{"id":57027,"date":"2026-01-08T08:07:41","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T16:07:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/?p=57027"},"modified":"2026-01-08T08:07:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T16:07:41","slug":"boast-loudly-and-swing-a-big-stick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/08\/boast-loudly-and-swing-a-big-stick\/","title":{"rendered":"Boast Loudly and Swing a Big Stick"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reprinted from Bracing Views<\/a> with the author\u2019s permission.<\/i><\/p>\n

In Venezuela, one might say President Trump said \u201cYou\u2019re fired!\u201d to Maduro without any firm plan of succession and without any authority to fire Maduro in the first place other than the authority of guns. That\u2019s thugocracy, not democracy.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a violent ethic, a conceit consistent with what Karl Rove reportedly said<\/a> in the aftermath of the Iraq invasion in 2003:<\/p>\n

We\u2019re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you\u2019re studying that reality \u2014 judiciously, as you will \u2014 we\u2019ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that\u2019s how things will sort out. We\u2019re history\u2019s actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Trump and henchmen like Stephen Miller see themselves as \u201chistory\u2019s actors.\u201d They strut on the stage, hogging attention, demanding compliance and affection from the crowd, legends in their own minds, so insulated by narcissism that they\u2019re impervious to legal and moral concerns.<\/p>\n

Congress, of course, does basically nothing to stop them. By abdicating its responsibility, Congress is an accessory before the crime. Those who aren\u2019t applauding like Speaker of the House Mike Johnson are holding their fingers to the air, testing the political winds, before saying anything of substance. When profiles in courage are most needed, we get conformity and compliance.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, self-styled Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is busily creating a military of \u201cwarriors\u201d empowered by a so-called warrior ethos. In essence, an extra-constitutional one that serves war and imperialism.<\/p>\n

The Donroe Doctrine is really about military aggression without respect for international law. It\u2019s a might makes right policy, so any country with \u201cmight\u201d (Russia, China, etc.) should feel empowered by Trump\u2019s actions to do whatever they want in their defined spheres of influence. It\u2019s the law of the jungle, a world red in tooth and claw. Or, in business-speak, a retrograde vision of hostile takeovers driven by profits and power. Or, to cite Major General Smedley Butler, gangster capitalism empowered by militarism.<\/p>\n

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Happy days are here again \u2026<\/p><\/div>\n<\/picture>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

President Teddy Roosevelt famously said: \u201cSpeak softly and carry a big stick.\u201d Favor diplomacy, but be prepared to use force when necessary. The Trumpian version is \u201cBoast loudly and swing a big stick.\u201d It\u2019s the language of would-be conquerors, of imperators, of tyrants.<\/p>\n

As early as March of 2016<\/a>, Trump made it clear he\u2019d be unbound by the law in his actions as president. In the aftermath of that, it tells you something about America that he\u2019s been elected and reelected by the \u201cexceptional\u201d nation.<\/p>\n

P.S. Below is a headline today at NBC News that tells you something vital about American exceptionalism:<\/p>\n

\n

Trump to meet with oil executives at White House
\n<\/strong>Monica Alba<\/a> and Matt Lavietes<\/a><\/p>\n

Trump is expected to meet with oil executives at the White House on Friday, according to a White House official.<\/p>\n

Representatives from Chevron, Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips are planning to attend, the official said, with more likely to be added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reprinted from Bracing Views with the author\u2019s permission. In Venezuela, one might say President Trump said \u201cYou\u2019re fired!\u201d to Maduro without any firm plan of succession and without any authority to fire Maduro in the first place other than the authority of guns. That\u2019s thugocracy, not democracy. It\u2019s a violent ethic, a conceit consistent with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"coauthors":[758],"class_list":["post-57027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"meta_box":{"disable_donate_message":"0","custom_donate_message":"","subtitle":"An Exceptional Thugocracy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/290"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57027"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57027\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57038,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57027\/revisions\/57038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57027"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=57027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}