"In one of my favorite videos on YouTube, a group of African mercenaries are sitting around a campfire with a chimpanzee. One of them thinks it would be amusing to hand the chimp a loaded AK-47. It takes the weapon, and after dancing around with it a bit, puts its finger on the trigger and starts firing randomly around the campsite. The mercenaries go frantically scurrying off in all directions. That is how we can view President Donald Trump's noble stewardship of the nation's economic policy."
"Vought's last major bout of notoriety came via his lead role in marshaling the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 blueprint for a second Trump term-a massive document laying out a detailed plan to subject most of the country to Christian nationalist persecution fantasies that became so reviled that Trump denied any connection to it, or even knowledge of what it was. Despite knowing nothing about it, he also said he agreed with some it and disagreed with other parts. Now Trump is promoting Vought, in one of his Truth Social posts about the fallout from the government shutdown, as "he of PROJECT 2025 fame"; just to drive the point home, Trump then posted an AI video depicting Vought as the Grim Reaper, and exulted that the shutdown would unleash a fresh torrent of assaults on federal workers and agencies."
A campfire scene with a chimpanzee handed a loaded AK-47 serves as a metaphor for chaotic stewardship of economic policy. Stephen Miller pursues policies that persecute people of color. Chief Justice John Roberts is portrayed as legally endorsing presidential actions. Russell Vought, as head of the Office of Management and Budget, oversees efforts tied to the government shutdown. Vought led implementation of the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, promoting Christian nationalist policies; Trump publicly referenced Vought and posted an AI video portraying him as the Grim Reaper. The shutdown advances dismantling of the federal non-defense public sector and the targeted "administrative state."
Read at The Nation
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