President Trump declared “America First” as his foreign policy when he first ran for president in 2016 but the Europeans did not pay attention. They should have, as the slogan was rooted in the American non-interventionism that opposed the U.S.’s entering both World Wars. The president and his people have repeated it on numerous occasions. The Europeans had good reasons to neglect such ominous sign of an earth shaking political, and military, turnabout because Americans and Europeans were ideologically brothers and sisters. Defending Europe was to protect America’s security.
They may perhaps have been warned behind the scenes of the changes, but Europe never had a second thought about Washington’s commitment to the American-European alliance. The president loudly but reasonably demanded that Europe pay their NATO’s full dues on time. After all NATO was more about Europe than America. Trying to cheat on their financial responsibility was not very nice. But they probably laughed at the idea of paying the dues in full. You are, they thought, scared of the Russians more than we do. A few months ago, former President Joe Biden’s administration’s commitment to the defense of Ukraine was not in doubt.
In only three weeks since the change of the guards in Washington, the world has drastically changed. To be more accurate, American foreign policy has shifted in a different direction because the underlying fundamentals of world and domestic political dynamics have changed.
First, Russia is no longer considered by Trump’s Washington a foe. Quiet and seemingly small things spoke loud and clear. Biden had tried for four years to get Marc Fogel, who brought MEDICAL marijuana to Russia and was imprisoned since 2021, released. Putin just ignored it. Dmitry Peskov, President Putin’s spokesperson, threw a smoke grenade into diplomacy, complaining ostentatiously that the U.S.-Russian relations were at a historic low. Then, a call from President Trump, Fogel was out of the Russian prison and back to the U.S. President Putin does not have the habit of releasing prisoners after receiving a phone call. A quid pro quo was, and is still, at work.
What is it?
It is a new alignment of ideals and security among America, Europe, and Russia. The elephant in the room is China.
For centuries Americans and the Europeans looked at the Chinese and saw nothing more respectable than a cook, a valet, a coolie, or a bunching bag for Peter Sellers to hit when he came home. Then suddenly, the West discovered that whatever they did, the Chinese did as well or better, from a kitchen knife to a supercomputer. The West built an atomic bomb, they built an atomic bomb. The West constructed the Space Station, they did the same. The West went to the moon, they also did and to its other side where no western country has ever been. They have built airplanes and now carriers. In America, we were in the midst of marveling at Silicon Valley’s geniuses building ChatGPT and before we got over our ecstasy, they showcased DeepSeek, which works as competently as ChatGPT but costs users much less, about 3.67% of ChatGPT’s price.
By now, America has probably found new respect for them. But while it doesn’t really know what is going on, it must be careful and prepare itself. That requires a pivot of strategy to deal with the Chinese phenomenon.
America’s interest in the Pacific, from Japan along the coast down to Indonesia to Australia and New Zealand is huge. Any of these countries fell under China’s influence would cause a seismic shift in the balance of power in favor of China and against the U.S. Confronting China by itself in the Pacific would probably be a doable task but expensive in terms of money and human sacrifices. A better solution is to create a formidable pressure on China’s north border to force them to have a second thought about expanding its power eastward and southward. That would come from, you guess it, Russia. The American “quid” is Russia working with U.S. to deter China. The Russian “quo” is Ukraine falling back into Russia’s sphere of influence. That would leave Europe in the lurch and the U.S. endure a lot of uncomfortable nagging.
Europe must be made aware of the new reality that it has to survive on its own, starting with Ukraine whose abandonment by the U.S. is no longer a possibility; it is a reality. It is a bribe the U.S. is paying to get Russia into a new alliance, let’s call it US-Russia North Pacific Alliance.
Europe has no alternative but to mobilize their industrial powerhouses to prop up their defense capability. One hopes that it will not be too late to save Ukraine from that repeated tragedy of dividing a country and its people.
The bond between Europe and America is too deep, culturally, traditionally, and ideologically for one side to leave the other. That was the conventional belief. Such belief did not count the thinking and calculation of MAGA.
JOHN P. LE PHONG.

The title of this article (with the long English translation) is a military tactic promulgated by a Chinese, Sun Tsu, and now faithfully executed by MAGA, which hates the Chinese’s guts. Greenland, Panama Canal, and the latest Gaza Strip bravado are “Dương Đông”, make a feint to the East. Tariff serves the same purpose but is also intended to achieve another political goal.
Dismembering Democracy is “Kích Tây”, attacking in the West, taking one quiet step at a time. The first step: concentrating governmental power into the executive branch. Such a move would not be too radical to the public as it was supported by some political theorists and even one of the country founders, Elexander Hamilton, when the nation is in a crisis. It is also necessary for a party in power when it wants to subvert Democracy to replace it with an oligarchic or aristocratic regime. That is what is going on in America, a non-bloodshed revolution (except for a clumsy attempt on January 6, 2021) to reverse history and replace the Democratic political system with a dictatorship.

Democracy is perfect for the common men. One feels gratified walking down the street to have a cup of coffee or say the emperor has no clothes without worrying about being stopped by the secret police or a knock on the door at midnight. But the rich and the hardheaded do not like it. What goes in their mind is like this: how can Joe sixpack have one vote just like me who lives in a 50-room mansion and travel in 700-foot-long yacht? They believe the nation needs to go back to a social order in the shape of a pyramid, they being at the top and us the multitude fighting for space ourselves at the bottom. Equality is a fantasy in your head, they say; you forget at your peril that you are at our mercy.

We must now ask the question: is Democracy flawed and weak?

Like everything else in the universe, American Democracy’s survival depends on its innate ability to resist all assaults from all sides and flourish. When it goes head-to-head against MAGA, Democracy does not seem to possess that ability.
How could MAGA prevailed in 2016 and again in 2024? The answer is now obvious: they skillfully blended racism with nationalism.
The Democratic Republicans as opposed to MAGA, were persuaded that
American Traditional Christian Values were threatened and damaged by an uncontrolled influx of immigrants. More, domestic policies pouring so much money into social programs have made the U.S. a magnet for foreigners wanting to have an idly good life without any prospect of making contribution to the national economy or making life in the U.S., as they understand it, better. Then, they saw the Trump Administration’s ineptitude and excesses and voted Democratic in 2020. But the Biden’s weak or half-hearted legislations and executive actions sent them back to the Republican side in 2024. They wanted decisive policies, even willing to vote MAGA, to clean up the immigration mess, which lured the majority of Americans, Republicans and even Democrats, into voting for Donald Trump.

But they don’t seem to be aware that his policy of high tariffs, tax cuts for the rich, and higher tax for the middle- and low-income folks will push them back to where the hand-to-mouth governing doctrine wants them to be: don’t give the multitude more money than to satisfy their basic needs, lest extra money gives them ideas.
MAGA has raised the immigration problem to the level of a national crisis and loudly denounced the Democrats for failing to do even a minimum job to deport immigrants and stop them at the borders. In fact, from 2009 to 2017, the Obama Administration deported more than 3 million people. In his four years in the White House, Trump deported one (yes 1) million people. In four years, Biden deported or expulsed more than 4.4 million, 270,000 deported in 2024 alone the highest annual number in a decade. The ICE arrests decreased by 33%.

So, immigration has been insignificant and a bogus issue during the campaign, a MAGA’s Dương Đông tactic while pursuing a larger scheme that they had devised to implement Project 2025, weaken or destroy Democratic institutions, and create an oligarchic or aristocratic regime to replace Democracy.
They have already started carrying it out now.
MAGA has turned racism and white supremacism, which is no longer a taboo to talk about, into a weapon. It has been so effective that it sent a political novice to the White House on his first run. It almost sent him back there after four years of clumsiness and ineptitude. That same weapon was exhibited openly, fiercely, and explosively on January 6, 2021, but somehow the Democratic defenders, the American Democrats did not see it, or did but did not know how to create an antidote.

Using, discreetly and implicitly of course, the old threat of Chinese “yellow fever” invasion, or more aptly in the current atmosphere, tsunami, MAGA has successfully marshaled the white community and subdued any white resistance to its march. Reasonable, compassionate, and upstanding Republicans all have got in line behind MAGA.

If you have any doubt that an all-out war has been going on between the U.S. and China, look at the Dow Jones Index and the Hang Seng Index on February 6, 2020: 29,379.77 and 27,493.70 respectively, and on February 5, 2025: 44,873.28 for the American and 20,957.09 for the Chinese.

Perhaps, Democracy is not universal but selective, and American society has never been truly democratic. Justice, a sine qua non element of Democracy, has often been denied to non-white citizens.
Whether the Democracy Ship is sailing into the sunset, or the ship has always been the same but now the paint is peeled to reveal the true brand on the hull: White Nation or White Supremacy, we all are in a journey fraught with danger.

The 2025 Presidential Inauguration capped the incredible journey of the luckiest man in the history of mankind.

He was born fabulously rich, got richer and famous for hosting a TV show, the easiest and fun job in the world, entered the political arena at the time the nationalistic emotion galvanized the electoral forces to catapult him to the pinnacle of American political power. And he now seems to have reeled into his orbit someone closest to being a son he wished for but did not have, Elon Musk, youthful, energetic, focused, fun, and, especially, extremely intelligent, who was shouting laughingly and gestured wildly at the Capital One Arena, a short distance from the Capitol Rotunda where the Inauguration was taking place. He seems to have finally found an advisor he trusts like no one he had ever worked with before, including his own children.

MAGA has convinced the population they could do the job of cleaning up, in their opinion, the mess of immigration, preventing foreign countries from bleeding the U.S., and making America more formidable than it is now. That is the plan. Project 2025 is just a prologue.

At the time this article was written, the president had pardoned all 1500 January 6 defendants, a sweeping order even for his Vice President who publicly stated that the rioters who had been convicted of violence should not be pardoned.

But, I believe, the second Trump presidency will take a more reasoned course. The president Trump we saw and heard during the Inauguration is not the recalcitrant and uncompromising candidate during the four years prior. He seemed benign and moderate. Surprisingly, he was articulate and had a perfect grasp of the facts when he was signing the Executive Orders and answering multiple questions from the reporters at the same time.

There is a stark difference between his first presidency, the run in 2020, and this one: he is now beholden to no one, MAGA or Non-MAGA, millionaires or billionaires. He has the opportunity to do as he wishes to build up his legacy as a statesman. He can afford to go against the extremists and that is the key to successfully achieving that goal.

But in any movement, there is always a faction trying to fish in troubled water to pursue their own goals. The extremists in the MAGA Movement are those fishermen. With Mr. Musk in the (possibly West) wing, the Trump second administration would probably not disappoint the Non-MAGA Republicans who have believed in his crusade and even the Democrats who have opposed him.

A few observations from the Inauguration that could provide fodder for the New York Post. There was a lady in black right behind the president when he was signing some documents. She was standing tall and erect, but her rather wide-brimmed black hat covered her face for most of the ceremony. For several minutes, I thought she was a ceremonial official standing guard over the president during the signing. It turned out it was the First Lady. Pager Six, please find out who advised her on her ensemble.

Eric Trump sat with his wife, Lara but Jared Kushner sat at one end of the dais, away from his wife Ivanka who sat at the other end, and not even in the presidential family’s row but a different row. At first, I thought the family’s row did not have enough seats so he had given his seat to Melania’s father. When the camera panned across the dais, it showed several empty seats.

Don Jr. was there by himself, no former nor current girlfriend.

Tiffany is expecting her first child.

The Vice President sported a long red tie, a show of how Trumpian he was. It turned out that Trump himself wore a purple/brown tie.

The last item was Ivanka’s face that looked as if she were woken up too early in the morning.

JOHN P. LE PHONG

For the last eight years, MAGA has had a firm grip on the Republican Party whose members and leadership including elected officials have moved in lockstep with no opposition of any kind, a clear sign of an intolerant and un-democratic political organization.
So, when Elon Musk stood up against their steadfast but ill-informed position against H-1B visa program, it is newsworthy and MAGA-shaking. Many of its leaders are foaming at their mouth; it is first and small but a crack, nevertheless.

Mr. Musk does not stop there. He endorses Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House. The Speaker has shown some backbone, albeit with flexible cartilage. He is an ultra-conservative with principles. He has shown his love for the country beyond and above partisanship. He is quiet but gets the job done. He stood for stability during the fight over budget against MAGA’s determination to create chaos – fish in troubled water. They are trying to deny him the Speakership.

Of course, Mr. Musk’s success depends, in large part, on the support of the President-elect. As previously suggested, politics was probably the last frontier for Mr. Musk to conquer. Finally, he did enter politics – to help the Republican Party when it was seemingly shaky. It was also suggested that the President-elect think about repairing his populist image and bolstering his legacy as a statesman. It’s time for him to resist the urge of having fawning people around him. He must push out of his circle those selfish calculating heartless ass-kissers, whose appearance in front of the camera with a smile is enough to offend our national decency.
The President also supports Mr. Johnson as Speaker. Let’s see if they succeed again tomorrow.

JOHN P. LE PHONG.

Will President Trump retaliate against his political opponents?
Yes, he could. After observing him from afar for eight years, it is a real possibility. But it shouldn’t happen. Politicians do know about the English War of the Roses, The Italian Medici Rivalries, The French Capetian Family Feuds, and especially the American Hatfields and McCoys feud. The Democrats and the Republicans are well aware of the danger of the obsession with retaliation and the havoc it can cause and hopefully in their wisdom, won’t allow it to happen.
The Republicans controlled by the president-elect are huddling to implement Project 2025, which no doubt has little respect for Democratic Institutions and Democracy. That battle is where the Democrats find themselves: fighting to preserve Democracy with little political power. But since politics is the most convoluted “science”, they may find new allies among the so-called establishment Republicans.
Since the Republican Party is at its peak in terms of political power, many of its members won’t feel obligated to defend their party and attack the other party, in many cases, blindly. Reason and good faith (in the good teaching of Christianity) may come back, and dirty tricks may take a hike for the good of the nation.
The anxiety lies in the fact that the Democrats are awful in predicting the mood of the voting population and therefore pursue wrong strategy to gain or maintain power. It looks as if they haven’t played the game well to balance the power in the political two-party system.
In 2016, Mr. Trump got almost 63 million votes. After witnessing his administration of the country for four years – the general objective assessment was not really positive – he got more than 74 million votes in 2020, 11 million more voting for him; his base did not shrink but expanded. It was a phenomenon worth deep and extensive research to determine what was going on. Obviously, it was not because of Mr. Trump played the role of a statesman skillfully, but because of his down to earth positions on issues dear to the voters despite his clumsy administration.
In 2024, the Democrats seemed to have sensed the problem and tried to be sensitive on immigration policy. They tried to get some Republicans to sign on their legislation which tried to modify the asylum process, increase the detention facilities, and so on. They tried to be humane and reasonable. The Republicans objected to the legislation forcefully that, in hindsight, played well with the voters who were determined to see a hardball attitude when immigration is concerned. And Mr. Trump garnered over 77 million votes, 3 million more than 2020 regardless of his otherwise crippling legal problems.
The Democratic voters? More than 81 million in 2020 and just under 75 million in 2024? Where did the 6 million go? It is reasonable to assume that many of them went to Mr. Trump. President Biden still thought that the Democrats would win. Throughout 2024 he repeatedly stated, even on November 7, that he would not pardon Hunter, his son; the obvious implication was that a President Harris would be a more proper pardoner.
All fathers understand why he wants to give his son every opportunity to fare better in life and deeply sympathize with his dilemma when his son was in trouble, and he wanted to help. But the Hunter affair makes many feel uneasy. Not just the way it was handled by the President and the Democrats. Together with their defeat in November, one must ask the question whether the Democrats were neglect and unprepared. They believed before Nov. 5th that they had a strong progressive base. It turned out the base was probably ideologically strong but not as large as they had thought. The ones who crossed the line to vote for Mr. Trump did not like a “reasonable and sensitive” immigration measures. They wanted swift and forceful actions now to correct the excesses of the current policies.
For years, the Republican Party looked as if it was in a disarray. One was concerned that Democracy would start to crumble when one party, Republican then, was weak. One suggested, half in jest, that Elon Musk should join the Party to rescue it. It is time for someone of Mr. Musk’s caliber to join the Democratic Party to help pull it up, a gigantic enterprise given the American current political reality: the Republican Party controls the White House with a president who is the leader of the MAGA segment of the party which would do anything to belittle the Democrats; the House with its Republican members who love to gerrymander to form congressional districts in favor of the Republicans; and a super majority in the Supreme Court, with only two of their members, Thomas and Alito, being over 70 but showing no sign of bad health or a desire to retire. On the other hand, of the three leaning Democratic, Sotomayor is 70 and suffered severe diabetes. During his coming term, President-elect has a very good chance of nominating another hardline Republican to the bench making a Republican supra majority of 7-9. Whether 5-9, 6-9 or 7-9, the Republicans will control the Supreme Court for a foreseeable future, and soon it will find many established precedents egregiously wrong including previous decisions on Democratic principles, a clear sign of the unhealthy state of the nation’s court of last resort.
There is little doubt that the incoming administration will, actually is already trying to concentrate power into just one center, the executive suite headed by the president-elect. One can reasonably assume that it is just the first step to subvert Democracy. The Democrats whose name derives from Democracy seem to be its only defenders.
Let’s pray.
JOHN P. LE PHONG

I had a dream.

The dinner was in the dining room at Mar-a-Lago. The president-elect sat at the head and his children on both sides of the table. Melania sat in the first chair on his right opposite Don Jr.
Don Jr., “Dad, I am thankful for your approval of this family dinner on this Thanksgiving evening. Our family only …”

“Who are you?”

“I am Don Jr., Dad.”

“Oh! Jr. my son. How are you, son?”

“I am getting emotional Dad. In just a few seconds, you call me son twice. I am deeply touched.”

Eric interjected, “Come on Don, get to the point. Dad may get tired easily.”

Don Jr. glanced at Eric, “We are here to celebrate your incredible victory. You tremendously overcame so many hurdles, bad press, Democrats’ cruel attacks…”

“Don, what are you doing?” Eric was impatient. “Dad already knows all that. If you don’t get to the point, Dad may go to sleep before we can convince him of our plan.”

“Dad…”

“Pass me the Big Mac, Melania,” the president said.

“This is Thanksgiving dear. The kitchen staff doesn’t serve hamburger.”

“What do they serve?”

“Don’t pretend dear. You know quite well what they serve. The same thing you have been served for 78 years: turkey, stuffing, and gravy.”
Ivanka was not in a good mood, “Please Melania. Let Don start the meeting.”

“Oh! So, this is a meeting, not dinner?” Baron knitted his eyebrows.

“Dad. We had discussed the issue among us…”

“I didn’t. What is the issue?” Baron asked.

“What are you talking about, Jr.?” The president also seemed to be in the dark.

“About the next four years, Dad.”

“Then why my staff and advisors are not here? Where is Susie Wiles?”

“The matter for our discussion tonight does not concern any outsider. Our family only. Everyone, what we will discuss in this room must stay in this room. No detail of our discussion is revealed to anyone outside of the family. I will ask everyone to swear on the Bible that you will not leak the information, any information of this family discussion, to anyone who is not present at this dinner. Agreed?”

“Meeting,” corrected Baron.

“You are serious, son. I have never seen you acting so seriously.”

“You must change your plan for the next four years, Dad,” said Jared.

“Who are you? You are not my son, are you?”

“Dad, it’s Jared, my husband, your son-in-law.” Ivanka was peeved.

“Here you are, my Ivanka. I haven’t seen you for four years.”

“Come on Dad. I have always been around when you needed me, always ready to support you. You know that. I was just too busy taking care of your grandchildren.”

“Even when they are in school?” asked Melania with a smirk.

“Ok! Ok! People, be serious. We have the utmost important issue to discuss and to decide on what actions to take. Dad, we have been talking about your legacy,”

“What about it? Do you think anybody else has a more tremendous legacy than mine? Dubya’s? Reagan’s?”

“No, Dad. But…”

“What?”

“Your legacy is great, but something needs to be changed,” Ivanka said. “Jared, can you tell Dad? You are the articulate one.”

Jared looked at Jr. Seeing no objection from him, he addressed the president, “It is as clear as the sky over Palm Beach, your legacy is great and enduring. You lost in 2020, came back in 2024 and beat the hell out of the Dems. You are the only Republican to win the popular vote in 20 years.”

“You are damn right. Who are you? Never mind. Just tell Susie that I want you to work for me.”

“That’s Jared, Dad, my husband, your son in law. We had worked for four years for you already. We don’t want to go back to government. We have been trying to build up our private life and patch up our old connections. Let Don and Eric help you in the White House this time.”

“What about me,” asked Baron.

Junior ignored Baron, “Thanks, Ivanka. Dad, your legacy is what people will remember you for. They don’t just remember your achievements; they also remember your not so good things you said or did.”

Jared did not want to beat around the bush, “We are concerned that if in the next four years we fail to repair your reputation, you will go down in history as a racist or a dictator wannabe regardless of how much good you will have achieved.” Jared seemed to get the president’s attention.

“To be honest, Dad,” Junior was encouraged to speak his mind, “the people who are fawning all over you are either parasites living off your name or exploiting their connection with you, or those working behind the scenes using you to reach their own goals. We don’t expect them to be loyal and stick around once you are out of power.
“And there are people who hate you, honestly Dad, with their guts. We must pay careful attention to their feelings because there must be some things that have gone seriously wrong. We must address them for the sake of our family, your children, and grandchildren.”

Melania was truly concerned, “So, what do you propose to do?”

Jared wanted to impress the president a little bit more because he knew the president was not easily convinced that he needed to do anything differently, “New York was our city, the center of our life, we were born there, grew up there, made it there. Don’t you want your own statue standing tall in the middle of Time Square? Don’t you want your name to replace Fifth Ave, which will become Donald J. Trump Avenue? Those can be done if you can win back the love of New Yorkers. Once they see who you really are, not the fake personality you have projected as a TV celebrity or a MAGA politician, they will welcome you back with open arms.”

The president said in a hoarse and melancholic voice, “I don’t give a f—k what the New Yorkers think of me, or about me.”

Eric tried to make contribution to the conversation, “You can’t let the Bloombergs of New York look down on you.”

The president asked, “What do you boys have in mind?”

Detecting the president’s nostalgic tone in his voice, Junior rushed ahead before Jared could interject, “One very good thing about your winning the 2024 election is that you don’t have to fight anyone anymore. That will leave you with plenty of time and energy to build up your positive image.”

“Can we eat now? I don’t see why we can not eat and talk at the same time,” Barron moaned.

“Shut up kid. You don’t talk when you eat,” Eric shouted.

“Don’t raise your voice at my son,” Melania said calmly but firmly.
“The first thing we focus our energy on, I say “our” because from now on the family will be actively involved in all aspects of your life including your administration,” Junior continued.

“Who says that you can be involved?”

The room was deadly silent.

“So, you know, just don’t do that again,” the president said sternly.

“What, Dad?”

“Some people sitting here know what I am talking about. But anyway, we are back together again, and I want it to be forever. Family is my priority.

“Do you think that when someone hates me, I don’t know it or don’t care, Jared? Well, you are not a Trump, so you don’t know me. But I know and I care, not in the sense that I give a damn about those sons and daughters of bitches. I am just careful. I was from the New York construction business world. I fight even in my sleep. Continue son.”

“Jared knows you well, Dad,” insisted Ivanka, meekly.

He ignored her. “Junior?”

Junior smiled broadly, “We start with your language and everyday communication. Speak about nice and positive things. Stop giving people you don’t like bad epithets. Why don’t you use in your speech the title Mr. or Mrs. when you mention a political opponent’s if you don’t remember their current or previous position? Mrs. Clinton, President Obama would be a progress.”

“Um.”

Junior became animated, “Next will be the nominations to fill your cabinet. The Gaetz affair was brilliant. You complied with MAGA’s request, got him out of Congress, then out of the running as well and everyone is in your debt including Mr. Gaetz and his family. Brilliant!”

“It was not intended that way.”

“That should be your intention from now on. Soften your image of extremism. Discreetly keep a distance from MAGA …” Jared could not finish his sentence.

“Do you know who I am dealing with?”

“No matter how powerful they are, you are holding the handle of the knife. This is your last term. You don’t run for anything that needs the support of their machine.”

“You kids do not know how much control the money people have on our country. Totally. The financial system is the blood circulation system of the country and probably the whole world since John D. Rockefeller started accumulating wealth and J.P. Morgan wielded his financial power to created U.S. Steel and General Electric. They have never laxed their grip on power.”

“Of course we don’t antagonize them. To clean up the bad side of your reputation, we need to play our hand carefully, discreetly, and skillfully. Whenever they want you to nominate bad apples, we execute the Gaetz strategy to get the nomination sabotaged.”

“I would not use that word, Don,” Jared differed, slightly. “They are still our strong allies. But I agree with your strategy. You will choose competent, experienced, and ethical people to work with you in this administration. Give MAGA crump appointments here and there, education, labor.”

“You can pressure Thomas to resign from the Supreme Court,” Melania surprised everyone. “I don’t like them, him and his wife. They are coarse, have no manner. Up there those judges can rule for or against anything they want as long as they show finesse. You can squeeze the Thomases hard and get not even an ounce of finesse from them.”

The president showed a rare smile, “Justices.”

“What,” Melania was confused.

“In America, we call the judges sitting in the Supreme Court Justices. I guess you have someone in mind to replace Thomas, right dear?”

To everyone’s surprise, she said, “Yes. I do. I like Merrick Garland.”

Eric was dumfounded, “Oh God. Be serious Melania!”

The president warmly said, “Tell us your reason.”

“I like straight arrow guys. As far as I know, no one including those in your Supreme Court has a better legal brain than his. More, he is clearly better than any of them because he is not political. What kind of a judge who flies our flag upside down to publicly show his political bias? My dear, you and the boys,” she saw Ivanka dart a glace at her, “and Ivanka may take the law lightly. Not me, not ordinary Americans like me and my parents, we understand and cherish the Constitution, laws, and order.”

The president was amused, “You want to replace Alito too, with whom?”

Melania could not hold back her eagerness, “Kamala Harris.”

The table erupted with laughter and shouting. Even Barron joined the ruckus, “Mom is a RINO.”

Jared called the table to order, “Back to our discussion, everyone. Seriously, the idea of replacing Thomas is not a bad idea. It would show Dad to be a bipartisan law and order president and the Republican majority still remaining on the Court. The whole country would see Dad as a constitutionalist and a patriot who loves his country, the Constitution, and its citizenry. I think our plan will work.”

“The people who control the financial institutions control the country. We are owners of our money, our accounts, our properties. But the system has been designed so that we owners, billionaires included, are only trustors. We entrust our properties to the money men for management They are the trustees who actually have control over our properties. Those are the people that you will have to fight back if you want me to follow your plan to rehabilitate my legacy.”

“The stake is much higher than that, Dad. We love our freedom and Democracy. You may want to be the Putin of America but how much longer will you hold power? When you are gone, another guy will replace you and we, your children and grandchildren will be the subjects of the new guy. Do you think that we will still have our freedom and will be protected under an oligarchic or dictatorial regime especially some of your grandchildren are Jewish?”

“Jared, work with Junior closely on the plan and keep me posted regularly. Keep Melania in the loop. Honey, I did not know you have such an excellent political acumen. Where is Tiffany?”

Everybody looked at Barron who said, “She is traveling.”

Junior said, “I will brief her on the plan.”

Jared said, “I am sure you will be successful. You have a reputation as being unpredictable, decisive, and doing things as you please. In the pit bull fight between you and MAGA people, your tenacity will ensure that you will win. Remember Dad, your legacy is the only thing that matters to you as you are now 78 and irreversibly sailing into the sunset.”

I felt someone shaking me. It was my wife. “Hi honey. We don’t need to get up early today, right? Why do you wake me up?”

She smiled, “You are smiling, John, in your sleep. Were you dreaming?”

JOHN P. LE PHONG

The Democrats woke up on November 6 to find that they have been just guests on the planet of MAGA, bewildered and lost. The MAGA made the presidential victory in November look so easy, a Democrat would be tempted to exclaim AI did it. That is a cry in the wilderness because they are out to the pasture for at least two to four years.
American politics now is a battle between traditional Republican Establishment and MAGA Republicanism. Republican Establishment – Reaganism with big tent ideal comes to mind – seems to attract only older guys and gals whose energy and cunning is nowhere near the MAGA Republicans, younger and smarter. MAGA Republicans are representing themselves as battling the excesses of the liberal left. But in victory, they will go overboard without an effective counter force. Some of them have already stated their intention to undo or at least weaken Democracy.
The reverse revolutionary – turning Democracy back to Autocracy or another form of dictatorship – previously seemed to be unachievable because the hurdles looked insurmountable. After the 2024 election, such reversal does not seem to be impossible not only because the Republicans had all four power branches under their control, but they are also boosted by the huge energy coming from the billionaires.
For ordinary citizens, Democracy is the sole guaranty of freedom and happiness. The modern billionaires are rich and privileged right after graduating from college or even high school before they experience any hardship or injustice in life. They don’t appreciate what Democracy offers because they don’t see how it is better for them while a dictatorship offers even more privileges, and pomp and circumstances as bonuses. Their support for such scheming may also have something to do with their tendency to look for something different, a laudable habit of making life richer for everyone. But tampering with Democracy such as giving more power to one person or shutting down watchdog agencies is clearly not the same.
Even though Matt Gaetz has taken himself out of the run for US Attorney General, the new administration’s nomination of such flawed and controversial characters to run the country signals its intention. Why are men who have absolutely no experience and no knowledge of the businesses of the gigantic departments nominated to run them?
Firstly, the president wants to show the Party and other Republicans who is the boss. A democratic boss relies on consensus and persuasion. A dictatorial boss wants their underlings not just to pledge allegiance to them but to prove their loyalty. If he doesn’t get his way, he retaliates. If they don’t do what he tells them to do, he will remember. We have seen for the last four years that MO of controlling the Republican Party and its members including respectable Republican leaders who have just lost their mettle.
The new AG nominee, Pam Bondi, has stated that she would prosecute the Department of Justice’s prosecutors and investigate the investigators because they had the audacity to carry out their job duties of investigating and prosecuting the then former president for wrongdoings. It’s hard to think of anything more anti-democratic than that statement. Some commentators dismiss it as rhetorical. But if her boss tells her to do just that, will she not do it?
Let’s hope that those comments are not wishful thinking.
Secondly, those nominations are early signs of a dictatorship in the making. When a leader has around him only yes men, there will be no debate, which means contrary opinions are also seriously considered. Or vice versa, he has yes men working for him because he doesn’t want any debate on his decisions.
Again, let’s hope that the Republicans can manage to prevent such reversal from happening.
JOHN P. LE PHONG.

Some Democrats claim voting fraud in this election. Voting fraud is a strange thing. It is easy to commit (in every election, there is a claim of fraud) but impossible to prove. No one is more capable and persistent than President Trump in charging the Democrats of voting fraud in 2020. But after four years of hard digging and bitterness, he could prove nothing.
It is understandable that the Democrats are frustrated witnessing what they maintain a suspicious result with the vice president got only 61 million votes while the polls had consistently showed a neck and neck running.
Venting frustration should be over now. They must focus on 2026. If they are obsessed with voting fraud, they can do their best to prevent it from happening from now on. For now, they should try to work harder to take back the House or the Senate, or both. They should try to balance between the demands of their liberal base and the concern of the majority, which elected Mr. Trump.
Government takes care of and address the interest and wishes of the whole citizenry including the deplorables, not just Democrats. They lost probably because they sympathize with the immigrants and the under dogs. Too sentimental. They blindly pushed their core liberal policies, and when they realized the white majority’s determination to push back against their immigration policies, they offered halfhearted measures. High minded progressive ideals are commendable, but it could only be achieved with good timing. A party is irrelevant without power.
The president and his allies will be very busy in the next one or probably two years to cleaning up the government, euphemism for remaking the government to their liking. As a businessman, Mr. Trump has not been successful in many enterprises that he had tried – except one, a solid achievement: the Trump Organization. Now he models his administration after the TO: a small group of obedient helpers whose job is to take orders directly from him and execute them strictly and un-hesitantly. He wants to reduce the job of any cabinet secretary so simple and easy to carry out that even Baron could do it. He is familiar and more comfortable with that format.
When Elon Musk was wooing Mr. Trump, trying to get into his inner circle, many were hoping that such a precise engineering and mathematical brain would effectively counter the excesses of the MAGA force, which is more a zealous revolutionary cabal than politicians in a political democratic system.
Mr. Musk argued when he joined Mr. Trump’s campaign that voting for Republicans would save Democracy. Americans who care for Democracy were optimistic that he would be able to influence the new administration’s domestic affairs such as economic issues, tariffs, import restriction, but also foreign policies dealing with Ukraine conflict, relations with China and Western Europe with the rise of racism. He could conceivably tamper the president’s dictatorial tendency.
However, Mr. Musk’s brain power seems to have worked against such hope, even against his own interest and plan. The MAGA Republicans may have the same scared feeling when one stands next to Mike Tyson: his sneezing could blow you off your chair.
Not only Mr. Must is not only relegated to a position, albeit a cabinet secretary, without portfolio, he is one of two guys, co-leaders, working together doing “non portfolio” things. In other words, he is not going to be able to do anything, let alone make decisions. The co-leadership appointment could be a slight to Mr. Musk. For a sharp and formidable executive who makes decisions when sleeping on his factory floor, he does not have a co-leader in anything.
Mr. Musk is a decider. It is difficult to absorb the image of Mr. Musk wandering in the hall of the West Wing. Upon hearing Mr. Trump calling him from the Oval Office, he would step in smiling broadly and ask, “Am I late for the meeting?” and the president says, “the policy discussion was over. Come in to say hi to everyone and have biscuits and tea.”
True to his character, the President has always given, and will give, the Americans an exciting show for the next four years. It will be mesmerizing to watch when the show adds Elon Musk to the cast.

JOHN P. LE PHONG, ESQ.

In 2020, even though the Democrats won the presidential election, the fact that President Trump received 74 million votes was, or should have been, a canary in the coal mine: The slogan “Take Our Country Back” resonated with 74 million voters. Not all of them were MAGA Republicans.

The same message was used by the Republicans in the 2024 campaign that just changed the form from “Take Our Country Back” to illegal immigrants flooding the country and committing crimes, illegal immigrants committing voting fraud, border crisis, and so on. They all led to the climactic shouting: the country is losing its identity. That was powerfully persuasive even to many Democrats. That explains the 69 million votes Kamala Harris received this election compared to Joe Biden’s 81 million in 2020; a sizable number of Democrats either did not vote for her or crossed the line and voted for Donald Trump.

The Democrats had been aware of the slogan’s power, but they were in between a rock and a hard place: they did try to be tough on immigration then they panicked when their base rebelled.

That was before November 5, 2024.

The question today is what will the Republicans do now that they gain total power: the White House, both houses of Congress, and a 6/9 majority in the Supreme Court? Will they wield this almost absolute power to clean up the immigration mess, correct and make America great again.

Or would they transform America into a dictatorial regime?

The 2024 election of President Trump runs the risk that MAGA’s extremist policies will be implemented, and the democratic political system will be tampered with. There is the risk that MAGA Republicans will try to do everything to maintain their political hegemony even undermining Democracy. And there is the risk that MAGA Republicans will become bolder to move forward with whatever sinister plan they have hashed. Four years of unchecked power could move the country into uncharted waters as the Democrats are completely sidelined. There is no counter force in sight.

Before November 5, 2024, there was hope that the so-called mainstream Republicans would have risen up to right the malaise of the party. That failed to materialize. Let’s just pray that the “I don’t like him, but I will vote for him” was their one-time tactic to preserve their options, not a sign of their losing the will to fight to protect the Constitution and preserve Democracy.
It is a daylight nightmare just to think that the prayer would never be answered.

JOHN P. LE PHONG.

Only one more day when Americans will decide if Mr. Musk will go to Washington.
Mr. Musk has contributed hugely to the American economy, automobile industry, and space technology. We have benefited tremendously from his successes. So, we say thank you Mr. Musk, we root for you, and we listen to you.
But that does not mean we agree with him on all issues. Many people including his followers on X, certainly do not agree with his concept of a traditional Christian family. But whether someone agrees with him or not, that would have no bearing on him; he has just made offers to donate his sperms to any woman who can overcomes her bewilderment and accept his offer.
But when it comes to his politics, Americans must pause to answer this question before they vote: will you vote for Donald Trump because Mr. Must supports him?
The prospect of Mr. Musk sitting in Mr. Trumps’ future administration is a serious matter. On the positive side of such an occurrence, Mr. Musk, as the minister of efficiency, would make sure that no non-efficient people such as someone named Trump except Donald J. Trump would talk loud in the White House to disturb the staff.
But the very thought of Mr. Musk’s joining Mr. Trumps’ government sends a shiver down the country’s spine.
Mr. Trump and his allies had tried for years to find ways to weaken the democratic institutions. They did not completely succeed, but the country is shaking.
Mr. Musk, the man who beat both the Automobile Dynasties and NASA at THE SAME TIME in only a few years, now supports Mr. Trump. Sitting in government, with such a brain, it would not take him long to dismantle Democracy.
When you go to vote tomorrow, think of Mr. Trump’s supporter in chief who is running $1,000.000/day sweepstakes in the swing states to support Mr. Trump, a clear sign that they want to turn the Democratic Unites States of America into a Banana Republic.

JOHN P. LE PHONG