Which American said this about Trump in 2016?

Written By: - Date published: 9:33 am, March 11th, 2025 - 29 comments
Categories: us politics - Tags: , , ,

well, I don’t know about a dictator, I said a third world strong man. He’s running for President, so no matter what he won’t be a dictator unless our republic completely crumbles, which I don’t anticipate it will.

But yeah, here’s what happens in many countries around the world. You have a leader that emerges and basically says ‘don’t put your faith in yourselves, don’t put your faith in society, put your faith in me. I’m a strong leader and I’m going to make things better all by myself.

This is very typical, you see it in the third world, you see it a lot in Latin America, for decades. It’s basically making the arguments that he singlehandedly is going to turn the country around. We’ve never been that kind of country. We have a President, the President is an American citizen, who serves for a period of time, constrained by the constitution and powers vested in that office. The President works for the people. Not the people for the President.

If you listen to the way he describes himself and what he’s going to do, he’s going to singlehandedly do this and do that, without regard for whether it’s legal or not.

I think people are going to have to make up their minds. I can tell you this, no matter what happens in this election, for years to come, there are many people on the right, in the media, and voters at large, that are going to be having to explain and justify how they fell into this trap of supporting Donald Trump, ’cause this is not going to end well, one way or the other.

You can see the video here. That’s Marco Rubio, currently serving appointed as Secretary of State to the US President.


There are a couple of very important things here. One is understanding (or trying to understand) how a person can go from saying that, and then a decade later being a critical part of the cabal that is indeed actively crumbling the Republic. Maybe Rubio fell into the trap and doesn’t know how to get out. Maybe he just decided his career was more important than his principles. Maybe he’s lost his goddamn mind. Maybe in 2016 it was all performance rather than principle. But this is a pattern we can watch for.


Leading on from that, this kind of conversion can happen to anyone, including New Zealand right wing politicians. We are not immune to this, and we are already too far down the same path. Winston Peters is more Trumpian and more populist than he was a decade ago, and actively using proto-fascist techniques eg accusing his opponents of what he is doing.

David Seymour has obviously moved hard right and showing ACT’s true colours. National are rolling out big change, very fast. It’s overwhelming, and the overwhelm is part of the strategy. It causes issue fatigue so people switch off, it disorients people, and that makes a population much less likely to resist.

I called John Key’s government proto-fascist when they were in power. They did the set up, with a smile and a wave. But at least back then the spectre of fascism was theoretical and future. Now it is in our faces. I don’t know if Seymour was always up for this, I think Peters is a supreme opportunist and will be utterly unsurprised if he stands with the fascists or swaps sides and stands with democracy. National have been tracking towards anti-democracy since Dirty Politics. I have zero doubt that New Zealand is at risk of the same kind of take over as the US is experiencing. Right now, we’re in proto-fascism, and we still have time to act and protect New Zealand as a democratic state. But we have to act now.

If you are still in denial or disbelief, have a look at this video. This is centre right French politician, Claude Malhuret, on what Europe’s response to the US should be. These are not vague sentiments, and he is not alone. World leaders are increasingly saying outright that the US cannot be trusted. Transcript is here.

The dividing lines around fascism aren’t left/right. They’re pro-democracy vs those who seek to remove democracy. There are people on the right appalled by what is happening and starting to speak out. We on the left still get to have our values and principles, and we need to ally with others who think differently but where we share common ground on the importance of democracy. We also desperately need to figure out an alternative to right wing populism in New Zealand, because at the moment it’s a train gathering steam to be runaway.

29 comments on “Which American said this about Trump in 2016? ”

  1. mikesh 1
    11 March 2025 at 10:37 am

    As the musical Cabaret seemed to suggest, hedonism and nihilism seem to be two sides to the same coin, and together they lead to fascism. As long as we remain focused on maximising consumption through economic growth some form of fascism seems inevitable, though these days it may exercised through manipulation of the populace rather than through direct control.

    Reply
    • Phillip ure 1.1
      11 March 2025 at 3:25 pm

      I dipped into hedonism and (a form of) nihilism..for a couple of decades..

      ..it had it's moments..

      ..it didn't turn me fascist…

      ..but it did colour my perspective..

      Reply
  2. tWig 2
    11 March 2025 at 10:57 am

    Trump first started to spout anti-NATO sentiment after a 1987 visit to Russia, where he seems to have organised a whomping great loan for himself.

    Reply
    • Anne 2.1
      11 March 2025 at 11:26 am

      Sounds like Putin's got the goods on Trump:

      Reply
    • Morrissey 2.2
      11 March 2025 at 3:49 pm

      So those Soviet masterminds foresaw, 29 years earlier than everyone else, that the Orange Mussolini would become president of the USA? cheeky

      The Russians are renowned for their brilliant chess players, but this is 4-D chess of a magnificence that no Russiagate adept would ever have thought possible!

      Someone should tell the Democrats, and they can get an elderly ex-spook to investigate. Then they can organise impeachment proceedings. They’re sure to excite the whole country and obtain massive public support for that. Oh yes indeed.

      Reply
      • Phillip ure 2.2.1
        11 March 2025 at 7:05 pm

        Um..!..no ..they wouldn't know he was going to be president ..

        ..but recruiting him as an ongoing asset 29 years ago..if that option was there for them ..

        ..makes perfect sense..

        ..does it not..?

        Reply
        • Morrissey 2.2.1.1
          11 March 2025 at 7:20 pm

          Yes, Phillip, those evil masterminds obviously foresaw the future with a clarity denied to normal, non-satanic individuals like you and me.

          Who else do you think these superior beings were running as "ongoing assets"? Kissinger? Nixon? The Canadian national hockey team? Anybody naïve enough to fly on Aeroflot? Ted Turner?

          Reply
          • Phillip ure 2.2.1.1.1
            11 March 2025 at 9:08 pm

            Stop yr foretelling nonsense…

            Are you denying the Russians cultivated assets…?

            ..and I dunno about you..but I reckon trump is the kinda guy they could get a lot of stuff on…

            Reply
          • mpledger 2.2.1.1.2
            12 March 2025 at 11:57 am

            Trump was (from time to time) a rich New York businessman. Why wouldn't Russia see that as a stategic asset to acquire? They get a lot of social information as he moves in NY society and business info. And as he is dumb enough to lose lots of money from time to time then he becomes ever more controllable.

            Reply
        • Morrissey 2.2.1.2
          11 March 2025 at 9:35 pm

          Sure it makes perfect sense Phillip. Just like Jeremy Corbyn being a Russian asset—that was the line spun by the British state's black propaganda unit until they took up the Israeli embassy's even more ludicrous antisemitism fantasy with a vengeance—makes perfect sense. Just like Tulsi Gabbard being a "Russian asset"—that one came from the fertile mind of Hillary Clinton no—makes perfect sense. Just like…

          Heck, Phillip, let's face it, the Russians are behind everything. Or is it the Chinese? Or those formidable North Korean masterminds?

          Or is it (gulp) the Houthis? Or even the Iranians?

          https://thegrayzone.com/2017/11/10/trump-cia-bin-laden-neocon-think-tank-fdd-iran/

          Reply
          • Phillip ure 2.2.1.2.1
            12 March 2025 at 8:14 am

            I am questioning your total dismissal of what was a common practice in the cold war..

            Namely.. recruiting 'assets'…

            Your dismissal of that possibility…lacks logic…

            Reply
            • Hanswurst 2.2.1.2.1.1
              13 March 2025 at 4:50 am

              Let's turn this one around shall we? Are you saying that Trump would not have engaged in the behaviour he has unless he were a 'Russian asset'? Are you saying that all the people aurrounding him are either Russian assets themselves, or blind to being manipulated by a Russian asset, and that there are no other possible explanations?

              If that is what you're saying, then I think it's basically on the same level as Trump's attributing an aviation crash to DEI. If that isn't what you're saying, then I don't really see the point. Why speculate on such things in the absence of any compelling evidence, when Trump's actions are bad enough on their own, regardless of connections to Russians or anybody else?

              Reply
  3. Anne 3
    11 March 2025 at 11:06 am

    Superb analysis weka.

    That French senator said it all.

    There are hopeful signs in NZ that a political truce between left and right is on the cards – just as occurred during WW2. It is after-all in the interest of both sides. The whole current scenario is going to be a massive undertaking and hopefully it will see our own biggest pest – Seymour – ultimately side-lined. Let him have his big moment as Dep. PM then cut him out of the picture thereafter.

    Reply
    • Phillip ure 3.1
      11 March 2025 at 12:42 pm

      Any joining of labour/national would be an exercise in excluding Seymour on the right..

      ..and greens/tpm on the left…

      ..and would be a short term block on the suite of green policies we need .

      ..if we aren't going to cook the planet..

      Reply
      • weka 3.1.1
        11 March 2025 at 12:56 pm

        don't think anyone is talking about a coalition of Labour and National. I was talking about generally people being able to work against fascism irrespective of their political philosophy. At this stage I am doubtful that that includes Luxon, Seymour or Peters, but I expect there are National Party supporters and members who will want to retain democracy.

        Reply
        • Phillip ure 3.1.1.1
          11 March 2025 at 3:30 pm

          Yes..you can't argue that nat/lab are tweedle-dum and tweedle-dee..without also realizing that many national voters do not want to cook the planet/kick the poor ..

          ..it is one of the things that gives me hope that we will eventually get there ..and will work together for the good of the all…

          Reply
    • mikesh 3.2
      11 March 2025 at 1:33 pm

      That French senator said it all.

      One would hope so. I wouldn't want to listen to any more of his garbage.

      Reply
      • Morrissey 3.2.1
        11 March 2025 at 4:25 pm

        I wonder how much firing of guns in an actual war the old faucon de poulet has done. I would suggest: zero.

        Reply
        • joe90 3.2.1.1
          11 March 2025 at 6:33 pm

          I would suggest: zero.

          I would suggest MSF's Claude Malhuret would know more about the firing of guns in an actual war than an idiot tankie like yourself.

          Reply
          • Morrissey 3.2.1.1.1
            11 March 2025 at 6:56 pm

            I would suggest that your hurling of lame abuse (as usual) has failed to address the problem caused by politicians like that old chickenhawk urging trillions of more euros and thousands of more Ukrainian lives to go up in flames.

            How much military service do you reckon he's put in? I'm sticking with zero hours.

            Reply
            • joe90 3.2.1.1.1.1
              11 March 2025 at 7:08 pm

              I'm sticking with Claude Malhuret, a doctor and an epidemiologist, former head of Médecins Sans Frontières and founder of Médecins du Monde, doctors of the world, has spent more hours dealing with armed conflict and it's consequences than despicable clowns like yourself. .

              Reply
              • Morrissey …
                11 March 2025 at 7:24 pm

                Considering that he has indeed spent "hours dealing with armed conflict and it’s [sic] consequences" one would have thought he had developed an aversion to death and mayhem on a large scale. Evidently not.

                Reply
    • Morrissey 3.3
      11 March 2025 at 4:03 pm

      World War 2? surprise

      Thanks for warning us Anne. Maybe it's really true this time: the Russians are coming! The Russians are coming!

      We need to place massive guns at North Head, just like we did in the 1880s to stave off the massive threat from Russia at that time. Oh yes.

      Reply
      • Phillip ure 3.3.1
        11 March 2025 at 9:15 pm

        To Ukraine…and much of Europe..

        The Russian 'are coming'..

        And 'massive guns on north head makes as much sense as the modern equivalent….claiming buying frigates will save us from invasion..(by whom I am not entirely clear..)

        Reply
      • Anne 3.3.2
        12 March 2025 at 10:42 am

        You are misrepresenting what I said.

        We have a fascist madman leading the USA and a fascist despot leading Russia. The outcome is likely to be catastrophic, especially if Ukraine falls. The last time the world was in a similar situation was in 1939. NZ (along with other countries) cancelled elections and formed a broad alliance to fight that war. There is potential we might end up having to do something similar again.

        Reply
  4. Joe90 4
    11 March 2025 at 4:12 pm

    While we're talking about things '’Muricans say, marvel at the bone-headed stupidity of the guy who thinks government agencies ger tax breaks for employing black people because government agencies pay tax.

    https://xcancel.com/RefrmDemocracy/status/1898868495477010914

    Reply

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