While the lifestyle of the American Empire is unsustainable, including a massive Pentagon expenditure now peaks at $1 trillion plus while the total $37 trillion debt can be expected to increase by a $3 trillion addition, a debt ceiling increase at $5 trillion as well as a $590 billion cut to SNAP and Medicaid – all at the expense of the American population.

As Donald Trump assumed the 47^th Presidency in January, he was immediately confronted with the tightest partisan voting margin in Congress. The House re elected Speaker Mike Johnson (La) with as tight as it gets at 218 – 214 while the Senate elected Sen. John Thune Majority Leader with a slim 53-47 requiring every GOP vote for passage.   

The Peace President, who was once intent on dropping out of and/or dismantling NATO, a cold-war relic, returned from the Summit in the Hague, with a renewed enthusiasm that the international military alliance had adopted a $1 trillion budget with its members equally enthusiastic. Time will tell how many of its Members actually increase their annual donation to the expected 5% share. Having been hosted by King Willem-alexander, Trump was gratified that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte referred to the President as “Daddy,” presumably in reference to the Father of NATO which proves that a little flattery can go a long way.

At the same time, the Ukraine war continued to grind on, with Trump having failed to end the conflict as promised. The President appears uncertain that his Presidential authority includes leverage to discontinue US funding and weaponry which would have halted the conflict some months ago. In his scant six months in the Oval Office, the President has displayed no real evidence of how to use diplomacy to end war or reduce international tensions. Putin’s strategic decision to protect Russian sovereignty from NATO encroachment at its border has been grossly mismanaged by the US as NATO presumed to provide weapons to Ukraine for next ten years.

Meanwhile, unscripted hurdles rose their ugly head when Israel initiated a preemptive and unprovoked attack on Iran for daring to enrich uranium for its domestic nuclear program. Included in the unprecedented attack by Israel were the assassinations of Iran’s IRGC  leadership as well as more than a dozen nuclear scientists. Iran has been conducting its nuclear program all within international law and under the auspices of the NPT (Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty) and the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Association) which  apparently leaked names of Iran’s nuclear science program to Israel. All of which Israel denies its possession of an unregulated, illegal  nuclear arsenal in opposition to the UN Charter and internal law rejecting all oversight or accountability.

There is an inexplicable dynamic underway with the mantra that President Trump does not want a war; yet the Ukraine conflict continues with US support, the Trump administration initiated a bombing of Houthis at Yemen and its initial support for Israel’s unprovoked attack on Iran. Despite self identified as a Peace President, Trump fatally flawed to understand his Presidential authority could preclude Ukraine from receiving a continued stash of American weapons. Without American support, the Ukraine conflict and even the Israeli attack on Iran would fizzle out from a lack of armaments as Trump remains frozen and unable to halt each conflict.    

Trump promised to “build the strongest military the world has ever seen’ and ‘I want to be known as peacemaker and unifier’ nothing close to his extremist rhetoric has failed to stop the Ukraine war. Contrary to press secretary verbiage, the  ‘president kept world safe in peace through strength agenda’ and that the ‘president is always interested in a diplomatic solution and global conflicts in this world; he is the peace through strength president, he wants to be peacemaker in chief and if there’s a chance for diplomacy the president is always going to grab it.’   

Ms. Press Secretary misrepresented Trump’s behavior and action as compared to his campaign, pre-inaugural and inaugural rhetoric most likely keeping his Noble Peace Prize hopes alive. The President has an unfortunate habit of personalizing all opposition, uttering the most intemperate and sometimes verbally extremist positions.  

Trump’s indecisiveness has failed to exhibit sufficient moral integrity to keep his word to stop the war displaying a personal weakness. Even at one late hour during the NATO Summit, in response to a reporter whose husband was serving  in Ukraine military: Trump expressed a desire to provide more weapons:  

“we’re going to see if we can make some (patriot missiles) available; they’re very hard to get, we were supplying them to Israel. They do want them more than any other thing; that’s a very good  question.” 

He then expressed compassion with ‘I wish you a lot of luck” and  shockingly ‘say hello to your husband’ provided no diplomatic path to peace. 

*

With mid term elections around the proverbial corner, the political pressure intensifies with One Big Beautiful Bill which won approval in the House  by one vote and is still being debated in the Senate.   In the House Rep. Tom Massie (Ky) and Rep. Warren Davidson (Ohio) voted against the BBB (215-214-1) while in the Senate. Sen. Thom Tillis (NC) and Sen. Rand Paul ( Ky) voted No (51-49 ) on Motion to Proceed.  

Trump allowed himself to be distracted by the popular Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky) who the President refers to as a ‘lightweight’ and “grandstander.” While Massie openly disagrees with certain particulars of the President’s agenda, Trump is unable to let anything slide without  a snide level of sarcasm.   

Anyone who follows Massie knows the accusation of being ‘lightweight’ does not fit for someone who consistently votes his conscience and has called for a Federal Reserve audit and, in frustration, introduced the Federal Reserve Abolition Act.

On June 22^nd, the President posted a Truth Social critique of Massie which exposed a level of pettiness and an ill temper that serves no one; including Massie who doesn’t the President’s ire.     

Apparently at the President’s urging, MAGA Kentucky has already organized a $1 million smear campaign urging constituents to vote against Massie’s re election and has already begun in his western Kentucky Congressional district. The MAGA Kentucky has overplayed its hand by seeking a candidate to primary Massie who survived an AIPAC as a staunch partisan for Israel primary challenge in 2024 with70% of the vote after Massie revealed, in a Tucker Carlson interview that AIPAC assigns a ‘babysitter’ to every Member of Congress to guarantee all votes will support the pro-Israel lobby. 

Even as Moody’s has downrated the US credit rating inevitable, due to US debt; yet congress pays  little attention; symbolic and irrelevant. three to six months to see where impact will surface – not a good investment/no intention of fiscal responsibility – devaluing US dollars. 

*

As the One Big Beautiful Bill has stalled BBB in the Senate still wrestling over its Medicaid cuts and other details, two-time Senator, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) became recipient of another Truth Social bombshells announcing his No vote in support of the BBB. In another diatribe of name-calling for his unwillingness to support the BBB, Trump cited Tillis “unable to understand the importance of debt extension” with a willingness to throw the state’s tobacco industry ‘out the window for reasons nobody seems to understand.” Immediately after casting his No vote on the Senate floor, the President announced he would use his influence to primary Tillis but not before Tillis announced his retirement from the Senate. Stepping down from a key battleground state promises the President an expensive and highly competitive race to maintain  control of the Senate. 

T‘s hyperbolic in all things exaggerates every nuance of its magnitude.  

In addition, DOGE Director, Presidential funder, Tesla and X owner and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk repeated his opposition to the BBB as it “will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country!” but Musk has already left the Trump Administration. 

Click the share button below to email/forward this article. Follow us on Instagram and X and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost Global Research articles with proper attribution.

Renee Parsons has been an elected public official in Colorado, an environmental lobbyist with Friends of the Earth and a staff member in the US House of Representative in Washington, DC. Before its demise, she was also a member of the ACLU’s Florida State Board of Directors and President of the ACLU Treasure Coast Chapter. She is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image source

Global Research is a reader-funded media. We do not accept any funding from corporations or governments. Help us stay afloat. Click the image below to make a one-time or recurring donation.

Source link