Trump's Manifest Destiny

Trump's New GOP Platform Signals a Seismic Shift in Republican Ideology, When it comes to foreign policy, the "project 2025" manifesto reads like the fever dream of a Fox News viewer.

Jul 12, 2024

America First: Trump's New GOP Platform Signals a Seismic Shift in Republican Ideology

Habib Al Badawi (LinkedIn)

As the political landscape undergoes a tectonic shift, the Republican Party's latest platform unveils a significant realignment under the enduring influence of former President Donald Trump. The newly streamlined document, provocatively titled “America First: A Return to Common Sense,” marks a stark departure from traditional GOP stances on key issues, reflecting a broader embrace of populism and nationalism. This transformation highlights the evolving nature of Republican ideology in the Trump era, sparking intense debate within the party and beyond.

In a move that sent ripples through the political establishment, Republican delegates swiftly adopted Trump's proposed convention platform at a closed-door meeting in Milwaukee. This decisive action effectively abandons long-held positions on contentious issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage while championing new, more hardline plans for mass deportation and staunch opposition to altering the retirement age for Social Security.

The platform's passage, with an overwhelming vote of 84 to 18, underscores Trump's expanding ideological grip over the GOP. This new direction represents a significant pivot from the party's traditional conservative roots, embracing a more populist and nationalist agenda that has become synonymous with the Trump brand of politics.

At a mere 16 pages—a stark contrast to the 66-page manifesto of 2016—the new platform is a testament to Trump's preference for concise, direct messaging. This trimmed-down approach, however, has not diminished the document's impact. If anything, it has amplified its message, distilling complex issues into easily digestible sound bites that resonate with the party's base.

One of the most notable shifts in the platform concerns the party's stance on abortion. For the first time in four decades, the document makes no mention of a federal abortion ban. Instead, it emphasizes state autonomy in legislating on this issue, a position that aligns closely with Trump's recent rhetoric. This softening of language has drawn both praise and criticism from within the party's ranks, highlighting the delicate balancing act the GOP must perform to maintain unity while adapting to changing public opinion.

The platform's economic vision also marks a significant departure from traditional Republican orthodoxy. Gone are the emphatic calls for reducing the national debt. In their place stands a populist pledge to “end inflation” and “make America affordable again.” This shift reflects a growing recognition within the party of the economic anxieties faced by many Americans and represents an attempt to address these concerns head-on.

In a move that has raised eyebrows among fiscal conservatives, the platform now supports tariffs, a major break from past Republican economic doctrine. This stance aligns closely with Trump's protectionist trade policies and signals a potential sea change in how the GOP approaches international commerce.

The document also doubles down on Trump's promise to protect Social Security and Medicare, further distancing the party from its historical advocacy for entitlement reform. This position, while popular among older voters, has drawn criticism from some within the party who worry about the long-term fiscal implications of such commitments.

The platform's language on social issues has also undergone a significant evolution. Notably absent is any mention of opposition to same-sex marriage, a topic that had been a cornerstone of previous Republican platforms. This omission reflects a growing recognition within the party of changing societal attitudes and a desire to broaden its appeal beyond its traditional base.

However, the platform retains much of Trump's signature rhetoric on issues such as immigration and government oversight. It calls for sealing the U.S.-Mexico border and ending what it terms the “weaponization of government against the American people.” These positions resonate strongly with Trump's base and underscore the former president's continued influence over the party's messaging.

The reaction to the new platform has been mixed, even within the Republican Party. While many Trump supporters have hailed it as a bold, forward-thinking document that addresses the concerns of everyday Americans, others have expressed reservations. Some traditional conservatives worry that the party is straying too far from its ideological roots, while others fear that the platform's more controversial elements could alienate moderate voters in the upcoming election.

As the Republican Party prepares to formally adopt this platform at its national convention, the document stands as a testament to the transformative impact of Trump's presidency on the GOP. It represents a party at a crossroads, grappling with the tension between its traditional conservative values and the populist fervor that has swept through its ranks.

The success or failure of this new platform in the 2024 election cycle will likely have far-reaching consequences for the future direction of the Republican Party. It may either cement Trump's ideological legacy within the GOP or spark a countermovement seeking to reclaim the party's traditional conservative identity.

As America hurtles towards another pivotal election, all eyes will be on how this reimagined Republican platform resonates with voters across the political spectrum. Will it energize the party's base and attract new supporters, or will it deepen the ideological divides within the GOP and the nation at large? Only time will tell, but one thing is certain: the Republican Party of 2024 is charting a course into uncharted political waters, with profound implications for the future of American democracy.

Project 2025 Manifesto

By Arnaud Bertrand (https://x.com/RnaudBertrand)

When it comes to foreign policy, the "project 2025" manifesto (which many present as the guiding document for a future Trump administration) reads like the fever dream of a Fox News viewer. It's literally bat shit crazy.

Let's go through the list of how they'd approach relations some other actors on the world stage.

Mexico

They write that "Mexico can no longer qualify as a first-world nation" and that "the next Administration must both adopt a posture that calls for a fully sovereign Mexico and take all steps at its disposal to support that result in as rapid a fashion as possible".

So basically regime change Mexico...

China

China, which they define as a "tyrannical country", is clearly target #1 in the document, which calls for "decisive action regarding China", precising that these actions should disregard "the international system and global norms".

They literally write that the US shouldn't dismiss "conspiracy theories" on China because "the PRC’s actions often do sound like conspiracy theories—because they are conspiracies."

They criticize those who "try to normalize or even laud Chinese behavior" and explicitly say they do not "believe in a moderating approach" for dealing with the country.

Even more insane, they frame China as an inherently evil country at a civilizational & cultural level, writing that "the nature of Chinese power today is the product of history, ideology, and the institutions that have governed China during the course of five millennia" and that therefore China's "internal culture and civil society will never deliver a more normative nation".

They go on to propose a bunch of insanely hostile measures against China such as tasking the Pentagon to "execute regionally based operations" to "counter the BRI" (which obviously wouldn't only be hostile against China but the affected countries too), or calling to "directly counter Chinese economic power with all elements of national power in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean".

The "Western hemisphere"

They propose a Monroe doctrine on steroids, arguing that because "Central and South America are moving rapidly into the sphere of anti-American", the U.S. should use "all tools at the disposal of U.S. allies and partners" to "lead these democratic neighbors to fight against the external pressure of threats from abroad and address local regional security concerns".

Basically read "we're going to coup you until you like us".

Iran

No surprise there, encouraging regime change would be the official policy: "This decision to be free of the country’s abusive leaders must of course be made by the Iranian people, but the United States can utilize its own and others’ economic and diplomatic tools to ease the path toward a free Iran". They also write that they'll support "through public diplomacy and otherwise, freedom-seeking Iranian people in their revolt against the mullahs"

Palestine & Israel

Again, little surprise. They see the US's role as "ensuring Israel has both the military means and the political support and flexibility to take what it deems to be appropriate measures to defend itself against the Iranian regime and its regional proxies Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad".

And they call for "the Palestinian Authority [to] be defunded".

So hostility towards the Palestinians and full unconditional support of Israel.

Africa

The document views Africa through the prism of China and access resources. So naturally their policy calls for "countering malign Chinese activity on the continent" and to "correct this strategic failing of existing policy" where "PRC’s companies dominate the African supply chain for certain minerals" and where "African nations comprise major country-bloc elements that shield the PRC and Russia from international isolation".

International organizations

The document argues in favor of a complete dismantlement of the spirit of international law and in favor of a world where international organizations are only useful insofar as they're pawns of the US: "If an international organization does not support American interests, the United States should not support it."

They reiterate this point later in the document: "The United States must return to treating international organizations as vehicles for promoting American interests."

There you are. The document (static.project2025.org/2025_MandateFo…) is 992 pages long so this is but a minor extract of all the insanity that's in there.

It truly reads like a compilation of every Republican foreign policy hawk's most feverish dreams.

If this gets implemented we would be stepping into a world of unprecedented unilateral American aggression, with a complete disregard for the established norms of international law and diplomacy. The document envisions a hyper-militarized United States, ready to intervene globally under the thinnest pretexts, while simultaneously dismantling the very international institutions designed to prevent such behavior.

They frame every international relationship as a zero-sum game, with particular hostility reserved for China, which is portrayed in absurdly cartoonish villainous terms.

When it comes to the Western Hemisphere and Africa, the manifesto is straight-up colonial, treating sovereign nations as mere pawns in a grand geopolitical chess game against China and other perceived adversaries.

What any sane person should conclude when reading this is that the US has unequivocally become the single greatest threat to global stability and peace. This manifesto isn't just a collection of misguided policies; it's a blueprint for turning America into a rogue superpower, even more unbounded by international law or basic human decency than it was in the past... There must be a serious global reckoning about how to contain and counterbalance this increasingly erratic and aggressive behavior before it's too late.

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