This Week in Democracy – Week 58: Trump’s Gestapo Abducts Another Columbia Student, Floats Cuba Takeover
Zeteo's weekly round-up, documenting the growth of authoritarianism in Trump's second term.
One hour and 47 minutes of lies. Another seven days in fascist America. Welcome to ‘This Week in Democracy’ – or should we start calling it, ‘This Week in Fascism’?!
While Trump gave perhaps one of the most boring State of the Union addresses ever – it was certainly the longest(!), his allies and cronies were continuing to destroy American democracy, undermine the Constitution, and harm free societies worldwide.
From taxpayers paying for Kash Patel to party, to Trump’s fascist rally, to DHS making up a story about a missing child to detain a Columbia University student, here’s just a taste of the actions Trump and his cronies took this week that underscore the growth of authoritarianism in the country:
Saturday, Feb. 21 – Trump Threatens Netflix
On Truth Social, Trump warned Netflix that if it doesn’t fire board member and former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice, who had warned corporations, news organizations and law firms against “ben[d]ing the knee” to the current administration, the streaming service will “pay the consequences.” At the time, Netflix had been in talks to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery – a move that would have required approval by the FCC.
(Later in the week, Netflix walked away from the deal after refusing to match a last-minute higher offer from Paramount Skydance, saying it wouldn’t be “financially attractive.” Paramount is owned by Trump friend David Ellison.)
Sunday, Feb. 22 – Kash Patel Parties on Taxpayers’ Dime
FBI Director Kash Patel celebrated the US men’s hockey team’s Olympic win in Milan – with taxpayers footing the bill. Videos on social media showed Patel in the team’s locker room, where he chugged and splashed a beer while the hockey players cheered around him, in a scene reminiscent of a frat party.
Monday, Feb. 23 – ICE Whistleblower Confirms What We Already Knew
While testifying before Congress, an ICE whistleblower sounded the alarm on the agency’s “deficient, defective, and broken” training program for new deportation officers.
Ryan Schwank, who previously worked as an ICE lawyer in the department’s training academy, noted the standard 584-hour training program had been cut by 240 hours, and he received “secretive orders” to teach new recruits “to violate the Constitution by entering homes without a judicial warrant.”
Tuesday, Feb. 24 – Dem Gets Thrown Out During Trump’s Fascist Speech
During his record-length State of the Union address, Trump lied about “rampant” cheating in American elections, falsely claimed that eliminating fraud in federal programs would balance the federal budget, and wrongly stated the man charged with killing a Ukrainian refugee last year in North Carolina “came in through open borders.” (The man was born in Charlotte.) That’s just a small handful of his many lies he told.
At the same time, Democratic Rep. Al Green was kicked out of the chamber for holding up a sign that read “BLACK PEOPLE AREN’T APES,” and Rep. Ilhan Omar’s guest, a disabled woman who went viral after video surfaced of her being dragged from her car by ICE agents last month, was forcibly removed and arrested by Capitol Police for “unlawful conduct” … for standing.
Wednesday, Feb. 25 – Trump’s Racism…on Repeat
On Truth Social, Trump launched his latest racist attack against Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, over their remarks during his State of the Union address on Tuesday. Trump said the US should send Tlaib, who was born in Michigan, and Omar, who is a naturalized citizen, “back from where they came – as fast as possible.”
Later, as part of his new role combating the so-called “war on fraud,” Vice President JD Vance announced that the Trump administration will withhold $259 million in Medicaid payments for Minnesota – another move driven by anti-Somali racism.
Thursday, Feb. 26 – DHS Lies to Abduct Student
DHS agents lied their way into a Columbia University off-campus residence building and arrested student Ellie Aghayeva, according to the school’s president, after “misrepresenting themselves” by claiming to be “police searching for a missing child.”
Hours later, Aghayeva was released from federal custody following an apparent intervention from Trump after he met with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Friday, Feb. 27 - Another Illegal Invasion?
Speaking to reporters, Trump suggested that the US “could very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba.” The country, which Trump says is “in a big deal of trouble,” is suffering a humanitarian crisis, according to the UN’s top official for Cuba, as the Trump administration continues a fuel blockade.
Did you miss previous weeks of ‘This Week in Democracy’? Catch up here. And check out more of Zeteo’s reporting from this week below:
It appears we can now count Hakeem Jeffries as one of Trump’s “cronies.” At least they seem to be working toward many of the same goals. Recent reporting in both Sludge and Drop Site News reveals that a Jeffries connected “Super PAC” is funneling AIPAC money into the campaign of incumbent Democratic Representative Valerie Foushee (NC) against progressive primary challenger Nida Allam, who opposes support for Israel. The PAC is referred to as a “shadow PAC” because it hides its backers. Foushee apparently won her current seat with funding from AIPAC. As we know, AIPAC generally supports Republicans candidates but throws a lot of money into Democratic primaries.
I don’t see how the Democratic Party can survive in its current construction. The Jeffries and Rankins are not natural allies. Those who take money and directions from a right-wing foreign power and the voters who support them are not natural allies with those of us who don’t want our tax dollars going to rip children’s bodies apart and to intentionally starve people and drive them off their land. Trying to maintain this unnatural coalition is not working. (This is just one example of our differences). It results in a lot of lying. The story is not just about the divisions between Republicans and so-called Democrats. Those “Democrats” are more like Republicans and they take money from the same donors. (A billionaire supporter of Israel is channeling money into Jeffries’ PAC).
This week in Facism. Do that. Really.