USA under Trump | "As if I were in Berlin in 1933"

Many people in Europe are very concerned about developments in the United States. Recently, some experts have warned of the danger of civil war. How close is the US to such a scenario?

I expect political violence, especially from the right, to increase in the United States. Recently, a masked gunman shot and killed the Democratic speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives and her husband. The perpetrator posed as a police officer. He shot another state legislator and his wife in their home. They fortunately survived the assassination attempt. The suspected gunman has since been caught. He is a right-wing Trump supporter and Christian fascist. We live in troubling times.

Is there an outcry? Or do helplessness and fear prevail?

The No Kings initiative is directed against Trump's authoritarian, almost monarchical ambitions. On June 14, over five million people took to the streets in every state. Trump's military parade in Washington, DC, turned out to be a flop. The parade was intended to honor the 250th anniversary of the US Army and happened to fall on his birthday. Many of the stands were empty. As numerous photos show, he himself was bored by the whole performance. Ultimately, the North Korean-style display of military might failed. That was encouraging. But much remains to be done.

What is the greatest threat to stability in the country?

Trump remains popular among Republicans. However, his policies are met with widespread rejection. The polarization is significant. At the same time, the president is trying to push a major budget bill through Congress that will drive the national debt astronomically high—by trillions of dollars over the next decade! At the same time, he is cutting taxes for his oligarch cronies and reducing Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor. This worries me deeply. The parallels to the beginnings of German National Socialism in the 1930s are alarming.

What similar developments do you see?

There's the attempt to glorify a mystical past: "Make America Great Again"; the stigmatization of minorities, who are blamed for all the country's problems; the promotion of an agenda of complete economic self-sufficiency; the adoption of the theory of a "United Executive," including a purge of top generals; the attack on universities and the free press; the suppression of dissent with military force; the kidnapping of people in the streets by armed, masked government agents simply for expressing political dissent. Or the corruption with which Trump mixes his personal business and profits with official government business. It feels like I'm in Berlin in 1933, not St. Louis, Missouri, in 2025.

Does a majority of Americans still need to be convinced that there is a significant threat to democracy?

Yes. The country is divided. But there's a growing understanding that we're headed toward authoritarianism. The increasing number of people participating in protests like the No Kings Rally is a sign of this.

Why do American institutions like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) support Trump's policies?

The difficulties we face in the United States are similar to those faced by Germany in the 1930s. ICE is increasingly transforming into an "American Gestapo," with masked, unidentifiable men abducting people from the streets and deporting them to detention centers without due process.

We're seeing images of sometimes violent protests, including in Los Angeles. How is the general public reacting?

She's still under the impression that only "hardened criminals" are taken here. However, that's not the case! We know that even some US citizens have been kidnapped this way, as well as foreign nationals residing legally in the US with a court order. The courts are fighting back, but the proceedings are progressing slowly.

What role does the Senate play? Can't it stop these developments?

The Senate is indeed a major problem. According to the Constitution, it is responsible for giving "advice and consent" to Cabinet nominees. Now the Senate has approved Trump's nominations – each time with only a very narrow margin of approval. Important institutions are now run by incompetent Trump henchmen. Such as the Department of Justice, headed by Attorney General Pamela Jo Bondi.

She dropped a fraud case against Trump in 2013.

Meanwhile, the majority of the Civil Rights Division's lawyers were fired or resigned in protest, and legal henchmen took their place. The same thing happened with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National Intelligence Service (US National Intelligence Service), the Department of Homeland Security, and so on—across the board. It's alarming! All of these people interpret the implementation and enforcement of laws through the lens of Trump's ideology, thus completely breaking with the tradition of political control within these institutions. It's difficult to fight this.

How are these actions officially justified?

Many of these nominations and the political changes that come with them are carried out under a false flag, namely that of the fight against “anti-Semitism” and “racial discrimination.”

Racial discrimination?

Yes. In reality, these are pure smokescreens designed only to conceal the dismantling of all programs historically aimed at correcting racial injustices and improving minority participation in government. The president says such programs discriminate against whites based on their race or men based on their gender. He has systematically purged the government to get rid of high-performing women and members of racial minorities, claiming they were hired because of anti-white racial discrimination.

What does Trump want to achieve with this?

He wants a government led by pure-blooded white people, preferably men. He will accept members of ethnic minorities, such as Kashyap Pramod Patel (head of the FBI) ​​or Harmeet Kaur Dhillon (head of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice), as long as they are subservient enough to him. Both are right-wing extremists and have Asian roots.

Are American values ​​also changing?

The destruction of USAID (the Agency for International Development), the billions in grants for medical and scientific research cuts, the attack on universities without due process—all of these are profound events that will reverberate for decades to come. To put it succinctly: American influence in the world is sinking like a stone through water, all to assuage the ego of a vindictive, narcissistic sociopath. I weep for my country.

What should Europeans do to protect their own democracy against the extreme right?

It pains me to say this, as I have always believed in strong relations between the US and Europe: Europeans should prepare themselves to resist political and military aggression. For reasons unknown, but likely out of personal psychological insecurity and a desire to appear "tough," Trump wants to be friends with Vladimir Putin.

What could happen in the worst case scenario?

We must be prepared for the collapse of NATO in its current form. It might not survive the Trump years. Trump is fascinated by the imperialist American President William McKinley, who also advocated high tariffs in the late 19th century. That was at a time when the US was at war with Spain, conquering the Philippines, and overthrowing the Hawaiian monarchy. I consider Trump's stated intention to make Canada the 51st state of America to be utter nonsense, but his desire to annex Greenland to be serious. From a military perspective, it would be easy for the US to annex Greenland, but it would destroy NATO and our relations with the rest of the world. I consider that unlikely, but certainly not impossible.

Looking ahead, American democracy is under pressure. Will it crumble or rather grow and gain new strength?

We can only hope that the current chaos will be a driving force for a movement toward a stronger, more inclusive, empathetic, and charitable country, but this is by no means a given. Trump is trying to destroy any organization, movement, or institution that opposes him. There will be a real battle over these values ​​in the coming years.