I was reminded yesterday of the final days of Hitler’s rule in Germany, as in the bunker, he convinced himself that things weren’t that bad, while his country disintegrated. At least he had the good grace to put a gun to the side of his head and pull the trigger. Hubris is a strange bedfellow, and we saw it on full display yesterday as the world watched Trump’s disastrous attempt to portray himself as his hardman alter ego, Bobby Bigbollocks, on the world stage.
I’m afraid my cringe levels were so high that I considered calling an ambulance as I lay on the floor, laughing so hard I felt paralysed with mirth. In that moment, I buried my head in my hands for every American who will, for now at least, be associated with the embarrassment of it all. In countries around the world today, people will snigger as they pass Americans in the street. That’s how bad it was.
It was a day of embarrassment, tragedy, and celebration all rolled into one. Overnight on Friday, two Democratic state lawmakers were the victims of an assassination attempt by a Christian nationalist Trump supporter carrying a list of 70 targets, ranging from Democratic lawmakers to abortion rights advocates. The assassination attempt on former Minnesota Democratic House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, 55, and her husband in Brooklyn Park, a city near Minneapolis, succeeded. At the same time, State Senator John Hoffman, 60, also a Democrat, and his wife were shot, but thankfully they have both survived. I am deliberately not naming the suspect, as I have no intention of giving oxygen to his sick crusade. Even in the darkest of moments, right-wing trolls took to social media to suggest the killer was a Democrat, there really in no low bar anymore.
Needless to say, I extend my deepest condolences to the friends and families of those affected by this act of unbridled political violence in an America now out of control. The perpetrator was a Christian nationalist, whose heinous act was the very antithesis of Christian values. He is the direct result of Trump embracing white Christian evangelicals for no other purpose than to secure their vote and their already established cult type loyalty. These individuals are his last defenders and represent a significant threat to society.
There is no doubt that Russell Vought, the head of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is the individual injecting the dark Christian nationalist agenda at the heart of the government. His sole mission is to dismantle the separation of church and state to place ‘his God’ at the centre of government. It’s just one battle on many fronts that American representative democracy is facing.
As a slight aside, there has been an explosion of political violence since the 2020 election. In an interesting article by Rachel Kleinfeld for the Journal of Democracy, she writes:
The false narrative of a stolen 2020 election clearly increased support for political violence. Those who believed the election was fraudulent were far more likely to endorse coups and armed citizen rebellion; by February 2021, a quarter of Republicans felt that it was at least “a little”
For reference, Rachel is a senior fellow in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She was the founding CEO of the Truman National Security Project and serves on the National Task Force on Election Crises.
She also notes :
It is not uncommon for politicians to incite communal violence to affect electoral outcomes. In northern Kenya, voters call this “war by remote control.” Incumbent leaders who fear losing are particularly prone to using electoral violence to intimidate potential opponents, build their base, affect voting behavior and election-day vote counts, and, failing all that, to keep themselves relevant or at least out of jail.
All sounds very familiar, don’t you think?
On the upside, HUGE congratulations to the organisers of the No Kings Day events up and down the country. These events, despite attempts by agitators, were overwhelmingly peaceful. For those who want to take part in their No Kings: What's Next in the Fight? (Attendee Debrief Call) On Monday, June 16th, between 8:00 and 9:00 pm EDT, you can register here. The final numbers are not yet available, but initial estimates indicate that between five and eight million attended in the US, with that number expected to rise. The event was adopted globally, and early estimates put the total numbers, including the US, at around eleven million.
In an Axios report by April Rubin and Rebecca Falconer they state:
"No Kings" organisers intentionally avoided planning any events in Washington, D.C., where Trump planned a military parade on the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army and his 79th birthday.
The organisers wrote:
"Instead of allowing this birthday parade to be the centre of gravity, we will make action everywhere else the story of America that day: people coming together in communities across the country to reject strongman politics and corruption,"
It represented top drawer organising, and they have now fully asserted the ‘No Kings’ brand moving forward, which gives them almost an apolitical position in this moment, and that is where the real power is. They have a real opportunity to change the narrative. I am so impressed.
Official figures show that around 200,000 attended Trump’s parade, peaking at 600,000 for the fireworks display. Personally, I think these numbers are generous to say the least. To put this in context, the low general attendance at the parade was not, I believe, because people didn’t want to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the army; instead, Americans chose by the million to raise their voices in protest against a man they believe does not represent their values or the historical values of their nation. I think that Americans have the utmost respect for their military and the sacrifices that they and their families make in service to their country. To every one of them who have served or are currently serving, I know I can safely say on behalf of a grateful nation, ‘Thank you for your sacrifice, your service and your dedication to the nation’.
Observing the parade, the one overwhelming takeaway from the event was the body language of the soldiers who participated. They looked totally dispirited and almost captive to the task they had been entrusted with. It spoke volumes about the state of mind of a military under a Commander-in-Chief who has no genuine respect for members of the armed forces. A man who wants to hide away those who returned home without limbs, or who have been deeply traumatised by their experience of war. The debate rages on as to whether he called servicemen and women ‘suckers and losers’, although I have no reason to disbelieve Secretary Mark Kelly who revealed he had indeed made the statement.
In Trump’s world, the military is his plaything, his private army that exists to do his bidding, regardless of whether his orders are legal; their job is to do as they are told. His very attitude undermines the credibility of the armed services, no better demonstrated in his illegal federalisation of the National Guard and the deployment of 700 Marines to the streets of Los Angeles against the wishes of its elected governor. I think this cartoon by Michael de Adler, captures it perfectly.
The Trump administration is built on a foundation of sand in which culture wars are a central tenet. For decades, Republicans have understood that on a level playing field, they cannot win an election. To win, they are constantly forced to put their thumb on the scale using gerrymandering and voter suppression. It’s who they are, but since Trump, they have a new weapon in the armoury, beyond fear through culture wars. To date, the sole object has been to place voters in a perpetual state of fear from imaginary threats they create, like immigrant caravans, immigrants eating cats and dogs and transgender athletes in sports, to name but a few.
In my next piece, I’ll show you exactly how technology can deliver frightening coercion, using social media microtargeting with the psychology of persuasion. I conducted a deep dive into Peter Thiel and Alex Karp, the men behind Palantir, the data analytics company that is currently the darling of the stock market. It is an in-depth piece for which I have also created a short film to break it down. The days of confidence in elections have long been deteriorating, but Trump’s statement to me is a big red flag:
"In four years, you don't have to vote again. We'll have it fixed so good, you're not gonna have to vote."
Then there is the critical work that Smart Elections is doing, as well as the case they recently brought, which has progressed to the discovery phase and can be read about here. In a statement dated 10th June 2025, Newsweek stated:
A legal case questioning the accuracy of the 2024 election is moving forward. The lawsuit, brought by SMART Legislation, the action arm of SMART Elections, a nonpartisan watchdog group, filed the lawsuit over voting discrepancies in Rockland County, New York. Judge Rachel Tanguay of the New York Supreme Court ruled in open court in May that the allegations were serious enough for discovery to proceed.
I have been aware of this for some time, and as I’ve stated previously, I do not doubt that voter suppression was widely used by the Republican Party after Trump’s 2020 loss. It’s unclear to me, however, that any skulduggery was enough to invalidate the 2024 result. Still, I am open to being convinced otherwise because I don't believe a word the Republicans say. I would suggest anyone who wants to dig deeper should proceed with an open mind and the scepticism such claims deserve, and that’s my position. Critical thinking is the cornerstone of a true democracy, and I always highly encourage it.
My concerns go much deeper than voter suppression and gerrymandering. While these have been long-standing problems, the introduction of technology and AI is a significant game changer, and as mentioned above, that is the focus of my next piece, which I hope you will take the time to read in due course.
I am inclined to step back today and examine the comparisons between the US and the UK. We both had birthday celebrations for leaders in our respective societies yesterday, one a constitutional monarch, the other a wannabe king. While I wouldn’t call myself a monarchist, they have played a significant historical role in our society, both for their ability to deliver soft power and the tourist revenue they generate annually. I’m more than aware of the arguments over taxes, etc, and I believe that the King’s all-too-favourable exemptions are certainly cause for concern. However, I’m not a “throw the baby out with the bathwater” kind of guy. I certainly favour reform, but abolition of the monarchy is certainly not on my bingo card.
Military parades in the UK are deeply ingrained in the fabric of the nation. They are mainly ceremonial and limited in scope, primarily for projecting soft power globally, which is something Trump lacks an understanding of. There’s nothing Trump likes better than to be offered a state visit to the UK, and that extends to leaders around the world who jump at the opportunity. These visits are provided in consultation with the elected government of the day and are often used to promote British business and exports. Put simply, it works. In terms of the military personnel that take part, these are NOT ceremonial soldiers; they are highly trained battlefield soldiers. Even musicians undergo the same basic military training as other soldiers, including physical fitness and weapons training. As such, they can be called upon to participate in combat.
I include this clip not to boast, but as an indicator of the stark difference between what I respect as representative of a society that, while struggling to hang onto its place in the world, is something I remain deeply proud of.
In contrast, Trump’s military parade was a failed exercise in shameful self-indulgence that served no useful purpose but to shine a light on military personnel grudgingly ambling around the parade route. I was shocked at their performance; it did nothing to enhance their reputation as an elite military force. The body language was awful and, to me, was indicative of America’s state of mind in this perilous moment. At the same time, I have no doubt they are good men and women ready to serve their nation as ordered. However, I can’t help but feel that someone should have ordered them to look professional and sharp rather than act like they were queuing up for a McDonald’s. It raises the question of whether donkeys are leading lions.
I’m not noted for my diplomacy, so I apologise to anyone who may be offended by my remarks. They are merely a frank, objective observation from afar based on my now in-depth knowledge of politics on both sides of the Atlantic. The whole reason I got involved in US political commentary is because I can see the slow creeping and invasive nature of hard right politics slowly transferring to British society. It is terrifying to me that people like Trump, Vance and Musk are looking to infect Europe and the UK with their winner-takes-all social Darwinism. It is antithetical to our values, and yet the likes of Nigel Farage are acting as political mules smuggling in a purer version of hate, racism, misogyny, and homophobia in search of political power.
I’ll close today on an overarching observation. Trump came to power as the ‘President of peace’; he has turned out to be the town arsonist awarded the role of a fire chief who is now burning down the firehouse. He has just allowed an indicted war criminal, Benjamin Netanyahu, to adjust US Middle East policy on the fly. Trump is now a servant to two indicted war criminals facilitating what may transpire to be a regional conflict of dangerously epic proportions. For decades, Netanyahu has been trying to drag the US into a full-blown conflict with Iran, and it now appears he’s finally on the verge of making it happen. Anyone who underestimates the threat of Iran should seek medical help. They will target the interests of those countries assisting Israel in this escalating conflict.
He said he would end the war in Ukraine, end the conflict in Gaza and bring peace to the world; he has achieved absolutely nothing other than to diminish America’s standing in the world and ignite a war with Iran. He is a man hopelessly out of his depth, surrounded by an army of sycophants who daren’t say no to him. America is a political powder keg, and Trump is playing around with matches every day. While I can’t take him seriously on any given issue, he’s the guy with the nuclear codes who would be more than prepared to press the button either to save his skin or be laughed at, and that is horrifying.
Thank you for this writing everything was exactly how i feel.
So glad that there seemed to be minimal numbers for the orange king felon's personal show. There may still be some hope we can overcome this madness.