like Clowns,’” US News, The Guardian, November 20, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/nov/20/nick-fuentes-tucker-carlson; Andrew Kaczynski Contorno Steve, “How Nick Fuentes Ignited a Civil War within the Republican Party- and DC’s Most Prominent Conservative Think Tank | CNN Politics,” CNN, November 6, 2025, https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/politics/nick-fuentes-tucker-carlson-heritage-foundation-kevin-roberts.

[xxviii] Contorno, “How Nick Fuentes Ignited a Civil War within the Republican Party- and DC’s Most Prominent Conservative Think Tank | CNN Politics.”

[xxix] Samuel Benson, “Ben Shapiro Blasts ‘Intellectual Coward’ Tucker Carlson amid Staff Shakeup at Heritage – POLITICO,” November 3, 2025, https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/03/ben-shapiro-tucker-carlson-nick-fuentes-interview-00633323.

[xxx] Dan Mangan, “Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Will Resign after Fallout with Trump,” CNBC, November 22, 2025, https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/21/marjorie-taylor-greene-resign-trump-epstein-mtg.html.

[xxxi] Adam Wren and Lisa Kashinsky, “What Trump’s Mamdani Praise — and MTG’s Ouster — Says about MAGA’s Future – POLITICO,” POLITICO, November 22, 2025, https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/22/trump-mtg-mamdani-maga-future-00666113; Kathryn Watson, “What Trump and Mamdani Have Said about Each Other Ahead of Their White House Meeting – CBS News,” November 21, 2025, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-zohran-mamdani-comments-about-each-other/.

[xxxii] Olivia Empson, “Mamdani Reiterates Trump Is a ‘Fascist’ Just Days after Cordial Meeting,” US News, The Guardian, November 23, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/23/mamdani-trump-fascist.

[xxxiii] David Bauder, “For Conservative Media, NYC Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani Quickly Becomes Attack Target – ABC News,” ABC News, November 19, 2025, https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/conservative-media-new-york-city-mayor-elect-zohran-127657678; David Gilbert, “‘New York City Has Fallen’: MAGA Responds to Zohran Mamdani’s Victory With a Racist Freak-Out | WIRED,” November 5, 2025, https://www.wired.com/story/maga-responds-to-zohran-mamdani-victory/.

[xxxiv] Wren and Kashinsky, “What Trump’s Mamdani Praise — and MTG’s Ouster — Says about MAGA’s Future – POLITICO.”

[xxxv] Spencer Neale, “What Kind of ‘America First’ Is This?,” The American Conservative, November 5, 2025, https://www.theamericanconservative.com/what-kind-of-america-first-is-this/.

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