This is an excerpt from an article by Robert Reich (Clinton's labour Secretary, amongst much else) on his SubStack this morning.
I recommend reading the rest and subscribing, which is free for most content. I think it worth paying the annual sub, which is I think $40:
- Trump's major interest is capitulation itself. Surrender is the whole point. He and those under him who are managing these extortionate initiatives want headlines that say “they” have surrendered to him — whether “they” is a country, a major university, a large law firm, a big nonprofit, even a Democratic state like California. Surrender is the point. Domination is his goal. (It always has been.)
- Each surrender feeds the public impression that Trump wants fed — that he is all-powerful, invincible, and able to get every person, institution, and country to cower to him. He knows intuitively that each capitulation feeds his power — because power is itself an impression; invincibility, the consequence of everyone's capitulation.
- Each capitulation encourages him and his goons to engage in even more bullying of more institutions and countries. Trump's need for dominance is insatiable. Every time he succeeds in gaining capitulation, he and his goons look for other opportunities to enlarge the impression that he has boundless power.
- Most of these institutions and countries will cave to Trump because their leaders are mainly concerned about their own institution's or country's survival. They are not concerned about the effects of their capitulations on other institutions or on the world as a whole. The costs of significant losses of funding, clients, or access are borne by them; the benefits of resistance are felt by all.
- It's vitally important, therefore, that institutions and countries join together to fight this systemic intimidation.
Will the world do as he suggests?
My own thinking is very close to his, as was noted here by a commentator earlier this morning, which is why I went to look.
Most especially, I share his points 1 and 2 when it comes to motivation, point five when it comes to action and point four when it comes to fears.
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Weapons: (independence from USM(ango)
Finance: make life difficult/impossible for Blackrock, Goldmans, Morgan Stanley,…………..& McKinsey plus the other useless insulatants.
The UK and EU do not & never have needed US companies & institutions. Their main function was to keep UK & EU subservient to the USA.
Time to grow up, time to chuck em out. The Mango Mussolini will bluster and bullshit but there is little that he can do.
As for the “tech bros” Amazon, Facebook, etc………………replace them – not hard – offer a UK/EU based alternative. Indeed, the legislation to do this exists: software copyright directive which specifically allows functionally identical sofware – it is even still, in UK legislation.
Thanks Mike, well said. I bear no I’ll will to individual Americans, but as to their awful regime…. Eff off Trump.
Good for the Canadians, EU and Chinese. Unfortunately our spineless PM can’t wait to grovel to Trump.
“Canada, Mexico, Japan, and the European Union must join together to create a special trade zone that excludes the United States. ”
Interesting that Reich excludes the UK from his proposed ‘coalition of the willing’.
He knows, of course, that the City is a branch office of Wall Street and that GBP rides on USD’s coat-tails, rendering our participation in the proposed trade zone – or any other act that would be interpreted by Trump as brazen impudence – impossible.
I know some senior managers in my organisation who work just like this.
Thank you and well said, PSR.
It’s not just Trump.
Decades ago, an an American novelist whose name escapes me wrote that, in the US, not only must one win, but the opposition must be seen to lose. I have observed from work, too.
Britain’s Americanised elite are unlikely to facilitate an escape from that.
I’m seeing genuine will by European nations to unite against the madness of fool Don.
Whether it’s on the Ukraine, defence in general, tariffs or whatever idiocy is launched next week, what Trump is too stupid to see is that he’s creating a new European super-state.
“My own thinking is very close to his, as was noted here by a commentator earlier this morning, which is why I went to look.”
“as was noted here by a commentator earlier this morning”
Cannot find it. Which thread is the comment in?
Sorry – no time to search
Tampa, the reference is in https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/04/03/uncharted-territory/
Thanks
Just heard the PM on the radio.
No mention of other nations in the clip, just the UK
What a disappointment, no leadership or rising to the occasion
Did you really expect otherwise John? Wouldn’t surprise me if he starts criticising the EU for putting reciprocal tariffs on Trump the way he turned on Sadiq Khan after the 2023 Uxbridge by election loss because he’d applied the ULEZ charge to outer London and this had, allegedly led to labour losing that election.
Not labour’s inability to defend the principle of ULEZ against Tory lies and BS of course.
They had Robert Reich on PM as well, mainly saying what he’s said on his blog.
Another interesting source is to be found on facebook – ‘The Saul Alinsky Elite French Foundation’. Very trenchant anti-Trump rhetoric from a variety of sources (he seems to copy and paste paywalled content and is very fond of the views of the historian Heather Cox Richardson). Some comments on the political purpose of the tariffs earlier this pm were very interesting (and scary).
Thanks
Between Robert Reich, Timothy Snyder, Heather Cox Richardson and Paul Krugman, you can get pretty much all you need to know about what is going on in the USA from Substack.
Needless to say none of them are Trumpski fans
Agreed
[…] This view is consistent with the opinion of Robert Reuch that I noted yesterday when he said: […]
Reich has a commendable clarity at times.
I am reminded of the excellent piece he had in the Gruniad at the beginning of February.
…
“What is motivating Trump’s reckless trade war?”
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/04/what-is-motivating-trumps-reckless-trade-war
Which interprets the method behind Trumps apparent fickleness / randomness as part of his strategy of manipulative control.
I agree with Robert Reich on this.