The empire hopes to use Trump to manage the antiwar backlash. But this psyop will fail.

NATO’s Ukraine scam has brought an awakening moment for so many of the USA’s people; which means our ruling class needs to find a way to redirect this mass energy. The Democratic Party’s defeat has made it undeniable that any political force which ties itself to the neocons will be rejected by the people. The Gaza genocide, the economic destruction from the Ukraine conflict, and also the Iraq war were all crucial factors behind why Harris lost; Iraq was the catastrophe that left Americans disgusted by the idea of future wars. And virtually all of the neocons endorsed Harris, which confirmed that the Democrats don’t intend to bring peace or rectify the USA’s societal crises.

Trump presented himself as the foil to this policy paradigm, so he prevailed. The problem is he also got support from a few key neocons, namely Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio, and Mike Pompeo; and though Pompeo had to be excluded from Trump’s cabinet because he had too much baggage, this circle of Zionist NATO allies is in place to guide Trump’s White House. Rubio will in all likelihood become Trump’s Secretary of State, and this means all of the deep state’s next war plans will be implemented.

None of these developments are surprising. It’s consistent with every other time that a U.S. president has campaigned as an anti-establishment leader, then done what the centers of power have wanted them to do. The exceptional thing about this moment is that it’s when the old social balance truly has a chance of being shattered; when our ruling class can no longer sufficiently manage mass discontent, and must consider other methods for protecting its interests. Much of Trump’s base is not responding well to his neocon cabinet picks, because Trump was elected on a mandate of draining the swamp. And many of the people who backed him, including the regular citizens who aren’t otherwise politically active, see when their leader isn’t acting principled. This is the start of a decline in MAGA’s momentum, and the creation of new possibilities for building mass movements within the United States.

Carrying out these mass mobilizations is going to require reaching every element that could become drawn towards anti-imperialist organizing. The disillusioned parts of the MAGA base will be included in this, as will the Libertarians, the people who’ve turned against the Democrats over Gaza, and the ones who are presently unaffiliated. The latter element is where the bulk of our potential allies can be found, because workers who don’t vote make up a plurality; and to connect with them, we must also reach the ones with political experience. Like how the bulk of the Bernie Sanders base migrated elsewhere after Sanders showed his loyalty to the Democrats, we’re starting to see a parallel trend among the most conscious MAGA supporters. And from this comes great opportunities to expand into the broader masses.

Like with the Bernie Sanders movement, we can’t approach this effort in a dogmatic way. The error that’s been made by certain Marxists, namely the ones who’ve taken guidance from PSL’s Brian Becker, is to act like the Sanders base forever has the same role that it did in 2016. This base is no longer where the greatest revolutionary potential exists; many among the left have embraced pro-imperialist ideas, while much of the conservative base has set itself up against the war machine. There are parts of the left that have potential to join with a revolutionary project, but revolution won’t come from the left, and the PSL camp was mistaken for having ever believed it would.

The solution is neither to hold a series of “stop Trump” rallies, like this part of the activist left is now doing; nor to act like Trump will defeat the imperial system. Thankfully, the communists who recognize the fallacy in PSL’s approach have avoided the latter error. Since the election, such communists have been voicing outrage over Trump’s cabinet appointees. And because these communists have been getting involved in their communities, they’ve come into contact with all kinds among the working masses, rather than exclusively focusing on MAGA. The established left has invested itself in only some parts of the masses, and thereby made itself insular; the only way to win is by welcoming all who may want to be welcomed into the class struggle.

The psyops that our ruling class has been directing towards both the Trump base and the left are about preventing such a unified effort. To keep the independents detached from politics, the narrative managers need to limit the discourse to things that distract from the class struggle, and from the anti-imperialist struggle which encompasses it. If the most engaged and conscious among the people are made to fight amongst each other, and to embrace pro-imperialist ideas, then both they and the broader masses will remain without power. Our rulers see how Ukraine has woken up the right while Palestine has woken up the left; so they’re trying to pit these sides against each other, while making sure neither of them gain a complete anti-imperialist consciousness. It’s in the empire’s interests that those who support Russia also hate China and the Islamic world; while those who support Palestine are against Russia.

To combat this confusion, and unite the people behind a truly counter-hegemonic agenda, the best thing for us to do at this moment is center Palestine. And to do so in a principled way, where we also act in solidarity with the Russian people, China, the DPRK, Syria’s anti-imperialist government, and everyone else who’s under attack from the empire. Palestine is the central issue of today, but we need to be consistent in fighting for those who stand on the same side as Palestine. Back when it still centered Gaza, PSL used Palestine as a way to undermine the struggle of African revolutionaries; we must avoid such opportunism, and stand with all of the pro-Palestine individuals who the government plans to target. No doubt these targets will include plenty of leftists with wrong ideas, but I’ll help defend them against repression too. It’s the same as when the Biden administration has targeted right-wingers: we must stand on the side of civil liberties no matter what.

If communists show ourselves to be principled, then the people will have a reason to join with us. The Democratic Party has collapsed, MAGA is headed for its demise, and we have an unprecedented opportunity for advancing the class struggle. Our enemies understand this, so they’re working to criminalize our work; but we’ll continue operating amid the crackdown, and keep reaching more of the people.

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