IMO the Trump Administration is just projecting all the time. If MAGA says “Those ppl want to do this and that” it’s reasonable to assume that “this and that” is actually what MAGA themselves want to do very badly. Examples:
JD Vance: “This is one of the worst examples of foreign interference in an election that I have ever seen in Europe.”
-> The US is literally intervening in Hungary’s election itself. Vance appeared in Budapest to back Viktor Orbán and said he was “here to help.” Plus, they made it a part of their National Security Agenda to push for some sort of “change” within the EU to make us align with them.
Donald Trump: “You’re gambling with World War Three.”
-> The US is itself escalating everything. Trump has paired this rhetoric with coercive pressure on Ukraine and, more recently, with ultimatums toward Iran, including threats of devastating strikes.
Donald Trump: “Law firms are weaponizing the legal system.”
-> The US is now itself using state power punitively against legal opponents. Trump’s executive orders targeted major law firms and courts described the measures as unconstitutional / retaliatory.
Trump administration officials: “Europe needs more free speech, and Washington will fund free speech initiatives there”
-> The US is itself pressuring speech / media. The administration pursued measures against NPR, PBS, and the AP while presenting itself abroad as an anti-censorship actor.
They promised “Freedom against ideological coercion”
-> and they immediately started imposing ideological coercion of their own by interfering with universities.
In other words: listen to what they say “the others” will do. They will do it themselves.
IMO the Trump Administration is just projecting all the time. If MAGA says “Those ppl want to do this and that” it’s reasonable to assume that “this and that” is actually what MAGA themselves want to do very badly. Examples:
JD Vance: “This is one of the worst examples of foreign interference in an election that I have ever seen in Europe.”
-> The US is literally intervening in Hungary’s election itself. Vance appeared in Budapest to back Viktor Orbán and said he was “here to help.” Plus, they made it a part of their National Security Agenda to push for some sort of “change” within the EU to make us align with them.
Donald Trump: “You’re gambling with World War Three.”
-> The US is itself escalating everything. Trump has paired this rhetoric with coercive pressure on Ukraine and, more recently, with ultimatums toward Iran, including threats of devastating strikes.
Donald Trump: “Law firms are weaponizing the legal system.”
-> The US is now itself using state power punitively against legal opponents. Trump’s executive orders targeted major law firms and courts described the measures as unconstitutional / retaliatory.
Trump administration officials: “Europe needs more free speech, and Washington will fund free speech initiatives there”
-> The US is itself pressuring speech / media. The administration pursued measures against NPR, PBS, and the AP while presenting itself abroad as an anti-censorship actor.
They promised “Freedom against ideological coercion”
-> and they immediately started imposing ideological coercion of their own by interfering with universities.
In other words: listen to what they say “the others” will do. They will do it themselves.
I will say that when Trump accuses others of doing something bad, it’s not his imagination that’s working - it’s his memory.