The GEOFOR editorial board asked Paul Craig Roberts, Chairman of the Institute for Political Economy (USA), a PhD in Economics, and US Undersecretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration, to give his assessment on how the ongoing conflict between Democrats and Republicans will develop in the future.
Note: The conversation with Dr. Roberts was recorded before the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
Dear Dr. Roberts, thank you for your offer for an interview! I have prepared a few questions.
- Dr. Roberts, something strange has been happening in the USA lately. We mean the electoral campaign, and not just that. It seems that after the recent televised debates, the Democratic establishment has split into two parts: some believe that Joe Biden has already exhausted his resources and cannot seek re-election, while others, primarily his family and close entourage, argue that nothing significant happened in Atlanta and that the president is capable of continuing his work in office. In this regard, we have three groups of questions.
First: why are the current president and his entourage clinging to power so strongly? Is it an attempt to cover up for Hunter Biden and the misdeeds of other clan members? Or is it pressure from "big tech" and other influential globalists?
The donors of large amounts of political campaign money to the Democrats have announced that they are withholding funds until Biden steps aside. Even the presstitute media have turned against Biden with the Wall Street Journal admitting that the media had "gaslighted" the public about Biden for years, producing a picture of competence that was not really there. The answer to your question appears to be that Biden needs to stay in power to protect himself, his brother, and his son from criminal prosecution. Biden could step aside on the basis of an agreement with his replacement as Democrat candidate that in the event the Democrat wins, he would order an investigation of "the Biden crime family" that would clear the family. What Biden cannot risk is a Trump win.
- Do any of the recently named potential 10 successors to Biden (excluding Michelle Obama) have a real chance of defeating Donald Trump, whose popularity is only growing? And under what conditions might Joe Biden step aside?
The Democrats don't have to win elections as they are well positioned to steal them. In presidential elections there are about a half dozen "swing states" that can vote either way. In these states Democrats control the largest cities, which allows them to conduct the elections and count the votes. In these swing states the Democrats have legitimized and institutionalized the mechanisms that permitted them to steal the 2020 and 2022 elections. For example, in Wisconsin the Liberal-dominated state supreme court over-turned the ban on absentee ballot drop boxes. These boxes serve the purpose of permitting anonymous drop offs of invalid ballots that become part of the vote count. Everything is set up for the steal of the coming election. The problem is that Biden cannot run a close enough race for the Democrats to get away with it this time. Biden doesn't have to step aside. The Democrat Party is unlikely to nominate Biden as its candidate. Polls are being rigged that show that Hillary Clinton can defeat Trump. https://archive.is/czm9h
The media will continue with this propaganda, convincing the public that the race between Trump and Hillary, or whoever the Democrat candidate turns out to be, is close, which provides the necessary cover for the Democrats to again steal the election.
- In your opinion, can the current situation be seen as evidence of a power crisis in Washington? If so, how dangerous is it for the United States and what are the potential consequences for the country and the world as a whole? After all, the USA remains a superpower with global influence and a powerful nuclear arsenal.
The ruling elites fear a power crisis--a crisis of their power--if Trump wins. Therefore, they are determined that Trump not win. The real American crisis is that democracy has been undermined. For the Democrat Party power is more important than democracy. This is the reason Democrats maintain open borders. The immigrant-invaders are allowed driving licenses, and Democrats have arranged it that receiving a license automatically results in being registered as a voter. It remains illegal for illegals to vote even though they are registered, but the Democrats vote the registrations. This is one way they steal elections. Efforts are underway in some Democrat controlled cities to permit illegals to vote and to serve as police officers. In Congress some Democrats are sponsoring legislation that give illegals the vote in exchange for service in the US military.
A political crisis could occur if the Democrats again steal the election from Trump or if he is assassinated. It is unclear whether Trump's supporters, at least half of the voting population, will accept having their choice overturned a second time. What would happen is unclear. It is possible that Trump's majority will be demoralized and discouraged, lose confidence in the political process and give up.
- Now, about Donald Trump. During his presidency, as an outsider politician, he faced personnel issues. If re-elected, will he be able to solve this problem? And how realistic could the assistance of the Heritage Foundation be, which, as noted by American newspapers, is supposed to prepare around 30,000 different-level officials for his administration?
The problem for any outsider is staffing his government. The establishments of both parties are as determined to control their parties as to defeat the opposing party. There is no one in Washington an outsider can appoint as they are all part of the system. So outsiders have to come from outside Washington, and they don't know Washington and tend to be eaten alive. The establishment, for example, releases the media on them. This happened to President Carter. The establishment got rid of Carter's budget director and chief of staff. It happened to President Reagan. The establishment got rid of President Reagan's National Security Advisers. People do not think of Carter and Reagan as outsiders, but neither was the choice of the party establishment. George H.W. Bush was the candidate of the Republican establishment. The establishment's rmain concern was that 8 years of Reagan's presidency would result in their loss of control of the party. Reagan's government was a combination of Reagan's appointees and Bush's appointees, and in the end Bush dominated.
Even if Trump can find non-establishment personnel willing to take the risk to their careers of serving an adminstration that would be under constant attack, the Senate does not have to confirm them in office. Compromise comes into play. Some of Trump's appointees get confirmed in exchange for some of the establishment's appointees being confirmed. In other words, the administration is weakened from its beginning.
- It is noticeable that during his public appearances, Trump avoids commenting on international issues and limits himself to criticizing the current administration's policies. How do you see Washington's foreign policy course if Trump returns to the White House? Especially regarding Russia and Ukraine.
In 2016 Trump emphasized normalizing relations with Russia. This brought him his "Russiagate" problem and denunciation by the CIA Director as a traitor to America. It also caused him problems with conservatives long accustomed to seeing Russia as the enemy. To prove he was patriotic and tough Trump began taking on China and Iran. Now he blusters and says that Russia, China, and Iran are too afraid of him to continue their misbehavior if he is in office. This is not a sophisticated approach to foreign policy. Americans tend to see their enemies abroad, not at home. It seems Trump has been shaped by the 8 years during which the American establishment has tried to destroy him. He cannot risk conservatives turning on him for not standing up to "enemies." Moreover, he is in Israel's pocket, which means he is positioned against Iran. This in itself brings him into conflict with Russia and China.
Trump emphasizes Biden's domestic policies because Trump's supporters are strongly against Biden's open borders policy and Biden's support of sexual perversion and sexualizing of young children via early age sex education. Many see the latter as grooming children for pedophiles. As for foreign affairs, Trump's supporters are OK with prevailing over Russia, China, and Iran.