Latest news with #MAGA-verse
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
5 things to know about Trump, Pope views on wealth, values and why MAGA worries
The American president and the American pope both have their eyes fixed on the late 19th century, but they seem to be drawing very different, if not clashing, lessons. President Donald Trump has recently waxed nostalgically about the period from 1870 to 1913 in defending his imposition of across-the-board tariffs. Cardinal Robert Prevost, in choosing the papal name Pope Leo XIV, follows in the footsteps of Leo XIII who set forth the concept of Catholic social teaching in 1891. While theologians point out the two views are not necessarily contradictory, some in the MAGA-verse were ringing alarms louder than the tolling bells in St. Peter's Square after white smoke heralded the selection of a new pontiff on Thursday. Firebrand Lara Loomer denounced Prevost as "pro-open borders" and Catholics for Catholics President John Yep said he viewed Prevost's election with "great concern." Here are five things to know. Trump speaks of the era as one in which America was at its "richest." Certainly a clique of industrialists and others profited mightily from the country's industrial boom at the time. This was the so-called Gilded Age in U.S. history, in which Manhattan's richest families, such as the Vanderbilts, Astors and Morgans, built palatial estates in Newport, Rhode Island. But for the vast majority of America, life was a very different experience. Many moved to urban centers in search of work and found jobs in factories where the hours were long and the wages minimal. Labor unrest ensued, sometimes turning violent. Immigrants and others working in factories lived in squalor. "It was not uniformly a period of strong growth. The analogies to the 1890s are extremely weak," said Edward Alden at the Council on Foreign Relations in an April interview. "If you're learning lessons from that era, they are going to be the wrong ones for sure." The Progressive Era of American politics ushered in safety protocols, a 40-hour week, anti-child-labor laws and many other workplace reforms. In calling for broad duties on imports, Trump has extolled the nearly 50 years that spanned the last centuries of the past millennium. "You know, years ago, 1870 to 1913, we didn't have an income tax. What we had is tariffs," Trump said in one speech. "And the tariff system made so much money. It was when we were the richest — from 1870 to 1913. … It was when we were the richest." The president has often alluded to wealth, telling Americans he will make them more affluent than ever. He has said he will usher a "golden era" and even redecorated the Oval Office with gold trimmings. 'You see the new and improved Oval Office,' Trump said to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during their May 6 meeting. 'As it becomes more and more beautiful with love — you know we handle it with great love — and 24-karat gold, that always helps too.' As pope, Leo XIV has not mentioned the era nor drawn lessons from it, but has alluded to faith and wealth. In his first homily as pontiff on May 9, Leo XIV cited from the Gospel of Matthew a conversation between Jesus and the disciples in Caesarea Philippi, a place the pontiff said was marked by "luxurious palaces" but "also a place of cruel power plays and the scene of betrayals and infidelity." There, Jesus was a "completely insignificant person," the pope noted, and once this 'world' saw him as a source of irritation, it opted to "eliminate Him." Others there saw Jesus, Leo XIV said, as a courageous "upright man," similar to other great prophets, but at the moment of "danger," they turned away and abandoned him in disappointment. "What is striking about these two attitudes is their relevance today," the pope concluded. "Even today, there are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent. Settings where other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power or pleasure." Sister Maryanne Stevens said the choice of Leo has several messages. Stevens noted Leo I, also called Leo the Great, worked for peace and kept Attila the Hun from entering Italy. The most recent Leo, the 13th, was the founder of modern Catholic social teachings. Leo XIII's encyclical "Rerum Novarem" critiqued the excesses of socialism and capitalism. During his 25-year papacy, from 1878 to 1903, the pontiff exhorted people to "come together guided by values" and preached "solidarity between the classes," said Stevens, a theologian and the retired president of the College in St. Mary in Omaha, Nebraska. According to her, Leo XIII spoke out against "exploitation" of workers by capitalist industrialists but did not agree the "state should take over everything," either. Rather, she said the pontiff recognized the dignity of the human person and called on the broader community to safeguard the rights of people, particular those most vulnerable. She said Leo XIII wrote there is dignity to every human person and extolled the dignity of work. Stevens said the pontiff pressed capitalists to provide safe environments and healthy environments and create just wages. "There was a tremendous amount, at the time, of social inequality and exploitation of people and they were problems that had to be faced by both the Church and the state," she said. "That was one of his basic points." Stevens cautioned against commentary suggesting Leo XIV chose the name in order to send a message to the president. "I'm not prepared to suggest that Leo chose that name so as to respond to Trump," she said. Trump's supporters point out the president won election in 2024 by waging a campaign for blue-collar and other workers forgotten and left behind by U.S. free trade and neglectful manufacturing policies in the past 40 years. He vowed, during the campaign, to end taxation of tips and overtime for wage employment. But once in office, the Trump administration has sought to slash federal spending, including numerous safety net programs for the poorest Americans and the elderly. The White House has also delivered on Trump's harsh rhetoric toward immigrants with equally harsh deportations. Some in the MAGA-verse were decidedly unhappy over Prevost's immigration tweets, some of which rebuked Trump and Vice President JD Vance's views. Loomer, a failed congressional candidate in Palm Beach County, wrote on X that the new pontiff "supports illegal aliens and open borders." Yep said in an interview with Charlie Kirk of the far-right youth group Turning Point USA that he harbored "great concern" because Leo XIV had "an ambiguous scorecard on same sex blessings." In a statement to The Palm Beach Post, Yep reiterated his belief there is "justifiable apprehension" for what the new papacy will bring due to prior postings on social media. But Yep also said other "praiseworthy actions" by Prevost, such as his emphasis on the "defense of babies in the womb," offer hope. "We pray that he will work well with the Trump Administration as well as ending immediately the Francis era Secret Accord between the Vatican and the Chinese Communist Party signed in 2018," Yep wrote. "Catholics above all should be praying for this man as undertakes a tremendous responsibility as head of 1.4 billion people." Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@ Help support our journalism. Subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump, Leo XIV cast gaze on Gilded Age but draw different lessons
New York Times
14-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Matt Gaetz Fell From Grace. But Not Too Far, Apparently.
Losing out on a dream job is always hard. All the more so when you come this close, only to have it snatched away because of, oh, some minor dust-up — for instance, a House ethics report concluding that you indulged in illegal drugs, violated state prostitution laws and, on at least one occasion, may have failed to ascertain whether a sex partner was, strictly speaking, of legal age. Such is the disappointment of Matt Gaetz, the former congressman from Florida and President Trump's original, now defunct pick for attorney general in his new administration. Having been deemed so morally suspect that even President 'Access Hollywood' opted to abandon the fight for him, Mr. Gaetz might have reasonably hidden away for some soul-searching after withdrawing his nomination. But since a core tenet of Trumpism is that shame and self-reflection are for losers, he instead has spent the past several months working to stay politically relevant. Mr. Gaetz, who has denied any wrongdoing, has been hosting a political talk show on One America News Network. He has also been nurturing his relationship with the Republican faithful as the head of a fledgling PAC. He is sparking occasional buzz around possibly running for state office in Florida. And last month, he made common cause with some Trump fanboys of even sketchier moral fiber. In short, Mr. Gaetz is testing another central tenet of the MAGA-verse: So long as one obeys the first commandment of Trumpism — Thou shalt not betray the movement's leader — political resurrection remains a possibility, no matter how low you go. 'The Matt Gaetz Show,' up and running since January, features segments designed to thrill the hearts of OAN's conservative audience, including 'Giving Democrats a Harsh Reality Check' and multiple swipes at deep-blue California. Its saucy spirit seems in keeping with the Florida Firebrand PAC, which touts Mr. Gaetz as its chairman. Established in December, the group has been blasting out fund-raising emails in his name, ranging from garden-variety electioneering to personal whining. Many employ Mr. Trump's muscular use of capitalization. 'TODAY, we are LOSING the House Majority,' Mr. Gaetz warned in a note, sent the day of Florida's special elections this month, that featured the incomparable line: 'BUT the polls haven't closed yet. There's still a slither of hope.' In another missive, declaring 'My life is under attack,' Mr. Gaetz proclaimed himself the victim of a 'BOGUS Witch hunt' by not only 'the Liberal mob' and the 'Corrupt Media' but also his bête noire, the former Republican House speaker Kevin McCarthy. Mr. McCarthy is a recurring villain in Mr. Gaetz's fund-raising dispatches. My favorite so far was the Feb. 26 note, 'K-Street Kevin BENDS THE KNEE!' that was wholly devoted to trashing the erstwhile speaker. Despite his fall from grace, the political climate in Florida is friendly enough that Mr. Gaetz is being talked about for state office. Initially, there were rumblings that he might run for governor next year, though that now seems unlikely with Mr. Trump having endorsed Representative Byron Donalds. The more recent speculation is that Mr. Gaetz could be a contender for state attorney general. Don't laugh. Recent polling suggests plenty of people take him seriously. To claim the party's nomination, Mr. Gaetz would presumably need to best the Republican incumbent, James Uthmeier, a former chief of staff to Gov. Ron DeSantis. The governor appointed Mr. Uthmeier to the post after Ashley Moody decamped to replace Marco Rubio in the Senate. In a survey of likely Republican voters conducted by Tony Fabrizio, who was Mr. Trump's campaign pollster, 39 percent favored Mr. Gaetz versus only 21 percent for Mr. Uthmeier. 'I'm humbled that so many Florida Republicans support me,' Mr. Gaetz told Axios, which first reported the poll. He teased, 'Sometimes the A.G. itch doesn't go away with one scratch.' Such early numbers don't mean much. But they are enough to get Mr. Gaetz and his supporters thinking. The former congressman is already showing signs that he views Mr. Uthmeier as a political rival. Last month he took an online swing at the attorney general in defense of none other than the hard-right, pro-Trump influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate. For those not up on the British American Tate brothers, they are poster boys for misogyny and sexual predation who showed up in Florida earlier this year after a travel ban was lifted by Romania, where they have been under investigation for alleged sex crimes. (Those with a strong stomach should Google the details.) The Tates maintain their innocence. When the brothers arrived in the state in late February, Mr. DeSantis declared them not welcome. In early March, Mr. Uthmeier announced that his office was investigating them. Mr. Gaetz soon jumped into the fray, posting a chummy message of support to Andrew Tate. 'Dude,' he wrote, the governor and his A.G. are 'trying to divide the world between 'wholesome' and 'evil' with themselves as the vanguards of kindness, and you as a symbol of cruelty. It's all just posturing.' Linking arms with one of the globe's most noxious brocasters might seem an odd way to burnish one's political brand. But this is Mr. Trump's America. And Mr. Gaetz long ago embraced the president's strategy of spinning his ethical or legal troubles as a badge of honor — proof of his patriotism and MAGA loyalty — and attempting to ride that victimhood to political advancement. All this might seem like cheesy theatrics, but it captures a core toxicity of the Trump era: spreading the incompetence and venality of the president's own leadership to far-flung corners of the Republican Party — places where the national spotlight does not shine as brightly, but the damage wrought can nonetheless be devastating. Not infrequently, this occurs by recycling and shoring up the political losers and scoundrels among the MAGA faithful. Win or lose, they remain beholden to Mr. Trump. Take the chronic election denier Kari Lake, twice defeated in Arizona in recent years, now reportedly set to be detailed to the State Department. Or Ryan Zinke, who was secretary of the interior during Trump 1, resigned amid a swirl of ethics investigations — which he dismissed as 'meritless and false' and, of course, 'politically motivated' — then went on to win a House seat representing Montana. And let us not forget Ken Paxton, Texas' scandal-ridden attorney general, who has weathered an impressive range of legal drama, including charges of securities fraud and whistle-blower claims of bribery and abuse of office. He was impeached by the Republican-led State House, then acquitted by the Republican-led State Senate. This month, a district court judge ruled that Mr. Paxton had wrongly fired the whistle-blowers, who were awarded $6.6 million. But Mr. Paxton, a pro-Trump firebrand, just wraps himself ever tighter in his cloak of political persecution and keeps on swinging, to the delight of Republican voters. In 2022, he beat back a primary challenge from George P. Bush and went on to win a third term. Last week, he upped the ante, announcing that he would challenge Senator John Cornyn in next year's Republican primary. None of which is to say that Mr. Gaetz is certain to run for office again — or is guaranteed political redemption. But in an era of Trumpist rot and relativism, there is ample reason for him to harbor more than just a slither of hope.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Stupidity Is the Point
When Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was asked Monday about his role in one of the most embarrassing political screwups in United States history, he looked directly into the cameras and went after the real culprit: Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of The Atlantic who was—accidentally, we assume—included in an encrypted group chat earlier this month about plans to bomb Houthi rebels in Yemen. 'This is the guy that pedals in garbage,' Hegseth said, seething. 'This is what he does.' He rattled off a series of scandals from the first Trump administration that he—and his boss—see as media hoaxes, from 'Russia, Russia, Russia' to the 'fine people on both sides' at Charlottesville to the allegation that Trump disparaged fallen soldiers as 'suckers and losers.' Never mind that the Trump administration had already acknowledged that Goldberg's reporting on the Signal app chat was accurate, or that Hegseth ultimately bore responsibility for including a journalist in a discussion of top-secret war plans. In the MAGA-verse, the real culprit is always something or someone else. Whether that strategy will save Hegseth's hide here is unclear. He has to know that, in most administrations, his screwup would be a fireable offense. But this is clearly not a normal administration. Hegseth is there not because he actually has the skills and experience to be the defense secretary, but because the former Fox News host knows to look handsomely into the camera, flagrantly lie, and enthusiastically flatter and defend Dear Leader. Signalgate, as the Beltway media is calling it, has all the hallmarks of a screwup from President Trump's first term; it's reminiscent of when, in May of 2017, he reportedly shared classified information with Russia's foreign minister. The big difference this time around is that it wasn't Trump himself who screwed up—unless you count the fact that he hired these bozos in the first place. But that bring us to one of two reasons why Trump's second term has thus far been worse than the first. Last time around, he staffed his administration with Republican stalwarts who mostly had the requisite experience, but now he's surrounded by lackeys and shills, all of whom have been picked for their loyalty (and, in many cases, have repeatedly expressed that loyalty in the right-wing media). And unlike last time, when Trump seemed entirely unprepared to win the presidency, the political right has been preparing for his return to power for four years. The result is chaos and destruction. The group chat story reads like a modern reimagining of Dr. Strangelove. The participants are planning a bombing campaign against Houthi rebels, who are aligned with Iran; attacking them risks escalating a relatively contained conflict into a regional war. However, that wasn't the primary concern of those on the chat, which apparently included Vice President JD Vance, national security advisor Michael Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, top White House adviser Stephen Miller, director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, among others. The strikes were intended to secure the Suez Canal, which has been routinely disrupted by Houthi rebels for years—but that would benefit America's ostensible European allies. 'I think we are making a mistake,' Vance wrote, reflecting an administration that despises those longtime allies, seeing them instead as freeloaders who rely on U.S. '3 percent of US trade runs through the [Suez]. 40 percent of European trade does. There is a real risk that the public doesn't understand this or why it's necessary.' Later, Vance got to the point: 'I just hate bailing Europe out again.' (Turns out, this administration might love missile strikes even more.) The text thread is a window into the administration's approach to policy issues, but it mostly makes clear that these are stupid, reckless people pursuing stupid, reckless policies. It's not so different from the approach we've seen from Elon Musk's DOGE, where a strikeforce of coders with no government experience storm government buildings and start whipping sledgehammers around. Much of the devastation is intended, and potentially permanent. Entire agencies are no more. But in many cases, the recklessness of the cuts has resulted in the apparently unintended disruption of vital services, causing DOGE to scramble to fix their mistake—like bringing back the air traffic control staffers who were fired, or reinstating a USAID contract to provide lifesaving nutrition to starving children. On the one hand, there is a master plan and that master plan involves the wholesale gutting of the federal government. On the other, in many cases what you see is exactly what happens when you hire loud, stupid, incompetent people for reasons that have nothing to do with professional ability. To be fair, foreign policy and war planning are difficult and complicated, and things often go awry even when competent people are in charge. Look no further than the United States's disastrous pullout from Afghanistan, which happened after years of preparation and nonetheless was a failure so spectacular it may have ultimately led to Trump's reelection. (At the very least, it marked the start of a polling slide for Joe Biden that he never recovered from.) Striking Houthi rebels in Yemen is a much simpler operation. But the way that this administration handles everything makes failure and disaster more likely. What if the next accidentally leaked chat messages are about direct strikes on Iran? Which brings us back to Hegseth talking to reporters. He has a simple playbook: Act like Trump. The administration's failures, like the president's, are never actually their fault. They are the fault of Democrats, liberals, college students, journalists—really anyone who fits the bill. (The bill, specifically, is whatever Fox News will put on a chyron to excuse the administration's failures.) Hegseth is good at this because he was reasonably good at being on television. He got his current job for this reason. The problem with being good on television, however, is that it is perhaps the least transferable skill in existence. It certainly hasn't made Hegseth a remotely competent secretary of defense, just as Trump's years on The Apprentice didn't make him a remotely competent president. But this isn't really a problem for them, is it? They're doing just fine. It's merely a problem for America—both its ability to function internally and its standing in the world. And that's not something these narcissistic nitwits are particularly concerned about.
Al Jazeera
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
It's regular old racism, not ‘Hinduphobia'
It's been an awkward few months for Hindu nationalists who have been eagerly awaiting Trump's return to the White House. There have been a few wins. Strategic and defence ties between India and the US seem stable for now, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the White House. Modi claimed that like Trump's quest to 'Make America Great Again' (MAGA), he too strived to 'Make India Great Again' (MIGA). He added, 'When America and India work together, when it's MAGA plus MIGA, it becomes mega – a mega partnership for prosperity.' Kash Patel has been confirmed to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Born to Gujarati parents, he has been vocal about his Hindu identity and even voiced support for the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya in 2024, on the ruins of a 16th-century mosque demolished by a Hindu nationalist mob back in 1992. Yet Trump's return has also exposed an underbelly of anti-Indian racism in the MAGA-verse. In late December, an apparent 'civil war' broke out in the MAGA-verse and Indian Americans were at the centre of it. The trigger was Donald Trump's appointment of Indian American venture capitalist Sriram Krishnan as senior policy adviser to the White House for Artificial Intelligence (AI). Krishnan's appointment coincided with MAGA debates over the H1B visa scheme that brings skilled foreign workers to the US. Many in Trump's camp have long insisted that its beneficiaries – mostly Indians – undercut the American workforce. Many Trump loyalists, like 'far-right provocateur' Laura Loomer, were outraged at the appointment. Loomer posted on X: 'It's alarming to see the number of career leftists who are now being appointed to serve in Trump's admin when they share views that are in direct opposition to Trump's America First agenda.' A MAGA fan posted on X that people like Krishnan view 'Western nations as economic zones and nothing more' and have 'no business holding positions of power in the American government'. Another agreed and urged President Trump and Vice President Vance to instead 'interview American-born Tech Workers and get their opinion!' More recently, a staff member of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Marko Elez, was forced to resign when he was linked to racist social media posts. One of his posts read, 'Normalize Indian hate'. Yet, Vice President JD Vance, whose wife and mother of his children is a daughter of Indian immigrants, called for him to be hired back. He said that while he disagreed with Elez's posts, he didn't think that 'stupid social media activity should ruin a kid's life'. President Trump agreed with his vice president and Elez was rehired. All of this is not surprising. Racism and xenophobia have been a central pillar of Trump's 'America First' policy. His targets have been undocumented migrants arriving from America's southern borders; refugees and migrants from Muslim-majority countries like Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen; and immigrants from what he termed as 's***hole countries' in Africa and from Haiti and El Salvador entering the US through the 'visa lottery system'. Why can't the US 'have more immigrants from Norway'? Trump wondered. So, it's hardly out of order that MAGA loyalists – who have been promised a draconian crackdown on immigration in Trump's second term – seem to be uncomfortable with a foreign-born, brown-skinned executive, who has advocated for raising country caps on green cards, in the White House. After all, in their eyes, Krishnan epitomises the old trope of the insidious foreigner taking jobs that belong to honest, hardworking Americans. But rather than calling it racism, Hindu groups are crying 'Hinduphobia'! Why? In part, it's because Trump's racism and xenophobia are what Hindu groups have long endorsed. In general, they view Trump as 'good for business' when it comes to Hindu nationalist politics. Trump and Modi have indeed nurtured a longstanding bromance. But Hindu groups' endorsement of Trump is not just about this affinity between the two leaders. It's about values. Trump's disdain for DEI policies and affirmative action jibes well with Hindu nationalists' disdain for any liberal talk of anti-Caste discrimination, affirmative action or legislation protecting the rights of marginalised communities, be it at home in India or the diaspora. The MAGA brand of Islamophobia is also one that Hindu nationalists can get behind. After all, violence and discrimination against India's Muslims have been a marquee feature of the Modi-led Hindu nationalist brand of governance. Similarly, Trump's xenophobia wasn't seen as incompatible with Hindu nationalist talking points. For them, the demonisation of undocumented migrants or the securitisation of Muslim immigrants only reinforced the characterisation of Indian Hindus in the US as the 'model migrant' who contribute positively to the US economy and society. But this turning of the tide against the model Indian immigrant was not something they had planned for. They had endorsed Trump's racism and xenophobia, hoping it would conveniently spare them as the exception. So, unable to call it racism – lest this exposes the hypocrisy of their endorsement of Trump – Hindu groups are crying 'Hinduphobia'. The politics surrounding the charge of 'Hinduphobia' in this context are highly problematic. Violence and discrimination are indeed a reality for Hindus in many places in the world. However, arguing that the attacks on Krishnan and the MAGA-verse's outrage over the H1B visa scheme is an outgrowth of systemic discrimination against Hindus is inaccurate. In fact, a recent study by the Center for the Study of Organized Hate reveals that while social media platforms like X were indeed rife with 'anti-Indian hatred against Indians and Indian-Americans', these attacks were 'not exclusively aimed at Hindus'. Rather, they targeted 'everyone perceived to be of Indian origin' which includes Sikhs. More generally, according to the FBI's hate crime statistics, Hindus are one of the least targeted religious groups in the country. Nonetheless, the charge of 'Hinduphobia' – one that has been 'popularised among Hindu nationalist groups in the United States' – serves a political agenda in two ways. For one thing, it feeds into the longstanding Hindu nationalist claim that Indian-ness is synonymous with Hinduism. This argument purposefully overlooks the diversity of religious and ethnic identities that make up the sociocultural fabric of India. It also falsely paints Hindus as a systemically marginalised group – a claim that is then weaponised against academics and activists who criticise Hindu nationalist politics, often leading to death and rape threats against such individuals and their families. It is also used to evade and delegitimize any criticism of caste discrimination in India or the diaspora and Hindu nationalist hate speech and violence against Indian Muslims and Christians. Unfortunately, the vocabulary of 'Hinduphobia' is not just a talk-point of Hindu nationalist groups. It may soon become legislation. Congressman Shri Thanedar introduced a resolution in April 2024 that celebrates Hindu contributions to the US and condemns 'Hinduphobia, and anti-Hindu bigotry'. A year before that the Georgia Assembly also passed a resolution condemning Hinduphobia. Under Trump 2.0, racism, bigotry and discrimination will be an incessant feature of everyday life and politics. And false claims of 'Hinduphobia' only distract us from the real suffering of the country's marginalised communities.
