Donald Trump has barely begun to break in the new desk chair in the Oval Office, yet the country is already experiencing some major turmoil. He’s firing independent watchdogs left and right, stoking a megalomaniac billionaire’s ego by making him a “special government employee,” and ejecting diversity from everything from hiring practices to holidays.
The flurry of activity is enough to make even moderate Republicans clench their buttholes and wonder just how these moves will reshape our country’s image, but Democratic leader Eric Swalwell thinks that’s the least of our problems. The Californian took to X.com to warn his constituents about the danger in our near future.
“As Trump steals our data, fires cops, releases his violent inmates onto our streets, and raises all of our grocery costs…remember this,” Swalwell wrote. “It’s a hell of a lot easier and cheaper to defend freedom than to get it back once it’s taken.”
It’s a somber message to be sure, but Swalwell is right. As Trump guns for organizations like USAID, allows a non-government employee like Musk — with slew of unknown foreign debts, and a hired team of IT dinguses in their late teens and early 20s — oversee trillions of dollars unsupervised, it’s hard to disagree with him. Trump has sent out multiple letters trying to convince those who don’t agree with him to give up their positions. He’s started trade wars with long time domestic partners — just like his last term — and just like last time, he’s only doing it to rattle cages and distract from the things he doesn’t want anyone to discuss.
Like how he wants to use a “Sovereign America” fund to buy TikTok. We already suffer enough from propaganda; why would we let any president control an avenue so influential on the general population — especially our youth?
“Get ready,” Swalwell continued, “He’s coming for your freedom.”
Of course, Swalwell’s post was met with ridicule from the MAGA side of social media. He was dragged for a debunked rumor that he slept with a CCP agent in 2020. Swalwell did have contact with the woman, but he committed no crime. Unless being the unwitting mark for Chinese espionage counts. Still, many on the site agreed with his warning. There was widespread frustration from those who believe that his warning comes too little too late, claiming that as long as no laws have been broken, Americans have nothing to fear.
It’s a slippery slope, believing you are in the right simply because you won’t be affected. Nearly every history documentary about the rise of the Nazis is quick to say that the complacency and collaboration from German citizens was all it took for the Reich to rise. For many people, the “wait and see” approach is not an option. And allowing our anxiety to tune us out is even worse.
The quick and disorienting changes are a tactic. Trump is “Flooding the Zone,” essentially throwing so much information out at once that it’s all but impossible to keep up. He’s saturating the media landscape with constant executive orders and unpopular ideas, trying to disorient and distract. Then, just before the news cycle has time to wash away his stink with facts, he pivots to the next topic. It’s easy to want to tune out, to bury our heads in the sand, but Swalwell is spot on.
It’s “easier and cheaper to defend freedom than to get it back,” and if we stop paying attention, he’ll snatch it right out from under our noses with Project 2025.
Published: Feb 4, 2025 04:45 pm