Trump’s Economic Nationalism
Trump’s congressional ‘state of the union’ address was a masterclass in authoritarian demagoguery (and not as his sycophants suggest). Wrapped in bombastic nationalism, it showcased not just his contempt for international order but his intent to deepen capitalism’s contradictions through economic warfare and strongman tactics. His promise that tariffs would “bring American jobs back” is a lie as old as capitalism itself. Capital, driven by its insatiable need for profit, cannot simply be ordered home.
The reality? Economic nationalism does not lift the working class; it immiserates them further. Tariff wars drive up costs, provoke retaliatory measures, and ultimately leave workers in the same precarious position, only now with a heightened nationalist fervour to misdirect their anger. Trumpism thrives on this bait-and-switch, offering protectionist rhetoric while ensuring that the real beneficiaries remain the oligarchic class.
But his speech wasn’t just an economic con. It was a barely disguised endorsement of global instability. His refusal to commit to Ukraine and his vague statement that he remains “open to persuasion” is nothing short of a green light for Putin’s expansionism. This is the hallmark of fascistic politics: the glorification of violence, the demonisation of international cooperation, and the cynical use of chaos as a political weapon.
Far from the isolationist image he projects, Trump confirmed that U.S. imperialism remains very much alive. His stance on Ukraine isn’t about breaking from interventionist policies, it’s about shifting America’s imperial priorities, placing economic dominance over military stability and playing a destabilisation game that ultimately serves authoritarian interests.
The New American Authoritarianism
JD Vance, the once-media-darling “thoughtful conservative,” has now completed his transformation into a full-throated apologist for Trumpism. His embrace of economic nationalism and his barely concealed disdain for Ukraine (and its supporters) confirm what was already obvious: the American right is no longer interested in even the façade of a rules-based global order.
This isn’t incompetence. It’s calculated destruction. Trump and his allies are not simply withdrawing from alliances, they are actively sabotaging them. Their goal is to undermine international institutions, break transatlantic solidarity, and pave the way for a more authoritarian form of capitalism.
And let’s be clear: Vance is no outlier. He is the inevitable product of a Republican Party that has abandoned even the pretence of democratic governance in favour of corporate (tech) authoritarianism. His rhetoric, like Trump’s, cloaks itself in faux-populism, presenting workers with a false choice: endless wars or isolationist nationalism. The real choice, of course, is neither. The working class must reject the imperialist projects of both Washington and Moscow and instead forge genuine international solidarity.
Cracks in Transatlantic Solidarity
European leaders are panicking, and for good reason. For decades, the transatlantic alliance has been a linchpin of neoliberal hegemony, tying European and American capital together through military and economic interdependence. Trump’s erratic behaviour, combined with his grip on the Republican Party, has shattered these illusions.
European elites now face an uncomfortable truth: their reliance on U.S. leadership has left them exposed to the reactionary impulses of a far-right movement that has no interest in preserving stability. The cracks in NATO and EU-U.S. relations are not simply diplomatic headaches, but symptoms of a larger crisis of imperialist hegemony.
Germany and France, long considered the stabilising forces in Europe, have wavered between advocating for greater militarisation and clinging to the hope that America will eventually return to “normal.” But there is no normal to return to. The instability caused by Trumpism is not an aberration, it is a logical development of American imperial decline.
Europe faces a stark choice: continue clinging to a collapsing order or take meaningful steps towards forging an independent path, one not dictated by Washington’s erratic leadership.
Ukraine and the Machinations of Imperialism
Ukraine has become the battleground for competing imperial interests, a pawn in a geopolitical struggle where the stakes are much larger than its borders. The Ukrainian people’s fight for self-determination is just, but their struggle has been co-opted by Western powers who see Ukraine not as an ally, but as a tool.
Trump’s equivocation on military aid does not signal a rejection of imperialism. It is a recalibration of imperialist strategy. While certain factions of the U.S. dominant class still view Ukraine as a valuable front against Russian expansionism, the Trump faction sees greater benefit in allowing Putin to advance, destabilising Europe, and creating an even more volatile geopolitical landscape that can be exploited at home. Trumpism and Putinism are natural allies, not in ideology, but in their shared contempt for democracy, their reliance on oligarchic rule, and their vision of a world where might makes right.
Trump does not oppose supporting Ukraine because it is wrong, he opposes it because there is no immediate personal or financial gain for him and his allies. If he does eventually back Ukraine, it won’t be in defence of self-determination over imperialist Russia, but because he wants something in return. His demand for Europe to “pay up” for continued U.S. military support is not just political theatre; it’s a shakedown. More specifically, Trump’s inner circle is eyeing Ukraine’s vast reserves of lithium, nickel, and other critical minerals, resources vital to the tech and energy industries. His backers in Silicon Valley and extractive capitalism don’t oppose supporting Ukraine outright; they just want to ensure that, if aid is given, it is American corporations that reap the spoils.
This is how fascists operate: they manufacture crises to justify their own authoritarian ambitions.
The Democrats’ insistence that “democracy is on the line” in Ukraine is an empty slogan when American democracy itself is crumbling under the weight of Trumpist reaction. The capitalist class does not care about democracy, it cares about maintaining a system that secures its wealth and power. Ukraine’s struggle, therefore, cannot be won through reliance on Western imperialist backing alone. It must be part of a larger anti-imperialist movement, one that does not simply resist Russian aggression but also rejects Western economic domination.
Fascism, Capitalism, and Crisis
One of the most dangerous aspects of Trump’s speech was his economic vision, which in classic fascistic fashion combines anti-globalist rhetoric with unwavering loyalty to corporate power. His tariffs, his attacks on international trade, his manufactured conflicts, his lies, all of it is designed to restructure global capitalism in a way that serves his preferred (tech) oligarchs while deceiving workers into believing they are the beneficiaries.
Fascism does not emerge from a rejection of capitalism, it is capitalism’s most brutal survival mechanism. When neoliberalism can no longer sustain itself, capital turns to nationalism, militarism, and repression. That is precisely what we are witnessing with Trumpism. It is a movement that exploits economic grievances but redirects them towards xenophobia, state violence, and the destruction of democratic institutions.
Trump, Vance and his ilk understand this well. Their project is to divert working-class anger away from its true source, the capitalist class and towards scapegoats: migrants, foreign workers, global institutions. This is how fascism sustains itself: by weaponising social discontent while ensuring that the underlying system remains intact.
Revolutionary Clarity
The current moment demands more than opposition to Trump and his enablers. It demands an alternative, not a desperate defence of the failing status quo, but a clear and revolutionary path forward.
Trumpism is not an anomaly within capitalism. It is what happens when capitalism reaches a crisis point. The answer is not a return to the liberal (the broken centre) order, which has already proven incapable of halting this descent into reactionary politics. The answer is a movement that challenges the economic and political structures that produce fascism in the first place.
This means rejecting both American and Russian imperialism. It means refusing to be trapped in the false choice between neoliberal globalism and nationalist reaction. It means building a working-class movement that fights for genuine international solidarity, not the hollow promises of Western or European diplomacy, but a struggle that recognises that the true enemy of workers everywhere is the same dominant class that fuels war, crisis, and repression.
Ukraine’s future cannot be dictated by Washington or Moscow. It must be determined by its people. But that struggle will only succeed if it is connected to a broader movement against imperialism and capitalism itself.
The dominant class will not save us. The Democrats will not save us, the European Union will not save us, and Starmer will not save us. The media (and that includes social media) will certainly not save us. Only the organised working class, united across borders, can break the cycle of war, crisis, and authoritarianism.
Now is the time to choose: socialism or barbarism. The forces of reaction have made their move. The question is, will we make ours?
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