There is always something new and exciting coming out of Washington. Last week’s big story centered on the presumed prerogative of the United States to kill people anywhere in the world without necessarily having to make the legal or moral case that they deserved death.
The drive behind this impulse clearly originates from the highest echelons of the government, with President Donald J Trump having repeatedly expressed his national security stance by plainly declaring that whenever his administration identifies “enemies” of the US, the newly titled Secretary of War would exercise the right to “kill them.” Trump asserts that as president he can “do whatever he wants,” implying that he may have never familiarized himself with the US Constitution.
While the erratic Trump is not the first US president to implement such a de facto policy akin to L’État, c’est moi, he might be the first to admit it so openly. George W Bush “legalized” torture under his “global war on terror” campaign, positioning himself as the “new sheriff in town.” His successor, Barack Obama, convened weekly White House meetings to compile lists of American citizens and others abroad targeted for drone assassinations. He notably authorized the killings of the al-Awlakis, an Arizona father and son living in Yemen, through this method. Joe Biden escalated further, indirectly supplying Israel with weapons and political backing to inflict genocide on at least 100,000 Gazans. When questioned privately by aides about this stance, he replied, “I am a Zionist,” and refused to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt the violence.
Regarding Trump, one must acknowledge his knack for turning numerous fatalities into a recurring comedic spectacle, complete with derogatory nicknames for female reporters challenging him at press briefings. Recently, his verbal attacks, tantrums, and menacing comments have intensified. To Nancy Cordes, CBS’s White House correspondent, he snarled: “Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person? You’re just asking questions because you’re a stupid person.” He also disparaged New York Times journalist Katie Rogers as “third rate … ugly, both inside and out.” The harshest insult was hurled at White House correspondent Catherine Lucey: “Quiet. Quiet, piggy.” Even more severe were his threats against Democratic lawmakers who urged military personnel to resist unlawful commands, labeling them as committing “sedition … punishable by DEATH.”
As a man seemingly fixated on himself, Trump has transformed every act of violence into a narrative showcasing his own brilliance and political acumen. Last week, he orchestrated two major events that highlighted how far the US leadership is willing to go to propagate absurdity. The first was held at the United States Institute of Peace, which was supposed to be the venue for signing a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo but quickly shifted focus to Trump, both literally and figuratively.
Earlier this year, amid a crackdown on government efficiency under Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which involved cutting government jobs, the Institute of Peace was effectively seized and closed down through White House intervention. Trump himself described it as a “bloated, useless entity.” This action is now challenged in court since the Institute is predominantly government-funded and was established by Congressional law, but it does not fall under Executive Branch control.
Currently, the Institute has been renamed, with its Connecticut Avenue building now displaying large bronze letters above the original name spelling out “Donald J Trump,” clearly promoting the president’s alleged skill as a peacemaker. The State Department announced Monday that the institute had been renamed “The Donald J Trump Institute of Peace” in honor of and to “reflect the greatest dealmaker in our nation’s history.” Trump claims to have brokered peace in eight international conflicts, though this assertion has been widely disputed and mocked. The prominent display of his name is another tactic to portray himself as a distinguished diplomatic dealmaker while campaigning for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2026, which he seems to greatly desire.
That wasn’t the only spectacle. Trump took center stage at the event, seizing the opportunity to highlight himself. He mentioned an upcoming meeting scheduled for Friday to finalize the lineup for the next US-Canada-Mexico FIFA soccer World Cup. This meeting was to be hosted at the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, but Trump deliberately slipped calling it the “Trump Kennedy Center.” The slip was no accident.
Trump has already packed the Kennedy Center’s board with his allies and is pushing to rename the opera house after his wife, with plans to rename the building itself after him. This impending takeover reportedly caused numerous performers to cancel appearances and resulted in a marked drop in public attendance. At the FIFA event, Trump predictably received a special inaugural “peace prize” from the soccer association’s organizers. FIFA President Gianni Infantino presented the award stating: “You definitely deserve the first FIFA Peace Prize for your action, for what you have obtained in your way, but you obtained it in an incredible way. And you can always count, Mr. President, on my support, on the support of the entire … soccer community to help you make peace and make the world prosper.” Trump described receiving the award as “one of the great honors” of his life. It’s worth noting FIFA is cautious that Trump might disrupt the World Cup games scheduled in the US, a threat he has partly made if denied publicity and recognition. Some reports described the event as cringeworthy, particularly when Trump placed the medal around his own neck.
There was more Trump spectacle last week. He discussed plans for the Dulles International Airport in Virginia, with the White House advocating for “improvements.” After a site visit, Trump criticized the current facility as “…not a good airport. It should be a great airport, and it’s not a good airport.” He labeled the main terminal “incorrectly designed” and affirmed: “We’re going to turn that around and we’re going to make Dulles airport – serving Washington and Virginia, Maryland, etc – we’re gonna make that into something really spectacular. We have an amazing plan for it.” Reportedly, part of the upgrade will include renaming the airport for, well, guess whom.
Let’s also recall the proposed “large” triumphal arch—dubbed the Trump-Full arch—planned for the Potomac shoreline near Arlington National Cemetery, along with a congressional bill to add Trump’s massive likeness to the Mount Rushmore Memorial in South Dakota. While Washington DC hasn’t been slated for a Trump-related rename yet, it might be just around the corner. Additionally, Trump found yet another stage last week when he issued a proclamation on December 2nd, commemorating the 232nd anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine. His proclamation declared: “Today, my Administration proudly reaffirms this promise under a new ‘Trump Corollary’ to the Monroe Doctrine: That the American people—not foreign nations nor globalist institutions—will always control their own destiny in our hemisphere… Reinvigorated by my Trump Corollary, the Monroe Doctrine is alive and well—and American leadership is coming roaring back stronger than ever before.”
True to form, Trump never misses a chance to laud himself by name, leveraging every ounce of assumed presidential power to do so. Sadly, this self-congratulation is largely illusory since Trump’s portrayal as a peacemaker doesn’t align with reality. His submissive deference to Netanyahu and wealthy Jewish interests has led to devastation. Gaza under the “Trump Peace Plan” has become a platform enabling Israel to continue exterminating Palestinians. Likewise, Lebanon enjoys only a ceasefire that serves Netanyahu’s aims of killing Lebanese citizens, mirrored again in Syria. And what about Iran bombing? Or Somalia, a population Trump recently disparaged as “garbage”?
On the topic of Somalis and other nationals deemed too undesirable to enter the land of freedom and bravery, Trump has now expressed his desire to “permanently” halt migration from third-world nations while accelerating “mass deportations” of citizens from those countries already residing in the US. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has advocated expanding the travel ban to include at least eleven additional nations, reporting on X about her meeting with Trump and recommending “a full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies. WE DON’T WANT THEM. NOT ONE.”
Curiously, if Noem’s stringent ban were enforced as described, it might even apply to Israelis, given the evident patterns of violence and entitlement exhibited both towards their neighbors and within Israel itself, fitting the criteria of being “killers, leeches and entitlement junkies.” This situation could be welcomed news, especially if Israel faced collapse, resulting in many Israelis potentially seeking refuge in the US—bringing with them their propensity for corrupting American governance and manipulating the media.
In another initiative likely to draw close attention from both the Trump administration and the Israel Lobby, Ohio Republican Senator Bernie Moreno proposed a bill to mandate that US citizens must exhibit “sole and exclusive allegiance to the US.” Moreno stated, “Being an American citizen is an honor and a privilege — and if you want to be an American, it’s all or nothing. It’s time to end dual citizenship for good.”
The “Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025” would prohibit holding US citizenship simultaneously with any foreign nationality. Any US citizen acquiring foreign citizenship after enactment would be required to renounce their US citizenship. Individuals with dual citizenship would need to submit a written renunciation of foreign citizenship to the Secretary of State or a renunciation of US citizenship to the Secretary of Homeland Security within one year following the act’s passage. Failure to comply would be interpreted as voluntary renunciation under section 349(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Those considered to have relinquished citizenship would be recorded accordingly in Federal systems and treated as aliens for immigration purposes.
This proposal aligns with policies in numerous other countries, yet in America, the Israel Lobby alongside certain Congressional members and White House officials will likely oppose it vigorously. Notably, the landmark Supreme Court case Afroyim v. Rusk (1967), initiated by an Israeli, established that US citizens cannot lose citizenship involuntarily unless they willingly relinquish it. Although exact figures are unclear, it’s estimated that 200,000 to 600,000 US citizens with Israeli citizenship reside in Israel, while around 191,000 Israeli-Americans live in the United States.
The popularity of the bill to end dual citizenship is uncertain, but many Americans seem weary of hearing about abuses committed in the West Bank by dual-national “Israeli” settlers from Brooklyn. Equally significant is the powerful Israel Lobby, including dual-national Jewish billionaires and Hollywood elites who claim victimhood from “antisemitism” to secure special protections and legislation. Trump’s leading campaign donor is Israeli Miriam Adelson, who has contributed over $100 million to the Republican Party while demanding policies favorable to Israel, including support for the Gaza genocide. Trump has accepted her funds and complied fully with her wishes. It’s time to put an end to this!
Original article: www.unz.com
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