Open Britain on Trump’s Appointment of Musk and Others Transforming America into an Oligarchy

‘Dear David,

As I watch Donald Trump lay out his cabinet picks from across the pond, one simple question comes to mind that I’m sure I’ll continue asking over the next four gruelling years: Who the f*** voted for Elon Musk? It was bad enough when he was just embarrassing himself with cringe-inducing star-jumps on Trump’s stage, or boosting his own trashy AI-generated memes on “X” (Speaking of which, Open Britain is now on Bluesky – give us a follow!).

But now, Elon Musk will help head up the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) along with former Republican Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. The irony of the “efficiency” department having two co-leaders is not lost on any of us. Technically, it’s not an actual department, more of an advisory bureau. That means, surprise surprise, Musk will not have to go through the arduous Senate-approval process for his new position. DOGE’s role, aside from boosting the value of a dodgy cryptocurrency, is to advise Trump on dismantling the regulatory state. Will the richest billionaire in the world specifically target the regulations that limit his own profits? It’s hard to see how he wouldn’t. Musk has also been accompanying the President-elect in a series of meetings with world leaders. He’s so determined to be involved in government that Trump is seemingly already getting sick of him. There’s a word for this phenomenon: oligarchy. A billionaire president and his billionaire friend are laying out their plans to strip the country for parts. Musk has no electoral mandate to be involved in this process in any shape or form, and it’s no wonder he’s opted to dodge even the flimsy accountability processes the US has in place. Things are about to get dark Stateside, and quickly. Rep Matt Gaetz (convicted sex-trafficker) will run Trump’s law enforcement, Tulsi Gabbard (known purveyor of Putin propaganda) will be the nation’s intelligence chief, and a former Fox News host will run Defence. What could possibly go wrong? We know that Trump’s acolytes here in the UK, led by Nigel Farage, want to make the same thing happen here. Trump successfully sold his pack of lies in the United States, but Britain is not America. If we batten down the hatches and rebuild our broken democracy, we can avoid the same fate – but we need your support now more than ever to do it.

All the best,

Matt

Matt Gallagher

Comms Officer

Open Britain’

Back a decade or so, Harvard University published a report concluding that, thanks to corporate influence, most Americans felt that their opinions did not count politically, and that the country was not a true democracy but a quasi-oligarchy. That old American conservative, Thomas Sowell, apparently showed how his side feels about democracy. He’s put up a video accusing Kamala Harris and the Democrats of trying to transform America into a democracy.

Say whaaat? I thought America was already a democracy. I thought Americans believed, or at least used to believe, that theirs was the best democracy in the world. Or at least, Americans generally did have this positive view of their country’s fundamentally democratic nature before current concerns about institutional racism, White supremacy and corporate corruption, the latter turning the US into the best democracy money can buy, as the saying goes.

Are we heading back to the 18th and 19th centuries when the Founding Fathers were keen to introduce property qualifications for voting to prevent the poor getting above their station and stopping the country being run by worthy, wealthy men. Not to mention that at the same time a woman’s place was in the home, well away from the polling station and until the Civil War most Blacks were slaves with no rights.

I’ve also come across another video asking if Trump is the American caesar, the USA’s version of the emperors who emerged after the fall of the Roman Republic. Well, Nero competed as charioteer and as musician, playing the lyre and reciting poetry at the Greek cultural festivals. Trump hosted the Apprentice in America, so that you could say both have a background in entertainment. I’ll guess we’ll know for sure when the Orange Orangutan holds orgies in the White House and makes his horse a member of the Senate. As the Roman Emperors were also paranoid and murdered everyone around them, including and especially their own families, it might be wise for some of his relatives to start thinking about finding ways they could claim asylum abroad. Just in case.

As for that bit about the Department of Efficiency having two co-heads, it reminds me of one of the policies of the Monster Raving Loony Party, as was: ‘And we’ll be asking, ‘Why is there only one Monopolies Commission?’ Except with the Monster Raving Loony Party you knew it was all a joke. Trump is serious.

R.I.P. Screaming Lord Sutch. He’s so sorely missed. Jesters like him and the late Peter Cook would have had so much fun with the current bunch of clowns on both sides of the Atlantic.

Open Britain – Is MAGA Collapsing?

’16/08/24

80 Days to go until the US election.

Dear David,

Per our new Friday tradition, I’m once again going to dive into the political news from the States. For better or for worse, US politics has a massive impact on what happens here in the UK and around the world. The decision American voters take on November 4th – and the potential political violence that could come after – will shape our own fight for democracy here at home in myriad ways. So let’s get into it.

If this kind of thing is not for you, don’t worry. You can opt out here.

Is MAGA Melting Down?

It’s only August 16th, and this election cycle has already been full of surprises. Just a month ago, Donald Trump was ascendant in the polls and emboldened by an attempted assassination. MAGA seemed to be a cold and calculating political machine, delivering blow after blow to a beleaguered Joe Biden and jumping up in key swing state polls.

But the Democrats’ abrupt decision to shift their ticket seems to have caught the Republicans almost entirely off guard. They had put all their eggs in the “anti-Biden” basket, leaving them devoid of talking points and opposition research. Worse still, the Democrats’ rising momentum seems to be opening up internal feuds within MAGA, revealing the cracks in their facade.

Republican party campaigners have expressed concerns that Trump is self-sabotaging, accusing him of entering a “self-destructive spiral” since Biden dropped out.  His usual name-calling strategies (questioning Kamala Harris’ racial background, and calling her stupid) are not working in the eyes of his own strategists, and his repeated feuds with Republican swing-state governors like Georgia’s Brian Kemp are making the party look chaotic and amateurish.

Let’s also not forget that Trump was found guilty in May of falsifying business records in an attempt to conceal a hush-money payment to a porn star. His new gambit has been to try and delay sentencing until after the election, arguing that it would amount to “election interference.”

Then there’s the small matter of JD Vance. While conventional wisdom holds that Vice-Presidential picks don’t matter all that much, Trump has had a very light campaign event schedule, often leaving his VP pick to do his talking for him. Vance, a charisma blackhole with views that are polarising even to ardent right-wingers, is only further alienating the campaign from regular people.

A series of incredibly cringey “X” features with Elon Musk, including a weird sycophantic (and technologically disastrous) digital interview and a dumb AI deep-fake video of the two billionaires dancing to “Stayin Alive”, showcase a campaign that has all but lost its populist allure.

As I said at the beginning though, it’s only August 16th. Anything could happen in the next few months. But we do seem to be witnessing a turning point in Trump’s strategy, and the same old 2016 campaign tricks just don’t seem like they’re going to work again.

In other US election news…

• The Democratic National Convention kicks off next week, set to be a huge make-or-break moment for the Harris/Walz ticket and their momentum.
• Trump’s campaign have accused Harris of “stealing” a proposal for ending taxes on tips – many service industry workers in America are paid around $2/hour and rely mostly on tips.
• Debate season is nearly upon us, with Harris-Trump facing off on September 10th and Walz-Vance going head to head on October 1st.

That’s it for this week.

All the best,

Matt Gallagher

Communications Officer

Open Britain Team’