By Kerul Dyer
Shadows of Machiavellian triumphs – even with all of the setbacks for the ruling elite – have darkened the skies for millions around the world in only eleven days since Trump has entered his second term. While the Italian philosopher contained his hyperbolic anecdotes within centuries-old manuscripts, Nicolø Machiavelli’s theory of “power politics” seems to be on showcase now in Washington DC.
Trump’s raucous actions have unleashed a wide array of power grabs and jabs, far beyond the imagination of most Americans. Nothing that the new President has done, however, should come as a surprise. Many of his actions were laid out in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025.
The second essay in Project 2025, authored by Trump’s pick for head of the OMB, outlines the need for all budgetary mandates at a Federal level must align with the interests of the President. [law that makes it illegal] Many policy analysts who have studied the 900+ page treatise have written about the many ways that Project 2025 can be seen as a playbook, much of which is yet to unfold.
On mass deportation: people and governments around the world are responding to airplanes filled with migrants. In Chicago, live streamed ICE raids rolled out like a reality tv show, even including the participation of Dr. Phil. Already, detained immigrants are being held on a military base in Colorado, and plans for detention in other bases – including Guantanamo – are being prepared.
On blocking foreign aid, ostensibly to conduct a 90 day review, people around the world have already begun to feel the pain. In some cases medical staff have defied the shutdown orders, and, while the order has supposedly been lifted, many aid recipients do not know how to file an exemption, since no order to rescind has been granted. In Khartoum, Sudan, daily meals for 100,000 people were halted abruptly this week. The list goes on and on.
So many critical programs are threatened. Climate change and public health safeguards thrown to the curb. Civil rights laws and policies threatened. Attempts to force trans people from public life. Misinformation, lies, and more lies. The saying, “the wolf guarding the hen house” pales in comparison to the unwinding tentacles of this massive beast.
Sun Zu asserted that “In the midst of Chaos, there is also opportunity.”
If Trump’s interest is to achieve authoritarian rule, this strategy may hit the mark. A general rule of thumb for a chaos strategy in battle is for the aggressing party to use several tactics at once. Some of the intended effects are to confuse, to disrupt, and to instill fear. Methods to achieve chaos strategy include hitting multiple targets at once, and the use of false movements, psychological manipulation, and information warfare to exploit vulnerabilities.
Self-perpetuating responses to chaotic actions have so far not worked exactly like Trump may have liked, but the effects of the sudden barrage actions will not be resolved for years. And when they are, it may be at the hands of the right-leaning US Supreme Court.
What remains unknown is whether the American people, lawmakers, and every part of society adversely affected by the policy rollbacks will have the ability to stop the rapid movement toward authoritarianism: and if it will truly lead to a fascist state.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/31/world/asia/trump-usaid-freeze.html
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-state-department-usaid-humanitarian-aid-freeze-ukraine-gaza-sudan
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/29/trump-federal-spending-freeze-project-2025-007378=
https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/27/trump-immigration-dr-phil-chicago-raids
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd6434dq7p1o
