US Monarchy & Trump v. Slaughter

+ implications on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework

‘The King and the Burger King’ via X

As I already shared with paid subscribers, I will be less active on Substack over the summer. Any new subscribers will get a free two-month extension.

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Before liberal democracy, empires were typically ruled by monarchs. The American experiment is now flirting with a monolithic form of governance again, 250 years after the Declaration of Independence.

The American turn from democracy to monarchy was not a result of a democratic process or a deliberate choice by the people. It was a result of too much money in politics and too much wealth inequality which hollowed out the essence of democracy, leaving a pointless political theater scripted by money, power, and status.

In addition, the early success of US internet companies which turned into Big Tech greatly changed the power dynamics in society - from the hands of politicians to executives – so the role of elected officials became even more ceremonial. Big Tech has no interest in being governed by career politicians and bureaucrats who are inefficient and have to pretend to answer to the public’s interest. They want a dictator, a King, one who can protect their business interests at home and abroad and shield them from consumer protection laws and antitrust enforcement.

It would seem like Trump’s chaotic and unpredictable style of leadership is bad news for American business, since no one knows what’s up or down or what may happen tomorrow. To give just one example, Trump claimed 39 times that a peace deal with Iran was imminent before the parties eventually settled on a fragile 60-day ceasefire with still no indications of lasting truce. However, the constant gaslighting serves a purpose; it effectively distracts from the naked self-enrichment which has few global precedents.

Big Tech and Trump are mutually interested in squashing democratic resistance to the new monarchy. They need an obedient press, Supreme Court judges cozying up to them like lapdogs, and to discourage critical and independent thought in education and beyond (see smartphones, social media and AI). Unfortunately, I don’t see how the move away from democracy in the US can be reversed. When MAGA icon Viktor Orbán lost the Hungarian parliamentary election in April, he accepted the defeat gracefully. Trump’s party is currently trying to redraw election maps in its favor (gerrymandering), but if it fails and MAGA loses the midterms in November and the general election in 2028, election denialism will unite and bolster the far-right movement against the old pseudo-democratic establishment. So even if MAGA loses, it wins.

In sum total, there is no polite way of putting it, the US is fucked six ways from Sunday. We can hope that a sense of justice and sanity can be restored in the US post-MAGA, but its global standing and respect and the crowning days of Pax Americana are lost forever. Because of its authoritarian bent, senseless tariffs and direct threats on allies’ sovereignty, other countries are forced to update their view and partnerships with the US - this process takes time. Tech remains the most important American export, and after the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Trump v. Slaughter, it’s an export that will likely take a major hit.