'Move fast and break things': Trump's first 100 days

Canada Standard

09-05-2025

The first 100 days of Donald Trump's second presidency have seen an unprecedented level of chaos with global repercussions, writes DrNorm Sanders.
WHATEVER HAPPENS from here on in, the world will never be the same. From Social Security to theFederal Aviation Administration, theDOGEteam has run a bulldozer through the U.S. Government and the wreckage will be smouldering for a long time. The damage was done by tech nerdElon Musk, using a concept developed by another nerdy Trump oligarch,Mark Zuckerbergof Facebook (now Meta).
Move fast and break things (MFABT) is a philosophy advocating for rapid innovation and experimentation, even if it means making mistakes along the way. It's often associated with tech companies, where the speed of development and iteration is seen as crucial to staying ahead of the competition.
In essence, the idea is that:
Speed is prioritised: Companies should move quickly to get products and services into the market and gather user feedback.
Mistakes are accepted: The focus is on learning from errors and improving, rather than being paralysed by the fear of failure.
Continuous improvement: The mantra encourages a mindset of constant iteration and adaptation.
Zuckerberg is credited with popularising this philosophy in a 2012 letter to investors, according to a report inLeadDev.
President Trump has suggested the reopening of Alcatraz prison to house America's most dangerous criminals, with some recommending him as the first inmate.
Zuckerberg argued:
According to the article in LeadDev, MFABT is seen as a way to quickly develop and iterate on new products and features. The philosophy encourages companies to challenge the status quo and disrupt existing industries.
It's a way to learn from mistakes and quickly adapt to changing market conditions. But some argue that the focus on speed can lead to neglecting safety and ethical considerations.
Rapid innovation can also lead to unintended negative consequences for users or society with some critics arguing that the focus on metrics and growth can overshadow other important values.
In conclusion, MFABT is a philosophy that has been influential in the tech industry, but it's not without its potential drawbacks. It's a way of thinking that emphasises speed, experimentation and continuous improvement, but it also requires careful consideration of the potential risks and consequences.
I started the journalistic phase of my life 50 years ago when I exiled myself from Richard (I am not a crook)Nixons America during the Viet Nam war. My first job in Australia was as a reporter for ABC Televisions current affairs show, This Day Tonight. Like all journalists, we used typewriters. (A machine with a keyboard similar to a computer, but connected mechanically to keys which printed directly on the paper without a separate printer.)
Information was gathered either through interviews or by library research using books or articles. Now, we have a rapidly expanding technology. Generative AI is just a glorified Google, isnt it?
The biggest casualty in Trump's tariff trade war is the American economy and the nation's consumers.
Anyway, Trump World has totally embraced the MFABT philosophy along withanother concept, introduced bySteve Bannon: Flood the zone with shit.
In U.S. football, flooding the zone refers to an offensive strategy where a team concentrates its pass receivers on one side of the field, forcing the defence to overcommit to that side and potentially creating weaknesses elsewhere.
Steve Bannonsflood the zone refers to his tactic of overwhelming the media and opposition with an avalanche of information, misinformation, and/or action in other words, shit. Combine this with MFABT and you have Trump World.
There is a glaring omission in MFABT thinking: empathy. Nowhere is there any concern for the impact of their glittering, profitable technology on humans.
Martha Stout wrote inThe Sociopath Next Door:
Well, for starters, how about being President of the United States, or maybe a tech oligarch or why not the richest man in the world?
MFABT is now affecting everyone on Earth and even the Earth itself. Climate change is a perfect example. Trump has cancelled renewable energy programs and lifted restrictions on oil and gas drilling.
The tariff chaos is also classic MFABT, which encourages market disruption through challenging the status quo and destroying established commercial and governmental institutions.
Upon his re-election to the White House, Donald Trump's Administration has seen America decline through political, economic and social chaos.
One of the best examples of the impact of MFABT is the DOGE inducedcripplingof the U.S. Social Security System. The DOGE kids moved fast and broke it to the point where people are going hungry. But, of course, that isnt a problem in MFABT thinking.
Actually, DOGE is emerging as something more than MFABT, horrific as that is. Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, isnt stupid. He may have no moral compass, but he knows how to make money a lot of money. How about a scheme to get a whole bunch of sensitive information about Musk's competitors camouflaged as a drive for government efficiency?
According to aNational Labor Relations Boardwhistleblower, this is exactly what happened.
Of course, Trumps disastrous actions dont go unnoticed in the rest of the world, including Australia.
The New York Timescited Trumps tariff war as a key factor in the way Aussies had voted in the 2025 Federal Election:
And outgoing Opposition LeaderPeter Duttons downfall mirrors Conservative LeaderPierre Poilievres defeat in Canadas election on 28 April. In January, Canadas incumbent centre-left Liberals were heading for defeat to the Conservatives. But then, Trump caused a national uproar with his aggressive tariffs and his call for Canada to become the 51st U.S. state.Mark Carneyromped in.
Things are so bad in the U.S. that I wondered about the possibility of a military coup. TheU.S. Constitutionactually provides for such an action.
I tried the old-fashioned technique of asking a human, in this case, a friend who is a retired high-ranking Australian military officer.
Trump's pause on tariffs has led to a global game of political chess and could steer the world into a lose-lose stalemate.
Here are his views:
Sadly, it looks like the cavalry wont be riding over the horizon any time soon to save us from the ongoing U.S. trainwreck. Meanwhile, the insanity continues.
John Bolton, Trump's former national security adviser,calledworking in the Trump White House like living inside a pinball machine.
Nothing escapes the all-seeing attention of the White House, which recently sent out anofficial statementannouncing cuts to Public Radio:
The White House made many complaints of left-wing bias, including Public Radios showSesame Street, when Big Bird and friends partnered with CNN for a town hall. They offended Trump by presenting children with a one-sided narrative to address racism amid the Black Lives Matter riots.
Nothing and no one in America is safe if Trump considers Sesame Street dangerous.
The systematic destruction of American democracy is relentless and determined. The future is bleak. Trump and his MFABT team have already broken so much stuff that there isnt enough Super Glue in all the world to mend it.
DrNorm Sandersis a former commercial pilot, flightinstructor, university professor, Tasmanian State MP and Federal Senator.
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