In spite of the extensive coverage of Trump’s storming arrival in the Oval Office, there remains a certain complacency in Ireland and elsewhere about what this presidency means. With the balance of power in the world changing away from the USA’s total control, there is now a question as to the composition of the new administration and its intentions, both domestically and globally.
Notwithstanding the fact that Trump won election to the White House thanks largely to American working-class voters, he represents the interests of the most powerful and rapacious, not to mention dangerous, sections of US capitalism. Significantly, there are 13 billionaires, largely from the world of high-tech, in the new administration, making this the wealthiest governmental team in US history.
Prominent among this group of oligarchs are those known as the “Tech Bros”, personified by Elon Musk, owner of the X platform. In many ways these people are now the 21st century’s equivalent of what was known during a previous era in the US as “robber barons”. Modern science and technology allow these present-day doyens of capitalism a reach undreamt of by Rockefeller, Ford or Carnegie. Moreover, they enjoy an even greater ability to influence than their predecessors.
Take for example Elon Musk giving a Nazi salute at the presidential investiture. This has now been deemed, bizarrely, by his apologists not so much to symbolise the new administration but to insist that his gesture has been mischievously misinterpreted to denigrate the “great man”. Whatever Musk’s real intention or Trump’s overlooking of it, there should be no doubt as to the determination of the current US regime to define for itself a favourable narrative.
Think for a moment on what is available to the newly appointed leader of Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency”. At the press of a button, Musk can disseminate any piece of misinformation he cares to inflict on millions across the globe, thanks to his $44 billion purchase of Twitter. This is the man, described as Trump’s “Number Two”, who recently used his control of X to do an obsequious interview with the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) spokesperson Alice Weidel. Still more recently he surpassed even that low point by using the internet to address the neo-Nazi party’s manifesto launch, urging German far-right supporters to move beyond “past guilt”. Dare one mention Joseph Goebbels.
Coming in tandem with such high-tech billionaire propagandism is the emergence of what may be described as the “tech-military complex”. Weapons of war are becoming ever more sophisticated, and the Silicon Valley set is determined to claim control of this profitable line of business. This was underlined during the confirmation hearing for Trump’s Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth[1]. When addressing the session, the new appointee criticised the so-called conservative attitude of US military procurement strategies while praising the high-tech industry, saying: “For the first time in generations, Silicon Valley has shown a willingness, desire and capability to bring its best technologies to bear at the Pentagon.”
Furthermore, there is the fact that Trump’s vice-president, J.D. Vance, is a former employee (or protégée actually) of Peter Thiel[2], chairman of AI company Palantir. This is a huge enterprise which, according to its website, builds “advanced defense software solutions for the U.S. and Allied military forces.”
There is nothing new in a US government being controlled and managed in the interests of capitalism and indeed to do so by promoting an imperialist strategy. What is different though is the make-up of the current administration and the external threats to its desire for global domination. Two factors in particular challenge US world hegemony and both emanate from the East, more specifically from China.
The People’s Republic has developed an economy with a greater manufacturing capacity than that of the North Americans. Moreover, with climate change posing an ever greater and highly visible threat – the devastating Californian fires being one recent example – the Chinese are leading the way in developing EV motors and non-fossil-using energy.
More alarming still for Washington’s “Tech Bros” is the astonishing capacity of the PRC’s high-tech sector, evidenced most recently by the release of the AI platform Deepseek[3] which is more powerful than the West’s ChatGPT, leading to the subsequent collapse of US tech share prices on Wall Street.
Taken together with the growing influence of the BRICS network of non-NATO countries, it is clear that the Trump-fronted administration will endeavour to roll back what it sees as the developing threats to its position. There is the distinct possibility that US imperialists will eventually seek military confrontation.
Before that catastrophic event, Washington will undoubtedly look to solidify its position among as many other countries as it can. Already we can see this happening in Ireland with its ruling class beholden to the aforementioned “Tech Bros”. The craven capitulation of the coalition government by dropping the Occupied Territories Bill and inserting the IHRA definition of antisemitism into the Programme for Government, testifies to this.
No doubt there will be still more pressure on the Dublin government to concede further on sovereignty and conform to the Trump administration’s package. A definitive end to neutrality will certainly be one such demand among others.
There is an urgent need, therefore, to develop a strategy to combat this impending threat. The serious left must also define and promote a coherent, viable alternative to the coalition’s dependency on US/EU economic domination.
It will not be easy, but surrender is not an option.
References:
[1]See. US defence sector fears Trump will muster the tech disrupters. Sylvia Pfeiper & Steff Chavez, FT18/01/2025
[2]See: How Peter Thiel’s network of right-wing techies is infiltrating Donald Trump’s White House. Jessica Mathews, Fortune Magazine, 07/12/2024
[3]See: Nvidia shares sink as Chinese AI app spooks markets. Peter Hoskins & Imran Rahman-Jones, BBC 27/01/2025. (https://tinyurl.com/mpsa8eu2)
