Speaking hypothetically…
A Promised Land – America as a Developing Country, by Stephen Golub, Benicia resident and author, June 7, 2025 [UPDATED ON 6/10/25] (Previously appearing in The Benicia Herald, “Benicia & Beyond,” 6/8/25)
In the 1962 film, “The Manchurian Candidate,” a US soldier is captured during the Korean War and brainwashed in Manchuria (a part of China bordering Korea) by Chinese and Russian agents. They then arrange his supposedly heroic “escape” that earns him the Medal of Honor back in America.
The point of this plan? Acting as an automaton, he will then unwittingly assassinate a presidential candidate and usher in an authoritarian regime serving our enemies’ interests.
Which brings us to Donald Trump. I am not suggesting that he’s been brainwashed or that he deliberately prioritizes the Kremlin over America. His main motivators instead seem to be money, power and narcissism.
But, speaking hypothetically, what if Trump were in fact a “Manchurian President,” brainwashed by Russia to undermine the United States? What would he do?
He would intentionally and illegally call in the National Guard and Marines to inflame legitimate protests and to open the door to even more inflammatory, repressive steps.
He would, in contrast, do nothing for hours on January 6, 2021, as insurrectionists violently tried to take over the U.S. Capitol and block a presidential election’s certification.
He would pardon those very insurrectionists and praise them as patriots.
He would badmouth democracies far more than despots.
He would insult long-time friends such as Canada and Denmark by threatening their territorial integrity.
He would have his vice president back a Russia-friendly neo-Nazi party in Germany.
He would alienate other democratic allies through statements, trade policies and foreign policy decisions that force them to reconsider their relations with us.
He would purge the U.S. military brass of many officers, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, likely to prize fealty to the Constitution over loyalty to him.
He would gut our National Security Council staff and other parts of the government that guard us against efforts to cripple our security and democracy.
He would abandon Ukraine, whose fight against Russia’s brutal aggression is so crucial to European security and democracy that even formerly neutral Sweden and Finland have joined NATO.
He would appoint incompetents or people sympathetic to hostile powers to top national security positions.
He would take little action when such officials engage in discussions that leak combat plans to outsiders.
He would sabotage American soft power by ravaging foreign aid and sacrificing millions of lives abroad through public health cuts.
He would attack our democratic institutions right and left, including by condemning judges and extorting law firms and media outlets.
He would authorize a fellow narcissist and associated techno-brats to hastily purge the government of expertise, personnel and resources in a matter of weeks.
He would impose massive staff and funding cuts on medical and other research, harming public health in particular and American scientific leadership in general.
He would select individuals with bizarre public health ideas to head agencies charged with protecting the public against pandemics.
He would deregulate a cryptocurrency industry that could run amok even as it enriches him and his allies.
He would push tariff policies that whiplash practically daily and could hurl the U.S. economy into a tailspin.
He would back budget-busting, billionaire-benefiting legislation that would both damage the economy and deny health care to millions.
He would so undercut America’s financial and defense credibility that the world could lose confidence in the country for decades.
He would seek to block thousands of brilliant foreign students from studying here, ensuring that many of them will instead benefit other nations’ universities, economies and societies.
He would engage in rhetoric that cleaves our country in unprecedented ways, with boasts of retribution and brutal social media blasts against anyone who opposes him.
He would pardon other criminals in exchange for financial favors or political loyalty.
He would embark on an unparalleled reign of corruption that wreaks havoc on our rule of law at home and our image abroad.
He would order a $45 million, Soviet-style military parade on June 14, ostensibly to honor the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary but in reality to celebrate his birthday that day.
He would do all this – and far more – less than 10 percent of the way into his presidency.
He would assume that he can’t and won’t be stopped.
>>> Which brings us to the “No Kings” rallies taking place across the country on June 14. The Benicia gathering will be at the City Park Gazebo (near the corner of 1st Street and Military West) from 1 to 2 pm.
>>>Through such demonstrations, we demonstrate to the media, the world and ourselves that we’re not giving up. By showing up, we’re standing up for democracy.
CHECK OUT STEPHEN GOLUB’S BLOG,
A PROMISED LAND
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