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Bangkok Post
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Bangkok Post
Trump is trying to build a far-right international
Until recently, the spectre of an international far-right alliance of populist parties in democracies around the world has been just that: any appearance of cooperation was a form of self-promotion, rather than an expression of true solidarity. Few far-right figures have made any sacrifices for one another or seriously interfered in other countries' internal affairs to prop up allies. And efforts to unite the far right in the European Parliament have fallen dismally short. But that may be changing. US President Donald Trump's threat to impose punitive tariffs on Brazil, with the explicit goal of protecting its far-right former president, Jair Bolsonaro, from a "witch hunt", marks a significant shift in tactics. What's more, Mr Trump's meddling in other democracies in the name of "free speech" serves powerful interests in the United States: tech companies that do not want to be regulated by foreign governments. The international far right is often said to be a contradiction in terms. After all, every far-right leader is a nationalist, which would seem to preclude, by definition, an international alliance. But this view shows little philosophical sophistication or, for that matter, historical awareness. In nineteenth-century Europe, liberals like Giuseppe Mazzini helped one another in their various struggles for freedom and independence from imperial powers. At the time, no one complained that there was a deep contradiction embedded in a liberal international alliance devoted to national self-determination. By the same token, today's far-right populists can claim that they form a united front against "globalists" and supposedly illegitimate "liberal elites". This rhetoric -- and the attendant conspiracy theories, often tinged with anti-Semitism -- has easily crossed borders. Far-right politicians have also copied from one another what scholars have called "worst practices" for undermining democracies. Just think of the proliferation of laws that force civil society organisations to register as "foreign agents", or other thinly veiled repressive tactics. The far right also has a transnational ideological infrastructure. To be sure, there is no populist Comintern issuing binding interpretations of doctrine. But collaboration is real: for instance, Hungarian institutes lavishly endowed by Viktor Orbán's government are now allied with the Heritage Foundation in the US. So far, though, there has been a lack of concrete solidarity among populist leaders. When Mr Trump fraudulently claimed to have won the 2020 US presidential election, his international allies, from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, could have refused to recognise Joe Biden as president. Instead, they congratulated Mr Biden on his victory, choosing pragmatism over ideological affinity. But Mr Trump is changing that in his second term, embracing an ideologically driven approach to confronting other countries that obviously undermines long-standing international norms. In the case of Brazil, he is using the threat of a 50% tariff to pressure the government into ending the federal criminal trial against Mr Bolsonaro for seeking to engineer a coup after losing the 2022 presidential election. Unlike Mr Trump, who was never held accountable for his role in the Jan 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol, Mr Bolsonaro -- often called the "Trump of the Tropics" -- has already been banned from running for office until 2030. In his letter to the Brazilian government announcing the levy, Mr Trump also accused it of "insidious attacks on … the fundamental Free Speech Rights of Americans", including the censorship of "US Social Media platforms". This highlights another dimension of Mr Trump's economic bullying: his administration's crusade against efforts to prohibit hate speech and regulate the digital sphere. In February, Vice President J D Vance berated Europeans for their supposed lack of respect for "free speech". Meanwhile, the State Department has reportedly targeted the prominent Brazilian judge Alexandre de Moraes, who at one point blocked Elon Musk's X in Brazil and is taking the lead in holding Mr Bolsonaro criminally accountable for his conduct. Big Tech is clearly displeased with the extensive regulations that the European Union and Brazil have placed on its industry. As in other areas -- notably its attacks on higher education -- the Trumpists are weaponising free speech to exert power over supposed political adversaries. The hypocrisy is apparent: while advocating for deregulation of platforms ostensibly to protect free speech, the US government is snooping around in foreigners' social-media accounts for speech it dislikes (and then refusing a visa or entry on this basis). Pious talk of defending democracy as a shared Western value sits uneasily with the abject disrespect for other countries' right to determine their own approach to platform regulation. Whereas far-right leaders of smaller countries are limited by realpolitik, Mr Trump can use America's might to advance his punitive-cum-populist agenda at will. After all, a pliant Republican Party will not question his abuse of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act. True, the courts may ultimately decide that his desire for political revenge hardly constitutes an "emergency", but the damage will have been done. As in other areas where his administration has taken plainly illegal actions, many of those being targeted will seek a deal rather than a fight. Solidarity is costly, but not for Mr Trump. ©2025 Project Syndicate Jan-Werner Mueller, Professor of Politics at Princeton University, is the author, most recently, of 'Democracy Rules' (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021).
Daily Mirror
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Donald Trump accused of 'throwing shade' at Prince Harry and Meghan with cryptic quip
Donald Trump talked about his admiration for the Royal Family during a press conference in Scotland - but some were left convinced his words were a swipe at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Donald Trump has been accused of taking another swipe at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle - this time on his trip to Scotland. The US president has been visiting his golf courses in both Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire over the last few days - and also holding talks with the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer. The pair took part in a joint press conference, where Trump fielded questions on a range of topics as the PM watched on. At one point in the proceedings, Trump began to talk about his love of the Royal Family, with King Charles set to host him on a state visit in the coming weeks. He said: "Being with Charles, Camilla and everybody, I've got to know a lot of the family members. They are great people. They are really great people." However, he followed up with: "And in that sense, I think the UK is very lucky, you could have people that weren't great people. I don't know if I can say that, but you could have people that weren't." And to some on social media, they took his words as "calling out" Harry and Meghan, with Trump known to not be a fan of the Sussexes. Harry has long been berated by Trump since he and Meghan took the dramatic decision to quit as working royals and move to the United States more than four years ago. Back in 2020, at the time of the last US election campaign between Mr Trump and Joe Biden, the Sussexes appeared in a video urging Americans to 'vote against hate speech'. While they did not specifically mention anyone by name, the remarks were interpreted as referring to Mr Trump and therefore an endorsement of Mr Biden, with some claiming it was a breach of the Sandringham Summit agreement, which was written up when the couple quit their royal duties in 2020. Later, Mr Trump spoke out, saying he was "no fan" of Meghan. Fast forward to earlier this year, Harry has found himself in the centre of a row over his visa, which allows him to live in California. After admitting to using marijuana, cocaine and psychedelic mushrooms in his controversial memoir Spare, a lawsuit from the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation argued that the US Government should release records about the Duke's US visa application to show whether his drug use was disclosed. Back in February, Trump ruled out deporting Harry, he took a brutal dig at Harry's wife, Meghan, saying: "I'll leave him alone. He's got enough problems with his wife. She's terrible." And Harry appeared to hit back during a speech at the Invictus Games by criticising the "weak moral character in the world". After the royals' summer break, Trump will be hosted by the King and Queen at Windsor Castle during his unprecedented second state visit to the UK. The US president will be accompanied by his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, on his state visit to the UK from September 17 to 19, Buckingham Palace said. This will be Mr Trump's second state visit to the UK – an unprecedented gesture towards an American leader, having previously been feted by a state visit in 2019. In February this year, Keir Starmer presented the US president with a letter from the King as he invited him for the visit during a meeting at the White House. As the pair were sat next to each other in the Oval Office, Sir Keir handed the president the personal invitation, later saying, 'This is truly historic and unprecedented'. After reading it, Mr Trump said it was a 'great, great honour', adding 'and that says at Windsor – that's really something'.
Irish Times
13 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Trump blocks Taiwan's president from New York stopover
Donald Trump 's administration has denied permission for Taiwan 's President Lai Ching-te to stop in New York en route to Central America, after China raised objections with Washington about the visit. Mr Lai planned to travel to the US in August en route to Paraguay, Guatemala and Belize, which recognise Taiwan as a country. But the US told Mr Lai he could not visit New York on the way, according to three people familiar with the decision. On Monday in Taipei, Mr Lai's office issued a statement saying he had no plans to travel overseas in the near future because Taiwan was recovering from a recent typhoon and Taipei was in talks with the US about tariffs . The people familiar with the matter said his decision not to travel came after he had been told he would not be allowed to visit New York. READ MORE The White House's decision will deepen concerns among Taiwan's supporters in Washington that Mr Trump is taking a softer stance on China as he pushes to hold a summit with President Xi Jinping . The Financial Times reported on Monday that the US commerce department had been told to freeze planned export controls against China as the countries hold trade talks and discuss a summit. China objects to Taiwanese leaders visiting the US, which does not have official diplomatic relations with Taipei. In 2023, the Biden administration allowed then-president Tsai Ing-wen to stop in New York on her way to Belize and Guatemala. Mr Lai had approached the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, to host him at an event in New York during his proposed trip, according to a person familiar with the matter. Mr Lai also planned to visit Dallas on his trip. It was unclear if the US only denied permission to visit New York or whether he was told he could not travel through the US at all. A senior US official said both sides were 'working to remedy the situation' and that no trip had been cancelled. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington, which serves as the de facto embassy, referred to the statement from Mr Lai's office that he 'currently has no plans for overseas visits in the near future'. Bonnie Glaser, a China and Taiwan expert at the German Marshall Fund, said the US decision suggested that 'Trump wants to avoid irritating Beijing while US-China negotiations are ongoing and planning gets under way for a possible summit with Xi Jinping'. Ms Glaser said the decision recalled events in Mr Trump's first term when he delayed arms sales to Taiwan and 'went ballistic' after Alex Wong, a senior state department official who served as deputy national security adviser early in this administration, visited Taiwan to give remarks at a conference. 'Trump should be standing up to People's Republic of China pressure, not caving into it,' Ms Glaser said. 'By signalling that aspects of the US relationship with Taiwan are negotiable, Trump will weaken deterrence and embolden Xi to press for additional concessions regarding Taiwan.' Several people familiar with the debate said the Trump administration was trying to avoid jeopardising trade talks with China. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese vice-premier He Lifeng started a third round of negotiations in Stockholm on Monday. The Trump administration has also held back taking tough actions against China after Beijing in May slowed the export of rare earths to the US, using its dominance in the industry as leverage against Washington. Randy Shriver, a former senior US official who serves as chair of the board of the Institute for Indo-Pacific Security, said the decision to block Mr Lai from visiting New York reminded him of previous periods when the US avoided taking actions related to Taiwan that it believed would upset Beijing. 'If this is a result of the administration trying to curry favour with Beijing, it is a mistake,' Mr Shriver said. 'This is the old playbook, 'tyranny of the calendar', where there is never a good time to do something on Taiwan. You box yourself in.' Rush Doshi, a former National Security Council China official, said it was important to see the Taiwan move in the context of an across-the-board softening of policy towards China ahead of a possible summit with Xi. 'They've frozen export controls and possibly financial actions too, approved the sale of powerful AI chips to China for nothing in return, and throttled the unofficial relationship with Taiwan,' said Mr Doshi, an assistant professor at Georgetown University and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. 'What will they do when Beijing pockets this and asks for more, like changing Taiwan policy or demanding even better US technology?' In addition to concerns about derailing a summit, some officials say the US needs to 'hide and bide' with respect to China. The phrase – which was used by China's former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping – is being invoked to explain that the rare earths leverage China has created over the US limits Washington's ability to take tough actions against Beijing. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Project 2025 architect Paul Dans to challenge Lindsey Graham for Senate in South Carolina
Paul Dans, the main force behind the polarizing conservative blueprint Project 2025, is planning to challenge South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham in next year's Republican primary. Dans told CNN he will formally launch his campaign with a prayer breakfast Wednesday in Charleston. Graham, a close friend of President Donald Trump's, is seeking a fifth term and already has the president's backing. Dans, though, said there is room for a Republican candidate to prove they are more loyal to and aligned with Trump than Graham. 'He's a 70-year-old childless warmonger and he has no stake in the future of this country,' Dans said. 'He is the very reason that MAGA started in the first place, and we only have to look at 2016 when he was a vehement Trump hater. A leopard doesn't change its spots.' Dans went on to rebuke Graham for voting to confirm judicial nominees put forth by Barack Obama and Joe Biden during their presidencies and for his past remarks affirming Russia's attempts to interfere in the 2016 election, signaling some potential future attacks during the primary campaign. Former South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer is also running in the GOP primary against Graham. A veteran of the first Trump administration, Dans spent the next few years at the Heritage Foundation. There, he spearheaded Project 2025, a right-wing roadmap for the next Republican president put together by more than 100 conservative organizations in the lead up to the 2024 election. It included a 900-page manifesto full of policy prescriptions that provided Democrats with ample fodder to attack Trump during the presidential campaign. As criticism intensified, Trump distanced himself from Project 2025 and Dans was pushed out of Heritage. However, a CNN review found many of Trump's early actions as president aligned with Project 2025's proposals. Dans suggested the blueprint – once seen as a liability for Trump – could demonstrate his MAGA credentials to South Carolina Republican voters. 'I was able to work with thousands of patriots who came together and put in that labor to make the next conservative president hit the ground day one. And that's what President Trump and his team did,' Dans said. 'It's gratifying to see these ideas preserved and put into action. But to be clear, the battle goes on.'
Axios
a day ago
- Politics
- Axios
Scoop: Heritage Action hires Tiffany Justice from Moms for Liberty
Heritage Action has enlisted Tiffany Justice, a co-founder of Moms for Liberty, to serve as executive vice president, Axios has learned. Why it matters: Justice is bringing her grassroots organizing skills to unite the conservative movement around the Trump agenda. It's also a signal that Heritage Action, the political arm of the Heritage Foundation, will be more focused ahead of the 2026 midterms on parental rights and education reform — two issues that GOP strategists are convinced helped President Trump expand his coalition and recapture the White House. In 2021, Justice co-founded Moms for Liberty, which is "dedicated to empowering parents to advocate effectively for their children at school board meetings and across all levels of government," according to its website. What they're saying:"Tiffany Justice is a force of nature, and her leadership comes at a critical moment when effective advocacy is essential," said Kevin Roberts, the president of Heritage Action and the Heritage Foundation. "It's not a time to manage decline or preserve the status quo, but to go on offense for the American Dream," he added. "Tiffany is a patriot and has been fighting for parents and the rights of all Americans for years," said Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). Zoom out: Heritage Action, founded in 2010 to fight President Obama's health care plans, was one of the first groups to run ads boosting Trump's cabinet nominees. In December, it launched a $1 million campaign to persuade potentially wobbly Republicans to back Trump's picks. The ads targeted the home states of Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and former leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), along with seven other states with GOP senators. Zoom in: Justice has also impressed Trump, who praised her organizing skills during the presidential campaign.
