The demonization of expertise (anti-intellectualism) - whether medical, diplomatic, or otherwise - is how we got here. Certain media outlets would have us believe that all this international aid is from leftists throwing money around to further their liberal agenda - when reality it’s a calculated strategy by highly educated and informed experts to exert soft power, beginning in the Cold War era. The lack of intellectual humility on the right is alarming.
For my entire life it was always “China is going to take over everything” “in fifty years we’ll all be speaking mandarin” .. China has always been the communist boogeyman we have to stop from getting too powerful and now….. we cleared the path for them to do exactly what we have been trying to prevent ?
Yet again Trump has shown just how absolutely unfit he is to be president. He has the foresight of a toad and lacks the intellect to critically think about the long term consequences of his actions.
Sometimes I genuinely wonder whether Trump is actually trying to make America flounder. How is it possible he can’t see these concerns when we can?? It’s baffling.
Ashley, what’s more insidious, is that he can see clearly, and this is all purposeful. I know it sounds baffling, until you realize you are looking at it from an altruistic perspective, and only want what’s best for our country and world. His only interest is self-interest, what is best for him.
When you consider it that way, is it still baffling?
This is scary, but also a trove of information on a subject that is a huge rhetorical weak spot for MAGA supporters. They're committed to being tough on China (Trump's long-standing obsession since before his first term), but their inability to grapple with arguments about how DOGE policies actually benefit Beijing makes them want to change the subject. Now with these concrete examples from your reporting, it'll be much harder for them to sidestep the issue. Or perhaps more accurately: make them look even more dumb when they do sidestep the issue.
Thanks Elise for providing this arsenal of specific evidence that shows how America's transformation from moral leader to "landlord seeking rent" is playing right into China's hands. I really, really wish it wasn’t true, but since it is, might as well use this information against the propagandists in power.
I wonder if Trump is actually committed to being tough on China. I don't think so. Not if actions speak louder than words. It seems that Trump is actually trying to align with China and Russia.
I think I tend to agree. But I am not sure if a Trump voter would be tempted to say that’s Trump’s goal, and therefore makes it a difficult place for them to argue that DOGE handing China immense power is a good thing in their eyes.
I’ve thought this for awhile. No one in the current administration seems to be playing the long game or supporting it. It just seems to me the chaos being created is done so that private for profit businesses can swoop in and make as much money as possibly before it crashes. And when that happens they aren’t invested enough in people to care. They just take their money and run. It is deeply upsetting to watch and I truly hope I am wrong.
“Money is the root of all evil” is one of the few ultimate and universal truths. We are watching the consequences of that play out in real time with a president that was purchased by the wealthiest man in the world to save his own hide from consequences and make quite literally the entire country suffer (save from the wealthy that can pay him off.)
The actual Bible verse says "The love of money is the root of all evil. Basically, greed. Money in the hands of good people can do good things. Money in the hands of bad people... You get the drift. Money is only valuable because we say it is. The things with real value can only be given and received, not bought or stolen. But you are right in saying it is a universal truth we are seeing played out in real time.
Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen, “America had once been seen as a force for "moral legitimacy" and was now looking like "a landlord seeking rent."
That’s all Trump has ever been, that’s all he’ll ever be, and now he’s drug the United States of America down to his level on the world stage.
I cannot foresee how we can gain what we have lost in the near future. We were forgiven the first Trump administration, but now we’ve burned our allies twice.
China, Russia, etc., facilitated Trump’s comeback, and are now the beneficiaries.
It’s up to us to resist. We have to be our own heroes. We must be this century’s greatest generation.
I have read opinion articles stating that DOGE is attacking programs that the leaders of China want shuttered. Elon’s relationship with the Chinese because of his factories there leads him to do as their leaders want.
Just wait till the propaganda machines that VOA and Radio Free were holding back finally move all those minds against the US and its allies... If we have any allies left. It won't just be political and economic dominance we have to worry about. Once a few billion people are convinced we're the enemy, it's just a matter of time before they can be mobilized to "neutralize" us on our own turf.
Trump is trump. He is an absolutely corrupt and self absorbed individual who has a cabinet of intensely subservient and unqualified people. What I keep wondering is what will it take for the Republicans to act? Why are they supporting this? I know they are afraid of having primary challengers. So- they are spineless? If trump destroys our democracy they still won’t have a job. They could stop this.
I believe that “traditional” Republicans are, rightfully, very concerned about the federal debt limit. To be fair, there is lack of courage in handling the deficit on both sides of the aisle. It’s a shame that this lack of courage has led to such abysmal, senseless choices.
I think a certain billionaire is paying to keep people quiet and agreeable tbh. Why else would they be bending backwards to defend musk/DOGE, promoting Tesla on the white house lawn, begging people to buy Tesla stock on national television, calling Tesla protestors “domestic terrorists,” etc. ? If Musk goes broke the house cards comes tumbling down.
Absolutely! The entire Republican Party is bought and paid for by Musk and as long as he holds the purse strings they will continue to fall in line like the spineless individuals they are. They’ve entirely abdicated their role in government and it’s incredibly frustrating they still get their salaries for sitting on their butts doing nothing while allowing Donald and Musk destroy this country and line their own pockets.
I wonder how any of them can sleep at night but they would imply they have morals.
I cannot prove that of course but sometimes the easiest most obvious explanation is the truth. Occam’s Razor and all… but I think a forensic accountant would find some very interesting information if given the opportunity…
As an accountant, I endorse this statement. Haha. I saw a video of the Inspectors General who were all so excited about DOGE and the opportunity to go after fraud and inefficiencies in the government more aggressively. And they were all just immediately fired. That had to have been such a slap in the face - and it should have been a wake up call to America.
I’m old enough to remember when China was *the* boogeyman for the Tea Party. What’s so odd to me is that MAGA is filled with people who reject expertise (as Sam mentioned above) but embrace authority. RFK has no expertise in health but he’s maneuvered his way into positions of authority. Same with all the cabinet positions, same with Trump himself. I find it fascinating that people are so willing to engage in the logical fallacy of appeal to authority while utterly ignoring legitimate authority (expertise).
Yes! And as average people, we’ve all witnessed and been infuriated when someone at a random management level got promoted when they weren’t qualified. That’s like a universal annoyance. Why is this OK on a government level? It would be one thing if were one “cowboy” or rebel that was surrounded by people to somehow wrangle them, but our entire administration has no idea what they’re doing and the people that have the power to do something and are actually somewhat knowledgeable are too afraid to lose their status. I know they’re threatened by being primaried, but if they all stood up and voted to actually do something before that, great. If they managed to win trust and save their jobs, great. If not, it was a sacrifice for democracy. Better than during the revolution when people were risking their lives, not just livelihoods. And do you know the respect these people would earn to stand up against the literal world’s richest man? Sorry, I got carried away because this all gets so disheartening.
Are there any plans for democratic countries (Canada, Britain, Germany, Australia, etc.) to step in and fill the gap America has left? What do their soft power apparatuses look like?
I don’t think any one of these countries has a large enough economy to match what America has been doing. It’s perhaps possible for them to band together to do so, but I think America’s sudden abandonment of the existing global organizations has left them all floundering. They don’t have enough of a runway, nor the organization and agreement, at this moment to counter what China is able to do alone.
The demonization of expertise (anti-intellectualism) - whether medical, diplomatic, or otherwise - is how we got here. Certain media outlets would have us believe that all this international aid is from leftists throwing money around to further their liberal agenda - when reality it’s a calculated strategy by highly educated and informed experts to exert soft power, beginning in the Cold War era. The lack of intellectual humility on the right is alarming.
Sam, and the Marshall Plan from WWII. Back when empathy and strategy saved the world. Now the lack of both are destroying it.
For my entire life it was always “China is going to take over everything” “in fifty years we’ll all be speaking mandarin” .. China has always been the communist boogeyman we have to stop from getting too powerful and now….. we cleared the path for them to do exactly what we have been trying to prevent ?
Yet again Trump has shown just how absolutely unfit he is to be president. He has the foresight of a toad and lacks the intellect to critically think about the long term consequences of his actions.
Sometimes I genuinely wonder whether Trump is actually trying to make America flounder. How is it possible he can’t see these concerns when we can?? It’s baffling.
Ashley, what’s more insidious, is that he can see clearly, and this is all purposeful. I know it sounds baffling, until you realize you are looking at it from an altruistic perspective, and only want what’s best for our country and world. His only interest is self-interest, what is best for him.
When you consider it that way, is it still baffling?
Anyone else just feel totally sick to their stomach 99% of the time? 😣🫠🫠
This is scary, but also a trove of information on a subject that is a huge rhetorical weak spot for MAGA supporters. They're committed to being tough on China (Trump's long-standing obsession since before his first term), but their inability to grapple with arguments about how DOGE policies actually benefit Beijing makes them want to change the subject. Now with these concrete examples from your reporting, it'll be much harder for them to sidestep the issue. Or perhaps more accurately: make them look even more dumb when they do sidestep the issue.
Thanks Elise for providing this arsenal of specific evidence that shows how America's transformation from moral leader to "landlord seeking rent" is playing right into China's hands. I really, really wish it wasn’t true, but since it is, might as well use this information against the propagandists in power.
I wonder if Trump is actually committed to being tough on China. I don't think so. Not if actions speak louder than words. It seems that Trump is actually trying to align with China and Russia.
I think I tend to agree. But I am not sure if a Trump voter would be tempted to say that’s Trump’s goal, and therefore makes it a difficult place for them to argue that DOGE handing China immense power is a good thing in their eyes.
I’ve thought this for awhile. No one in the current administration seems to be playing the long game or supporting it. It just seems to me the chaos being created is done so that private for profit businesses can swoop in and make as much money as possibly before it crashes. And when that happens they aren’t invested enough in people to care. They just take their money and run. It is deeply upsetting to watch and I truly hope I am wrong.
“Money is the root of all evil” is one of the few ultimate and universal truths. We are watching the consequences of that play out in real time with a president that was purchased by the wealthiest man in the world to save his own hide from consequences and make quite literally the entire country suffer (save from the wealthy that can pay him off.)
The actual Bible verse says "The love of money is the root of all evil. Basically, greed. Money in the hands of good people can do good things. Money in the hands of bad people... You get the drift. Money is only valuable because we say it is. The things with real value can only be given and received, not bought or stolen. But you are right in saying it is a universal truth we are seeing played out in real time.
Susan, I wish you were wrong. I have not seen anything to prove you wrong.
Also, not only the profit motive, but the “get out of jail free” motive, too.
Please don’t forget President Trump’s looming jail sentences that magically disappeared.
It’s becoming increasingly impossible to be civil to people who voted for trump. He’s an idiotic moron and a horrible human being
Wow - so much for civil discourse.
Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen, “America had once been seen as a force for "moral legitimacy" and was now looking like "a landlord seeking rent."
That’s all Trump has ever been, that’s all he’ll ever be, and now he’s drug the United States of America down to his level on the world stage.
I cannot foresee how we can gain what we have lost in the near future. We were forgiven the first Trump administration, but now we’ve burned our allies twice.
China, Russia, etc., facilitated Trump’s comeback, and are now the beneficiaries.
It’s up to us to resist. We have to be our own heroes. We must be this century’s greatest generation.
Wait, I thought it was the radical leftist lunatics that wanted to destroy America and its place in the world.
I have read opinion articles stating that DOGE is attacking programs that the leaders of China want shuttered. Elon’s relationship with the Chinese because of his factories there leads him to do as their leaders want.
Overwhelmed and trying to hold it together. Our country is on a slippery slope… greedy jerks
Beth, you can do it, but you don’t have to do it alone. Our focus is our resistance.
China’s “climate diplomacy offers the veneer of global leadership.”
China and President Trump are in a race to see who can tell the biggest and most dangerous lies.
But the world will believe China because their lies come with a carrot, and President Trump’s come with a stick.
Just wait till the propaganda machines that VOA and Radio Free were holding back finally move all those minds against the US and its allies... If we have any allies left. It won't just be political and economic dominance we have to worry about. Once a few billion people are convinced we're the enemy, it's just a matter of time before they can be mobilized to "neutralize" us on our own turf.
Trump is trump. He is an absolutely corrupt and self absorbed individual who has a cabinet of intensely subservient and unqualified people. What I keep wondering is what will it take for the Republicans to act? Why are they supporting this? I know they are afraid of having primary challengers. So- they are spineless? If trump destroys our democracy they still won’t have a job. They could stop this.
I believe that “traditional” Republicans are, rightfully, very concerned about the federal debt limit. To be fair, there is lack of courage in handling the deficit on both sides of the aisle. It’s a shame that this lack of courage has led to such abysmal, senseless choices.
I think a certain billionaire is paying to keep people quiet and agreeable tbh. Why else would they be bending backwards to defend musk/DOGE, promoting Tesla on the white house lawn, begging people to buy Tesla stock on national television, calling Tesla protestors “domestic terrorists,” etc. ? If Musk goes broke the house cards comes tumbling down.
Absolutely! The entire Republican Party is bought and paid for by Musk and as long as he holds the purse strings they will continue to fall in line like the spineless individuals they are. They’ve entirely abdicated their role in government and it’s incredibly frustrating they still get their salaries for sitting on their butts doing nothing while allowing Donald and Musk destroy this country and line their own pockets.
I wonder how any of them can sleep at night but they would imply they have morals.
I cannot prove that of course but sometimes the easiest most obvious explanation is the truth. Occam’s Razor and all… but I think a forensic accountant would find some very interesting information if given the opportunity…
"I think a forensic accountant would find some very interesting information if given the opportunity"
Which goes to another point: why is Musk heading up this hunt for "fraud, waste, and abuse" at all but not utilizing actual auditors or accountants?
As an accountant, I endorse this statement. Haha. I saw a video of the Inspectors General who were all so excited about DOGE and the opportunity to go after fraud and inefficiencies in the government more aggressively. And they were all just immediately fired. That had to have been such a slap in the face - and it should have been a wake up call to America.
Such a hard read for me this morning. That's the sum of the words I can compose about this topic. Devastated.
I’m old enough to remember when China was *the* boogeyman for the Tea Party. What’s so odd to me is that MAGA is filled with people who reject expertise (as Sam mentioned above) but embrace authority. RFK has no expertise in health but he’s maneuvered his way into positions of authority. Same with all the cabinet positions, same with Trump himself. I find it fascinating that people are so willing to engage in the logical fallacy of appeal to authority while utterly ignoring legitimate authority (expertise).
Yes! And as average people, we’ve all witnessed and been infuriated when someone at a random management level got promoted when they weren’t qualified. That’s like a universal annoyance. Why is this OK on a government level? It would be one thing if were one “cowboy” or rebel that was surrounded by people to somehow wrangle them, but our entire administration has no idea what they’re doing and the people that have the power to do something and are actually somewhat knowledgeable are too afraid to lose their status. I know they’re threatened by being primaried, but if they all stood up and voted to actually do something before that, great. If they managed to win trust and save their jobs, great. If not, it was a sacrifice for democracy. Better than during the revolution when people were risking their lives, not just livelihoods. And do you know the respect these people would earn to stand up against the literal world’s richest man? Sorry, I got carried away because this all gets so disheartening.
Agreed!
Are there any plans for democratic countries (Canada, Britain, Germany, Australia, etc.) to step in and fill the gap America has left? What do their soft power apparatuses look like?
I don’t think any one of these countries has a large enough economy to match what America has been doing. It’s perhaps possible for them to band together to do so, but I think America’s sudden abandonment of the existing global organizations has left them all floundering. They don’t have enough of a runway, nor the organization and agreement, at this moment to counter what China is able to do alone.
Jonathan, yes! I have heard some things like that. I know they have stepped up support for Ukraine, to push back against Russia.
I’d love to hear about Asian countries’ efforts.