Avoid the Abyss
Donald Trump becomes the 47th president Monday. Democrats, it's time to up your game.
Happy birthday Fariba, which I missed last week, Fabi, who I missed the week before, and to Mark! (Yes, you neighbor Mark..)
Oh! And if you like this newsletter and what we do, please click the 🖤 above. If you ❤️ it, please become a paid subscriber. It goes to the amazing women who help me put it together.
At the cabinet hearings this week, the Republicans, supposedly the party of national security and strong defense, suspended their standards to genuflect before Pete Hegseth. On cue, the Democrats took the bait and grilled him relentlessly.
Donald Trump nominated Hegseth, a former Fox News host, to be secretary of defense. Setting aside the fact—as I’ve previously noted—that he lacks serious management experience and has questionable views about women, he has also been accused of sexual assault, drunkenness, and infidelity.
While the Democrats ably demonstrated how unqualified and unfit Hegseth is for the top job at the Pentagon, it will not matter. With majority control, the GOP has enough votes for his confirmation. Trump nominated Hegseth precisely because he predicted Democratic outrage — on an issue that should have been about the state of the world and America’s preparedness.
It is an increasingly volatile world. China is on the rise. There are wars in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Strongmen rule has proliferated. Climate change is triggering extreme weather events. Global pandemics remain a possibility. AI and technology have upped the cyber dimension. Our preparedness “for war — or peace” is questionable, as Roger Wicker, the Republican chairman of the US Senate Armed Services Committee wrote last May. Pete Hegseth is most definitely not the right person to lead the Pentagon at the moment. But let’s focus on the moment and not the man, who, for what it’s worth, I don’t think will last four years.
It is a moment when Donald Trump will go back to the White House. Many have said that we and the rest of the world know what we’re getting with Trump’s ascension.
But there are many factors that have changed since the end of his first term in 2020 that make what is to come not only unpredictable, but a throwback to the wild west.
The first is something that has been noted continuously, that Trump is no longer seen as an aberration. He is the Republican party and the party has given up any resistance and fallen into line behind him.
Another is more concerning and core to how the truth became “optional1”: Silicon Valley. Most notably, there is Elon Musk, who has become what many have described as a consigliere, working on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), “reviving free speech” on X, and chiming in on a variety of issues, most recently on Germany and the UK, on which he has no expertise.
Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen has not held back not so much his support of Trump but his disillusionment of the Democratic Party, which he had previously supported. The Democrats, Andreessen claims, have not only blamed the tech community for falsely eroding democratic norms, but for putting up innovation-stifling guardrails that amount to censorship.
Last week, Meta’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, announced that his company would do away with fact checkers in order to go back to “free speech.” Natalia Antelava writes in Coda Story:
By abandoning civic responsibility, while disingenuously claiming to be acting in the interests of free speech, Zuckerberg and Musk aren’t so much transforming their platforms as finally being honest about what these platforms have always been: engines of engagement designed to maximize profit and power, regardless of societal cost. The real shift isn’t in their behavior – it’s in our belated recognition that no meaningful conversation about democracy can exclude the role of the broligarchy in shaping our information ecosystem.
On Wednesday, President Biden warned the nation that “an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.” It is a message that is not only too late, but rings hollow.
During his campaign in 2020, Biden spoke about the threat to democracy, largely because of the rise of populist autocrats and Trump’s failure to invest in alliances, support national security professionals, and risking America’s economic stability with tariff wars. He spoke about turning that around and having America “lead again.” As he moves out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, it is hard to see, amid the backdrop of several major wars in the world and a disastrous pullout in Afghanistan, how effective he and his efforts were. He talked the talk. But when it came to walking the proverbial walk, he froze — afraid to take bold steps, namely against Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu, and reinforce his own claims about the importance of human rights and the rules-based order.
As we look to Monday’s inauguration, the challenge before us is not just to navigate the chaos of Trump’s return or the deepening influence of oligarchs and tech titans. It is to move beyond knee-jerk outrage and finger-pointing, to acknowledge that we are in uncharted territory, and to prepare accordingly. Justice is in the rearview mirror and the rules-based order is gone. Trump is remaking it and making it up in real time, with the GOP following along and the Democrats clutching their pearls.
If the Democrats are to counter this, they must move beyond indignation and reimagine what democracy—and, most importantly, the truth—can and should mean in this fractured world. It has to go beyond public posturing and embrace bold ideas and policies that will not just fight for the principles that have been eroded, but for people. Without that, the path ahead will only lead further into the abyss. — Elmira
I’m opening up my column to others. Please pitch me your op-ed idea/perspective. Let’s get more female perspectives. Email me on endeavoringe@gmail.com or respond to this post.
Elsewhere in the World.....
On our radar...
Ceasefire
Biden and Trump worked to broker the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. Will it hold? Annelle Sheline takes a look. (Responsible Statecraft)
In Israel, grief and frustration about a long, brutal war is mixed with joy that some hostages may soon return, writes Ruth Margalit. (New Yorker)
Is the ceasefire really a step towards peace or just another chapter in a story of delayed justice and extended suffering for the Palestinians, asks Afaf Al-Najjar. (Al Jazeera)
US
The Biden era ends….
As he makes his way out of the White House, Joe Biden has taken Cuba off the US terrorist list. This, at the urging of Pope Francis, who has been working to get the Cuban government to release political prisoners, writes Carmen Sesin. If it weren’t a busy news week, we’d have more. Suffice to say, too little too late. This is something Biden should have done in 2020, after Trump put Cuba back on this list on his way out of the Oval Office, reversing Obama’s action. (NBC)
Joe Biden failed on human rights, says Sarahg Yager, bringing the US “down to the level of its adversaries, relying on economic and military deals to shape outcomes abroad, and minimizing the very democratic values” that he “himself said make the United States what it is. (Foreign Affairs)
The outgoing US president also failed on foreign policy, says Kori Schake, largely because he failed to meet his own grandiose standards. (Foreign Policy)
Africa
In Mozambique, boycotts marred Daniel Chapo’s inauguration on Wednesday. Many have contested the results of the October elections that handed Chapo a win, claiming fraud. Opposition candidate Venâncio Mondlane has called for a national strike. And it doesn’t look like it will be over anytime soon. Worse, the political turmoil might spread to other African countries, writes Teresa Nogueira Pinto. (GIS Reports)
Asia
On Wednesday, South Korean police succeeded in arresting President Yoon Suk Yeol, to answer questions about his martial law declaration last month. This has brought up questions about the strength of the country’s democracy. Yejin Gim reminds us about South Korea’s legacy with dictatorships and the activists that have stood up against them. (New Lines)
Europe
Greenland made headlines after Donald Trump said that it should be a part of the US. In a phone call with Trump this week, Denmark’s prime minister said that Greenland should decide its future. That’s an interesting twist, since it’s not an outright rejection of Trump’s proposal. Digging deeper into the matter, it seems that there is a serious independence movement in Greenland. Aka Hansen confirms this as she sheds light on her country’s desire not to be a part of the US or Denmark. (The Guardian)
Austria’s far right Freedom Party is on the cusp of forming a coalition with the center right People’s Party. That positions Herbert Kickl, a Euroskeptic, pro-Russian, and anti-immigrant politician, to become chancellor — and expand the EU’s anti-liberal voices. Eloise Hardy talked to a Brussels insider on what that could mean for the continent’s future. (Parliament Magazine)
Middle East
Lebanon’s new president, Joseph Aoun tapped Nawaf Salam to be the country’s prime minister. Salam is a top judge at the International Court of Justice. Laila Bassam and Tom Perry point out that “the choice of Salam underlined the major shift in the power balance…” showing how much Hezbollah has weakened. (Reuters)
As Lebanon’s government takes its place, it’s time for those in power to take responsibility for the country, writes Kim Ghattas — and stop blaming outside forces for the country’s troubles. (FT)
Science and Climate Change
In the aftermath of the LA wildfires, as California sets out to rebuild, it will have to develop far greater resilience to climate-worsened disasters, writes Alice Hill. (CFR)
Technology
Billionaires are natural allies with the political right. Meta’s latest pivot is a stark reminder of what that means for the rest of us, writes Jenna Ruddock. (Tech Policy Press)
Global fact-checkers were disappointed, but not surprised that Meta has ended its program, writes Ananya Bhattacharya. (Rest of World)
Under the Radar
Around the world, feminist activists have successfully combated autocracy—most recently in South Korea. US grant makers, in particular, should take note, say Christine Ahn, Diana Duarte, and Hanni Hanson. (Chronicle of Philanthropy)
In New York Magazine, Lila Shapiro talked to a number of women who accuse Neil Gaiman of sexual assault. Gaiman had been a fierce feminist advocate and outspoken #HeForShe proponent after #MeToo. Was his feminism faux? Constance Grady discusses. (Vox)
Opportunities
CFR is taking applications for a Technologist-in-Residence.
Another great fellowship opportunity: PEN America’s Emerging Voices Fellowship.
The Women’s Philanthropy Institute is hiring an Executive Director.
In London, the FT wants a Global Communications Director.
Over at the German Marshall Fund, Bonnie Glaser is hiring for a Deputy Director, Indo Pacific.
Editorial Team
Elmira Bayrasli - Editor-in-Chief
Editors:
Catherine Lovizio
Emily Smith