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The TikTok/Musk thing has been pretty eye-opening for me. Trump acts like a military and trade isolationist and talks about "America First" and "Make America Great Again". But he and the billionaires around him aren't complete idiots. Their goal isn't just to coöpt the USG to protect themselves, but to make themselves untouchable by *any* government while insulating themselves from America's unstoppable decline they know damn well is happening.

Trump isn't threatening China so the US can get things from them. He is threatening China so he and his buddies can get things from them.

Everything about Trump and his billionaire buddies' behavior makes so much more sense once I accept that it isn't about the US at all but about *them*.

To that end, the goal isn't to make the US stronger but to make it *weaker*, particularly in its ability to hold corporations and billionaires accountable for anything. The only strength they care about it having is the strength to keep other countries' governments in check.

So expect military spending to keep rising even as the rest of the federal government gets gutted.