Donald Trump has declared himself King in the USA. He should take a lesson from history. King Canute of England, Denmark and Norway knew there were limitations on regal power. Trump does not. That's why he's bound to fail.
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This is the transcript:
The world is getting used to the idea that Donald Trump thinks he's King Donald. He's already said so on his own social media account. He's declared, “Long live the king”, and he very clearly was referring to himself. So, King Donald we have. 250 years after the USA put in place a constitution to guarantee that they would never be subject to a king again, Trump thinks that's precisely the role that he has.
It is an extraordinary situation to have arisen, and some very clear indication of the fact that Trump really does think that he has delivered a coup, which is overturning everything that the USA thought it knew about its own constitution.
But I want to stand back for a minute. And just think about the fact that we now have King Donald because I want to tell the story of another king. An English king. An English king from a long time ago. King Canute, and he had a problem with troublesome advisors. Trump might, at some point, begin to recognise the relevance of this story.
Those advisors believed that Canute was omnipotent. He could do anything. Whatever he said should happen. And the advisors to Trump do, I think right now think, that is also the case. I also suspect that Trump thinks that's the case, which is particularly worrying, but Canute was undoubtedly wiser than Trump. commute, Canute knew that he was not omnipotent and to prove the point, as many schoolchildren in the UK will know, he went to the coast.
He sat on the shoreline in his throne, which I suspect was not that grand, and told the tide not to come in. And all his advisers stood behind him, lined up as Trump does, put his people around him when he's signing something in the White House, and they stood and watched to see what would happen.
And of course, the tide came in as Canute knew it would.
He wasn't daft.
He wasn't like Trump.
He didn't think he could rule nature, as Trump clearly does, because he thinks he can say that climate change isn't happening, and according to him, it isn't when very obviously it is.
No, Canute did this precisely to prove the fact that he was not omnipotent. There were things beyond his control about which he could do nothing.
He was a wise king who realised that there are limitations to power and compromises that have to be made because some things out there will not respond to whatever he says. King Donald has not learned that lesson as yet.
And this is why we are heading for tears before his regime, rule, governorship, whatever he wishes to call it, might be over. How he comes down from power, we don't know, because we aren't sure that he's going to allow elections again. But that he will come down from power is certain.
It may simply be because he's quite an old man, and he looks like a very unfit man, and he may just simply die in the job. But whatever it is that brings Trump and his acolytes down from power, it will certainly happen. And the biggest reason why it will happen, and why it may happen sooner than we expect, is because Trump does not realise that there are limitations on what he can do.
Right now, he's creating chaos. He's going into government departments, one after another, and sacking people.
They sacked the nuclear inspectors and suddenly realised the US system of nuclear protection can't exist without nuclear inspectors.
They sacked the people who were doing the job of trying to control avian flu, which is causing mayhem across America right now, and has led to a doubling of the price of eggs, which is deeply unpopular, and then realised they can't control avian flu without those people and they desperately need them back.
They're sacking people everywhere. The Internal Revenue Service is the latest agency to suffer cuts. And it won't be alone.
The point is quite simple. The cuts that are being put in place by Trump and Musk, and others, are designed to create chaos. But systems can't survive chaos. There are powers beyond their reach which will create reactions. The tide will still come in. The world will continue.
The US government will require taxation revenue.
Nuclear power will continue to need regulation.
Avian flu does not recognize the power of Donald Trump to say it should cease.
There are issues, which he will have to tackle in the real world, which will not respond to a memo from the White House.
And that is also true in Europe, Ukraine, defence, and so many other issues, including, of course, USAID, where he has undermined the entire USAID program, in the process destroying much of the country's soft power, and giving China free reign to intervene in much of Africa, which is going to fundamentally change the nature of the political economy of the world for a long time to come.
This process of releasing the wrecking ball will bring Trump down along with a lot else.
He doesn't realise, as he should do, as Canute did, that he has to tread carefully within a world where there are constraints on his power. And until he does, then He's going to continue to cause havoc. When he does, it will be too late for him to put things right because no one's going to trust him to rebuild what he has destroyed. So, when he goes, it will be time for him and his style of government to be replaced.
I don't know when that time is, but I think we should take a lesson from Canute.
We should realise that government, fundamental as it is, important as it is, important as Canute was as a king, is not going to overturn the realities of life which will go on from before he came into his reign and after he left it.
King Donald is a transitory force in US politics. Those who think they might follow in his wake, take the lesson from Oliver Cromwell, who tried to put his son Richard Cromwell in charge of the English government in 1658, when Oliver Cromwell died, having been Lord Protector, having replaced King Charles I in 1649. And Richard Cromwell had to flee the country within two years, because the mayhem was too difficult for him to manage.
Now, I'm not suggesting that we will go back to the way that government was before Donald Trump came into office. I actually don't want us to because, quite clearly, there were many things very wrong with the way in which the US government was managed prior to the inauguration of Trump. We could list those things forever.
Neoliberal government has failed the people of the USA by not delivering them the things they want. So, let's not pretend we're going back to where we were, but let's anticipate that wise heads will be required to recognise that government needs a new role, working within the constraints of things like climate change, to deliver for all the people of the USA. And that, at some time, this will have to happen.
In a battle between King Donald and King Canute, there's no doubt that at the end of the day, Canute has to win. Trump may not want to recognise that yet. The world is in a panic about his power right now. But sanity will prevail. Trust me. We have to believe that is the case. Because if not, then there's no hope. And I live in hope.
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I went to school in Gainsborough, Lincs. They claim that the tide story was Canute showing the tidal aegir on the trent river, not on the coast!
He did set up his court in Gainsborough, then of course the Danelaw.
Stand back for a minute and read your youtube profile:
Richard Murphy, is a political economist and chartered accountant. He is also a professor in political economy, accounting and sustainability with over 40 years experience.
On the YouTube journey we will be exploring the economy, tax, accounting and the Green New Deal.
In the process, what Richard is looking to find is The New Normal – How we remake the economy after Coronavirus.
What is that first comma doing? Haiyaa.
That was written four years ago, and not by me. The late Mark Cooney, who managed the channel back then, wrote it and it is horribly out of date. I will update it.
Meanwhile, what were you trying to prove?
Probably the Johannine comma, Richard (see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannine_Comma), or sobe other arcane “angels on the head of a pin” dispute.
“But sanity will prevail. Trust me. We have to believe that is the case.”
I don’t normally disagree, but this time you are wrong. Russian Roulette by Michaek Isikoff & David Corn. Published 2018. Page 84. (hardback).
A.J.Benza (journo that Trump regularly spoke to in the 1990s): Benza quoting Trump “I was just in Russia. The girls have no morals. You gotta get out there”.
Facts:
1. Trump made a number of visits to Moscow – 1980s, 1990s, 2000s etc.
2. All the hotels are wired for sound & video – this was/is done systematically by the KGB/FSB.
3. The Steele report implied that the FSB had kompromat on Trump. This is a certainty and the kompromat will be very very extensive.
Russia have their Manchurian candidate who they control, body & soul.
Why was 2017 – 2020 not worse? – his win was unexpected. His loss in 2020 triggered the invasion – not possible in 2021 (Covid still rumbling) and Feb 2022 was just after the winter Olympics. His attempt to overturn the election was desparation (probably with Kremlin prodding). The kompromat will be extensive and if Trump does not toe-the-line then it would start to dribble out – a slo-mo disaster. But he will comply since he is addicted to power anyway. I note that US defense spending will be reduced and all sorts of other gov agencies reduced/eliminated. In some respects this is Russian revenge for what the mostly, USA & the neolibtards did, to Russia in the 1990s. The acceptance by Trump of Kremlin talking lines is one part of the proof needed – his appointment of various Kermlin stooges e.g. head of the NSA is another.
This leaves an open question: back channel – how does he get his instructions – perhaps via something as simple as the phone.
Given the above, I have no doubt that the Chinese are wetting themselves with laughter. Taiwan, here we come.
Things will get worse. It is time Europe (EU, UK and others) got together and stuck together.
Mike
I was not presuming sanity would prevail in the case of Trump – he is far beyond that
I am saying that order will be restored
I do not know hwne or what the price will be
Richard
Apologies for the misunderstanding.
Yes, eventually Putin, Trump etc will be gone. One wonders what will emerge from the rubble.
Like you, I live in hope.
I think the focus now is on what we want that future to be.
Today’s New York Times International Edition has a front page story headed “Russia sells Trump on a dream of deals galore”.
The Russian aim seems to be entice King Donald to end the war, with Ukraine enfeebled, lift sanctions and look at the profit that US companies can make in Russia.
Diplomacy by business deals.
But sanity will prevail?
I too, would prefer to live in hope, but what follows Trump? Unless he creates a dictatorship, which may still be a possibility, the Republican front-runner for 28 might be the maniacal Vance.
What is worrying, are the Democrats. What are they doing? Latest polls suggest that Harris is their front-runner for 28. Big mistake.
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-primary-d/2028/national/
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/favorability/kamala-harris/
With apologies to Sir Edward Grey, “The lamps are going out all over the Western world, we shall not see them lit again in our life-time”. Most people have not yet realised just how serious the situation is, nor how long it will be before (if ever) the equilibrium is restored.
It is an extreme version of the Kimbeau effect: after almost a century of world peace (where ‘world’ is narrowly defined as Europe and North America), most people simply cannot comprehend that the stability of the status quo could end, and is ending. The Washington Post insouciantly writes “We’re moving toward an imperial presidency. And whether or not that’s a good thing remains to be seen.” By the time the opposition wakes up, the chaos will be irreversible. This morning, I am deeply pessimistic.
I wish more politicians would act like Richard Cromwell.
“I love and value the Peace of this Commonwealth much above my own concernments”.
The 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is being held from 19th to 22nd February, 2025 in Washington. Highlights, so far, included:
Steve Bannon calling for Trump to be made President for life and giving a Nazi salute. Trump’s mother and father lived to the ages of 88 and 93 respectively. Fingers crossed that King Don didn’t inherit his dad’s longevity genes.
Musk taking to the stage, wielding a chainsaw, celebrating having cut the jobs of tens of thousands federal employees.
Liz Truss telling the assembled that the UK is failing and needs a MAGA-style movement to save it.
All very normal in the MAGA madhouse.
Agreed
There is tons of evidence that Trump is subject to ‘kompromat’ (and for all we know Boris Johnson and few other Englishmen are in the same boat).
I would sum Mike’s point up as being that the Russians saw weaknesses in Western democracy (one of those Russians in Catherine Belton’s book ‘Putin’s People’ (2020) says that the West is all about money, never mind democracy and other ‘principles’) and have exploited this, using New York, London financial centres to launder their wealth and build assets in the West that have then been used as power bases to infiltrate Western society – and by this I mean the upper echelons of Western society where the money and the power is. Because no one at that level cares how you got it, just that you have it and that you are a ‘player’. Money-blindness again.
I share Mikes’ doubts to be honest Richard. I fear that what the ‘wiser heads’ heads (are there any?) will want is just a return to the stability that they had before Trump came along. I do not see an epiphany or any self examination because what was previous served them well. They are probably just puzzled by Trump and wonder naively how he came about even though it is all in the evidence that has been around them for years and which they have ignored. So what if Trump gets voted out? Western society will be strapped Ixion-like to a burning wheel of Neo-liberal logic going around in circles for ever………… how many other Trumps and charlatans will there be before we learn?
The Chinese have been fully justified in keeping U.S. capitalism at bay and doing things ‘their way’. Their approach is even more subtle than Russia’s. But it could mean a collision with America – what will that do to the Russo-Chinese axis, if one actually exists?
What will happen now will happen – Project 2025 is underway. You’ve got to give it to the Right though Richard, they don’t mess about. ‘Sovereign is he who makes the exception’. If only the Left had had the guts to do that in 1997, we might have better water and sewage, better railways, no 2008 crash, and better of much else. Oh well…….
It’s not just socialism for the rich that is the problem, but egalitarianism too, another naive liberal weakness to exploit.
What I am already interested in is the next U.S. election. How will that play out? Will there be one? Or will there be civil war in America again? Both sides have guns remember?
As for you, your full time job is expressing your hopes for humanity as well analysing facts that those in charge want to hide. It is still valuable stuff which may indeed have an impact even yet. There is no need for you to feel that anyone is disparaging your efforts when some of us come here rather frayed to be honest.
But speaking for myself, I am not so much frightened as I am disappointed. I’m really disappointed by all this. That is what I am. I thought that we were better than this. So, how’s that for being an idealist!
Now what was it Gianluca Vialli said? ‘You don’t just win or lose; you either win or learn’. Viva Gianluca!
I am frayed too.
And frightened – even for my physical well-being now.
I have made the choice to carry on, knowing it might have a price attached.
I will take that risk for idealism.
You have made a difference –
You have brought people together and helped build a dialogue amongst people that would otherwise never ever have communicated.
You have provided a space for discussion in dark times.
You have allowed me to make some friends that I am very proud to call friends.
Thank you for your tolerance of cranky buggers like me.
Speaking of which, where is Mr Warren these days?
He is taking a break
And thanks for the rest
That wrecking ball is sure to swing back.
As usual, well worth watching this clip from Rachel Maddow, and the one above it, on Trumps poll numbers and also the numbers on his personnel and policies. Every one is a minus. Apparently no president in Gallup’s 72 years of presidential polling has someone polled negative this early. And this after only 4 weeks.
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show
That said, as Rachel admits at one point, Trump and co don’t expect to have any more elections so maybe it matters not. And no doubt he’ll ban polling within a few months.
I think he will
He will say of the world lets Zelelnskyy cancel elections so can he
You can just see it coming
I think and hope Trump will attempt to stop elections . He even said so during the election , ‘ vote for me and it’s the last time you will need to “ or words to that effect . I suspect that will be the breaking point for many Americans . 250 years of ‘democracy’ etc etc . Only the MAGA mob will be in favour and maybe the Republican Party may develop a spine . Fingers crossed
I wonder how Trump and Musk et al expect to land their private jets in safety if qualified air traffic controllers have been laid off at each airport, and/or exhausted because they are overworked due to staff cuts.