Transactionalism & Gangsterism
The parameters are clear
I have written before about Trump’s attempt to seieze control for himself and his gang. Others have noted Trump’s amorality and the willingness of so called Christians to geenlight genocide. And many have written persuasively about the threat that Musk’s looting of the federal government, abuse of cryptocurrencies, and monopolistic control pose.
These are backed by ideology, ideologies of “christian” power, ideologies of racism, and blind egotism. It is also backed by zealot’s love for arson.
But behind all that is money. Simple plain profit. Trump is “transactional” we know that. His supporters even revel in it. But we should be plain what that actually means:
Donald Trump’s demand for a $500bn (£400bn) “payback” from Ukraine goes far beyond US control over the country’s critical minerals. It covers everything from ports and infrastructure to oil and gas, and the larger resource base of the country.
The US will take 50pc of recurring revenues received by Ukraine from extraction of resources, and 50pc of the financial value of “all new licences issued to third parties” for the future monetisation of resources. There will be “a lien on such revenues” in favour of the US. “That clause means ‘pay us first, and then feed your children’,” said one source close to the negotiations.
Trump is not just threatening to wipe out the people of Gaza. He is planning to build hotels there. He is not just planning to colonize Greenland as a new right frontier. He wants the resources. Now he is not planning to help Ukraine, unless he owns it outright. Musk may want to build a technocracy. Vought may want to build a “Christian” nation. But at heart what drives it all is the basest, most awful design, of profit.
This stain of amorality will be with us for a very long time.
So ask yourself: Would you trust someone who behaves like that?
Postscript 2/20: As I initially wrote this the minerals deal was being cast by many “very smart analysis” as some sort of stalking horse. An excessive thereat designed to give Trump cover for just walking away from Ukraine. While others were comparing it to the Molotov-Ribbentop pact where Poland was divided between Germany and Russia.
The latter group was right.
Even today, after Trump called Zelensky a dictator and accused him of starting the invasion, they still expect Zelensky to sign off on letting their minerals be stolen.
White House national security adviser Mike Waltz spoke to Fox News.
Reuters reported that he said Ukraine should “tone it down, take a hard look and sign that deal” on mineral with the US.
Pushback from Ukraine on the deal and how Trump is carrying out peace talks is simply unacceptable, Waltz said, given everything the United States has done for Ukraine.
And again:
Bessent also joined the growing chorus of US voices criticizing Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his criticism of Donald Trump, saying that “he unfortunately escalated” and “put some daylight” between Ukraine and US, and calling his remarks “inappropriate.”
He revealed that his frustration is to do with the lack of progress on the minerals deal with the US.
“President Zelenskyy, when I met with him, assured me he would be signing the minerals deal in Munich. He has not,” he told Bloomberg Television.
And again:
"Zelenskyy is an actor who committed a common mistake of theater kids: He started to think he's the character he plays on TV," said one White House official involved in the talks. "Yes, he has been brave and stood up to Russia But he would be six feet under if it wasn't for the millions we spent, and he needs to exit stage right with all the drama."
In their view Ukraine owes them the money in the same way an abused runaway might owe their pimp. The abuse and humiliation is just part of the service. And Ukraine caused the war in the same way that an abused wife or a beaten child “caused” their suffering by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
They are all abusers at heart:
At the same time we learn that some Republicans supposedly oppose how Trump is treating Ukraine. But for all their `brave’ words they will not cross him because, in the words of Vanity Fair “they’re scared shitless”. They fear not only threats to their careers but credible death threats and other assaults.
But, how do they think we feel?
How do they think the world feels? Senators may be desperate to line up for gelding, but they swore an oath and if they cannot act on it, then they should leave so someone else can.