The new Trump/Musk regime, which has chosen the MAGA (Make America Great Again) doctrine for itself, is focused on radically changing the American regime, which was founded after 1945, changed in the 1970s and entered the Neocon-Zionist structure after 2001. However, the team it has established does not have state experience, military wisdom accumulation, diplomacy and negotiation culture.
The Minister of Defense is a news anchor, the Minister of the Navy has never been on a warship in his life and the other ministers are incompetent to a degree that cannot be compared to the merit and experience of previous periods.
In such an environment, Elon Musk has pressed the button to create a radical change in the bureaucracy. The state will shrink and many civil servants will be replaced by artificial intelligence and pro Trump circles. But who will make the decisions? If decisions like Trump’s latest Gaza vision are to be made, the US and the world will have difficult times. Although Trump announced that he will serve lofty goals such as stopping wars in this process, the risk of starting new crises is also very great. In other words, there is a high probability of making many mistakes while doing one right.
American Democracy Is Now Lame
The US is rapidly moving away from its traditional founding values in the Trump era after January 20, 2025. Trump’s Executive Orders continue to destroy the leading principles and values of American democracy. The rule of law, individual rights and freedoms, protection of minority rights, equality and most importantly, the separation of powers are being trampled. The closure or dismantling of government institutions by the newly established DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) headed by Elon Musk without congressional approval; the dismissal of public officials, the deportation of minorities who have gained their citizenship rights; the pardoning of all individuals convicted in the January 6, 2020 Congressional storming; purges, investigations and dismissals reminiscent of the years of McCarthyism are a few examples.
This lawlessness and rule-breaking within the US and Trump’s revanchism will undoubtedly lead to tensions that will reach the brink of major polarization and even civil war, the results of which are difficult to predict today. It is known that Elon Musk and his DOGE team took control of most of the federal bureaucracy and sensitive government computer systems in the first week of February, and became in a position to oversee the entire government payment system, including Social Security checks, tax refunds and Medicare benefits. It is also known that Musk took control of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the General Services Administration (GSM), which are key institutions of the US government. Let us remind you that nearly 2 million civil servants were threatened to resign by receiving 8 months of their salaries in advance or suffer the consequences. Purges that can only be observed in underdeveloped democracies in coups and post-civil war periods are starting to occur during the Trump-Musk era. This may be called an oligarchic coup. The probability of seeing the US domestic front collapse rapidly will increase with each passing day.
Trump and Executive Orders
On the other hand, some good things can be said about Trump’s executive orders. For example, the closure of the USAID (United States Agency for International Development), the largest instrument of the USA’s hybrid warfare capability and the CIA, and the freezing of its national/international funds at the beginning of February 2025 by Trump were a great step for humanity. Elon Musk, described this institution which is also active in Turkey, not as a worm in an apple but as an apple full of worms. It is known that USAID, together with the CIA, Soros foundations and NED (National Endowment for Democracy), carried out color revolutions, coups and regime changes, especially in countries that have an important place in the regions of rimland geopolitics.
However, Trump’s announcement on February 4, 2025 of his intention to seize the Gaza Strip by deporting 2 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip to Egypt and Jordan and turning the region into a Riviera was an example of illegality and rule-breaking that has not been seen in recent history. It is known that the deportation proposal in question was first made by Netanyahu on behalf of the fundamentalist Israeli government after the attacks of October 7, 2023.
While Trump initiated discussions of imposition and sovereignty over Mexico, Canada, Panama and Greenland/Denmark in the new period, he is also embarking on irrational projects in the Eastern Mediterranean on behalf of Israel under the influence of his son-in-law, the Jewish real estate agent Kushner and Netanyahu. These projects, which are difficult to realize, are no different from the ethnic cleansing attempts of England in India and the USA on Native American peoples in the 19th century colonialism.
The rule-based world established by the USA after World War II was greatly damaged by the end of the Cold War. We see that the final nail was hammered into the coffin during the Trump era. During the 2017-2021 period of the first Trump era, at least in respect of the principle of separation of powers at home was apllied. There was a check and balance at least under the pressures from the domestic institutions. We remember that Trump at least adapted to Congress in those years. However, in this new period, we see a regime that acts without limits, with a great sense of revenge and overconfidence. It is also obvious that this regime, which has chosen the MAGA (Make America Great Again) doctrine for itself, is also in the service of MIGA (Make Israel Great Again) thanks to its Ultra Zionist Trump government.
Trump and the Digital-Oligarchic Structure
Trump is trying to strengthen the traditional American right with digital giants in order to fill the MAGA doctrine. It is understood that one of the aims of the state reduction operations carried out through DOGE is to reduce mass criticism by using the reshaped state power through social media and other media forces and to make the new authoritarian right represented by Trump. A great bureaucratic purge is being carried out in all institutions affiliated with the Trump regime which is formed under loyalty not quality.
A permanent pro-Trump and pro-MAGA habitat is being created that will form the basis for the coming decades. In this context, Trump’s presence at the oath ceremony with digital world leaders such as Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Sundar Pichai was a harbinger of this period. Now, in an environment where inflation will increase due to import taxes it is inevitable not to be affected by the heightened social tension which can only be kept under control with digital policing, where the authoritarian state will control the social media. The digital policing period will be an easy method to implement in the USA, which the people become accustomed to digital culture and has become completely dependent on it.
Today, the Trump administration aims to equip politics with a different chemistry by equipping the conservative traditional right with the technical and social media means brought by digital technology, especially in the war which he has started against the “Woke culture” that Democrats prioritize. It is important to keep its close allies such as X, Facebook and the Washington Post, social media and media owners close to the regime. The term “Woke” has been used since 2014 to describe people who are aware of the social consequences of slavery, racial and sexual orientation discrimination. The USA has tried to direct the people’s energy to different areas from time to time. For example, after World War II, the United States saw a significant increase in religious sensitivity and commitment. In 1954, “Under God” was added to the Pledge of Allegiance recited in schools. In 1955, “In God We Trust” was added to the dollar bill. Anti-communism was effective in this process. After all, communists were atheists and had to position themselves against the US. Since the US always needed enemies, religious belief was encouraged as a sign of patriotism and a defense against communism. Evangelicals came to the forefront by preaching a message of national revival. Black churches, in particular, played an important role in the Civil Rights Movement. Many religious leaders framed social justice in moral and biblical terms. Neoliberalism also reformatted all values in the US after the 1980s. Especially the WOKE culture and the LGBTQ movement were defended in the coastal areas that voted for Democrats. The MAGA doctrine will now transfer conservative right-wing values to the entire US via the digital world using the possibilities of the oligarchic techno-state. Time will tell how it will be used to suppress popular movements that will occur as a result of high taxes and the loss of deported cheap labor and the inflation and cost of living that will increase.
Trump’s Role Models
Looking at Trump’s statements and actions, it can be said that he takes four Presidents from the past as his role models. We can say that he takes as an example the practices of the 5th President of the USA, one of the founding fathers James Monroe; the 7th President, former soldier and founder of the Democratic Party Andrew Jackson; the 25th President, lawyer and Republican Party member William McKinley; and the 40th President of the USA, Ronald Reagan, through the paradigm of Peace through Power. James Monroe, the last president among the founding fathers of the USA in the 18th century, implemented policies based on economic protectionism, anti-immigration and the superiority of American interests. With the Monroe doctrine, he prevented European powers from intervening in the American continent in the Western Hemisphere. In domestic politics, executive orders emphasized a very strong presidential administration and intervened very often in Congress and the judiciary.
President Andrew Jackson, who was the architect of the westward expansion of the US with his thesis of “Manifest Destiny” at the beginning of the 19th century, was a defender of a statist, executive order-using, very powerful presidential regime. He was hostile to the US elites and bankers. He defended small farmers and workers. Trump, despite being a Republican, defends ordinary people against the political elite. Similarly, Trump criticizes the career politicians and media elites whom he describes as the Washington swamp. Both are leaders who are focused on keeping the federal state above the states with their ultra-nationalist characters. Trumps’s idea of forcibly removing Palestinians from Gaza or deporting them to Egypt and Jordan can be likened to Jackson’s practice of forcibly removing Native American tribes west of the Mississippi River, where tens of thousands died. Trump imitates Andrew Jackson with the idea of replacing trade with war. However, he fails to see that geopolitical requirements, especially on issues such as NATO expansion, are not compatible with this thesis. For example, would Russia allow NATO expansion for the sake of commercial interests? Or would Turkey end the Turkish island state by withdrawing its troops from the TRNC for the sake of EU membership? (Although our record on this issue is not very good…)
President William McKinley, who surpassed the UK economy in production in 1890 and paved the way for global Economic leadership, also had the principle of America First, like Trump. He imposed high taxes on imports to protect American industrialists. He was one of the pioneers of the US’s growth both continentally and globally. During his term, he made Theodore Roosevelt, the great imperialist who would later carry the US to the global naval power league and become the US President in 1901, Minister of the Navy. T. Roosevelt, who was advised by Admiral Mahan, occupied Hawaii, the Philippines, Guam, Samoa, Puerto Rico with the help of the Navy. Trump was also assassinated like Mc Kinley. However, Mc Kinley could not be saved.
The Axes of the MAGA Regime
The US regime is currently moving on four different axes in foreign policy. If we go in order of priority: First, the axis expanding the continental integrity of the US. Second, the axis serving the geopolitics of Israel, which keeps the US under its influence in every direction, in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean. Third, the traditional Rimland Geopolitics axis of the US. Fourth, the axis focusing on dominating the Cyber World and Space. The US is putting forward the paradigm of “peace through strength”, as defined by Trump, in order to achieve its political, economic and military goals on four axes. It is trying to deter its opponents and ensure stability in the world order through military power, economic imposition and strong diplomacy. However, the Trump regime is not in the position of maintaining peace, but on the contrary, it is in the position of a state that harms world stability, with its latest example of wanting to seize Gaza or demanding land and sovereignty from most of its close allies and neighbors. Russian Foreign Minister and experienced diplomat Lavrov makes the following criticism on this issue: “America First is reminding us of Nazi Germany’s policy of ‘Germany above all (Deutschland Uber Alles)’. Washington’s reliance on “peace through strength” threatens to completely eliminate diplomacy and dangerously echoes Nazi ideology. Such an ideology fails to respect the United States’ obligations under the UN Charter.”
The Axis that Expands the Continental Integrity of the United States
Trump believes that the United States is a bastion of democracy and freedom, the owner of global military power and economic leadership, and that it is his duty to dominate the world, and that he was even given a divine mission by God. There are examples of American presidents who believe that they have been chosen by God. George W. Bush also said that God gave him this duty when Operation Iraqi Freedom began. But the power of the United States is waning. The multipolar world has been established. It is no longer possible for them to achieve world leadership. Therefore, Trump and his team have focused the declining American power on developing their own continental integrity. Since the 1930s, the United States has aimed to include the entire North American continent. Trump’s Panama, Mexico, Canada and Greenland theses serve this purpose. First, we can say that the aim is to transform the North American continent into a US island, including the sea areas from the Arctic Ocean to the south of the Panama Canal, through trade wars and then geopolitical struggle. Thus, it will be possible to compete with Russia, which has opened the gap between itself and the US in the Arctic Ocean, and to reduce the impact of the newly opened Northern Sea Route (NSR) on global maritime trade routes. Although Trump’s insistence on Greenland is apparently due to its natural resources, the real reason is to control the Arctic Ocean and to ensure that the Greenland, Iceland and England (GIUK Gap) gap, which Russian nuclear submarines pass through when they exit the Atlantic Ocean, is under American control.
The Axis Serving Israeli Geopolitics
Image: Mike Huckabee
Israel has begun to receive much greater support from the US during the Trump era compared to the Biden era. The situation of the ultra-Zionist ministers in the Trump cabinet is clear evidence of this. Elise Stefanik, Trump’s choice for the United Nations Ambassador, said during her Senate interview that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank was a right in accordance with the Holy Book, while Mike Huckabee, Trump’s choice for ambassador to Israel, had previously said, “There is no such thing as the West Bank. There is Judea and Samaria.” Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel during his first term as president, and the West Bank was occupied by Israel.
He did not approve the UN resolution that did not allow the Settlement in West Bank; recognized the Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights, and implemented a very harsh policy against Iran, canceling the Iranian nuclear research plan of the Obama era (JCPOA). As soon as he took office in his second term, he lifted the embargo on the sale of all destructive weapons, including the sale of 1-ton bunker-busting bombs (MOABs), the sale of which was blocked during the Biden era. Despite the fact that $18 billion worth of sales and 70,000 tons of ammunition were transferred to Israel since the Hamas raid on October 7, 2023, Trump did not stop. 60% of the US public is against arms shipments to Israel, however the arming of Israel continues. He hosted Netanyahu as the first official visitor of his second term and, alongside him, he came up with the idea of taking over Gaza and deporting 2 million Gazans to Jordan and Egypt. Although the White House spokesman and his close staff later said that this was a misunderstanding, Trump spoke his mind. This discourse is as extreme and dangerous as the most extreme Zionist politician. Why does the US protect and look after Israel to this extent? French political consultant and author Thierry Meyssan suggests the following on this subject:
“Donald Trump is committed to the doctrine of “American Exceptionalism”. According to this doctrine, the United States is a light on a ‘hill’ chosen by God to illuminate the world. This doctrine is directly derived from the ideals of the Pilgrim Fathers (the first religious Protestant Christians to come to the US). All of the first 47 US presidents have embraced this mythology. This mythology also explains the US’s indifference to international law and its unconditional support for the state of Israel. The US has historically refused to be held accountable abroad. For example, when Donald Trump withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement, we thought it was because he found the agreement absurd. However, the real reason is the US’s principle of not submitting to an international court of justice. While Obama and Biden opposed this principle for ideological reasons, Trump remained loyal to his own ideology and returned to the traditional line of the US.”
In this context, it should be emphasized again that the US and Israel are the two countries in the world that do not comply with international court decisions and UN Security Council decisions. On the other hand, there is a large Christian Zionist political and financial base in the US that has close ties to the most extreme right-wing political elements of Israel. This base is extremely influential and powerful in every field in the US, but especially in the American presidential election processes. American politics is mostly under the control of this base. That is why, even if the American people oppose arms sales to Israel or the US standing by Israel with its military power, the ruling elites never comply.
Traditional Rimland Geopolitics Axis
Rimland geopolitics and the strategy of containing rising Asian Powers are the product of the last 75 years. No government, including Trump, can change this axis. Because this is the strategy that brought the US to global leadership after World War II and won the Cold War. Trump can only oppose a war with Russia through because of NATO expansion. Because NATO and the US have actually taken the maximum they can in the geopolitical field in Europe. The Adriatic and Baltic Seas are NATO seas.
The majority of the Black Sea is NATO shores, but they do not have freedom of movement in this sea due to the Montreux Convention. At this stage, NATO’s expansion to Georgia and Ukraine will only serve to completely surround Russia from land. However it will not eliminate Montreux. Since Russia responded to both countries’ NATO membership initiatives and fait accompli with weapons, Trump will not attempt a new trial and will accept the current situation. However, he will try every way to completely distance Azerbaijan and Armenia from Russia without making them NATO members. Similarly, he will try every method for Iran and Azerbaijan to become enemies; to create a rift between Azerbaijan and Russia and to position Azerbaijan against Iran if Israel intervenes in Iran with the US in the future.
However, it should be emphasized that, except for the Iran scenario, Russia will not reach the stage of armed conflict and escalation as it did during the Biden period. Trump, who is aware that Russia will definitely win in Ukraine, should be able to present to the public that Russia has losses in other areas in order to make the American people digest this situation. The Caucasus and the Baltic regions are important for this. In this context, for example, it is important for the Baltic states to cut all electricity support relations with Russia as of February 2025; or for a new tense period to begin with Russia in Azerbaijan. For Trump, it is essential to maintain the status quo in Europe without provoking Russia and to preserve the real energy for China. If a different need arises in the meantime, this need will be reserved for Israel.
On the other hand, the EU has been prevented from becoming an economic rival to the US during the Biden period. Germany in particular has been distanced from cheap energy, large companies have been encouraged to switch to production in the US, and an attempt has been made to deindustrialize Europe. The US will also distance itself from the defense of the EU, which has stagnated economically during the Trump period, and will end the 75-year free defense process of the EU states. The NATO Secretary General is aware of this situation and is making a ridiculous point with a propaganda such as the Russian threat and the whole of Europe being ready to speak Russian soon. In fact, he ignores that the world has entered a period of competition between great powers like the one before the First World War. In this process, instead of seeking adventure in Europe, he avoids seeing that Russia should spend energy calculating what to do when it enters a geopolitical competition process with a growing China in the future.
Axis Focused on Dominating the Cyber World and Space
The Finance/Capital and Military Industry partnership, which has been fed by continuous wars in the US for the last 75 years, has shifted to a new axis. This axis now includes the digital oligarchy, space industry and military industry trio. On this front, areas such as access to rare metals, leadership in new technologies and R&D superiority for game-changing inventions, which are at least as important as the rimland geopolitics are gaining importance. In this context, DOGE Minister Elon Musk’s message on February 7, 2025 is important. He says:
“American weapons programs need to be completely rebuilt. The current strategy is to produce a small number of weapons at high cost to continue yesterday’s war. If urgent and fundamental changes are not made, America will lose the next war very badly.”
In this context, artificial intelligence, hypersonic weapons, quantum computers that will break crypto systems, cloud technologies, autonomous unmanned and armed vehicles fed by artificial intelligence used in the air, on land, on the surface and underwater, drones suitable for swarm tactics, development of new detection systems instead of acoustic energy, which has many deficiencies for detecting submarines, replacement of conventional explosive-carrying firearms with laser, microwave and similar directed energy systems (DEWS), development of systems resistant to all kinds of electronic interference and software/hardware attacks in C4ISR (Command, Control, Communication, Computer, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) systems; Space-based weapons and satellite destruction (ASAT) capabilities, studies for the exploration of the Moon and Mars, reusable space vehicles, military space planes, mega-network clusters of satellites (Satellite Mega Constellations), nuclear-powered space propulsion power will be the decisive areas in the competition between the US and other powers, especially China and Russia.
Trump’s statement at the inauguration ceremony that they aim to go to Mars is a declaration of the MAGA regime’s most extreme vision. The fact that Elon Musk was with him instead of the NASA President in this statement reveals the characteristics of the new era. We can say that the war has actually started in this area. For example, China responded to Trump, who acted with taxes and trade wars instead of declarations that would directly increase tension, with the Deep Seek Artificial Intelligence Initiative, and the Trump era faced its first challenge in the digital world. DeepSeek, which was developed at a cost of less than 6 million dollars, turned the stock markets upside down against the American ChatGPT, which cost 5 billion dollars.
Where Is the World Going with Trump?
Image: Marco Rubio
The fault lines and high pressure areas that Trump created while establishing the new USA will reveal new imbalances in the world. The world is in a conjuncture similar to the situation experienced in 1945. The multipolar world order is now being fully established. It is important that Foreign Minister Marco Rubio stated that “we are now in a multipolar world with very big powers in different parts of the planet.” On the other hand, Trump’s Gaza proposal and giving Israel a blank check for new massacres or his attempts to expand the US continental perimeter with examples such as Mexico, Panama, Canada and Greenland are initiatives that harm global stability. These and similar initiatives will increase in the near and medium term. Will Trump codify the foundations of a multipolar world with a new Yalta/Potsdam or will the ceasefire lines to be drawn with de facto developments determine the new world order? Time will show this. However, the reality is that the Trump administration has accepted the existence of a multipolar world as Rubio stated by adapting to the difficult situation the US is in. The US is trying to establish a new world with Trump. America First and the MAGA doctrine will change the 80-year-old established world order. Moving away from the dollar, accepting new organizations such as the SCO and new economic formations such as the BRICS can be expected in this process.
However, it should not be forgotten that the US’s inseparable alliance and bond with Israel, which is accused of genocide has made the United States an unreliable state that is not loyal to the rule of law and human rights, even if they do not care. In this case, it is inevitable that the US role of policing and mediation, which intervened in everything, will come to an end. This situation will also change the exisiting balances in the countries that are vassals of the USA. On the other hand, it is not possible for the economic and international order of the last 80 years to change in a short time. The US will have to abandon exceptionalism and act on an equal footing with other great powers. The rule-based world will continue on the reform of the UN order, the foundations of which were laid by the five victorious states at the end of World War II. There is no other solution. While the United Nations, which needs to undergo comprehensive reform including the Security Council as supported by the rising rival power China, continues its central role, loyalty to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter should be taken as a basis. The monopoly of Western dominance in the UN and affiliated international organizations should be abandoned, and the arbitrary trade wars, sanctions and embargoes implemented by the US in violation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules based on its dollar dominance should be prevented. Each day ahead will continue to be more creative and uncertain than the previous one, parallel to the decisions to be made by the new oligarchy established by Trump.
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Ret Admiral Cem Gürdeniz, Writer, Geopolitical Expert, Theorist and creator of the Turkish Bluehomeland (Mavi Vatan) doctrine. He served as the Chief of Strategy Department and then the head of Plans and Policy Division in Turkish Naval Forces Headquarters. As his combat duties, he has served as the commander of Amphibious Ships Group and Mine Fleet between 2007 and 2009. He retired in 2012. He established Hamit Naci Blue Homeland Foundation in 2021. He has published numerous books on geopolitics, maritime strategy, maritime history and maritime culture. He is also a honorary member of ATASAM.
He is a regular contributor to Global Research.
Featured image is from Sky News
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