The “Raid” on Mara Lago: Who Cares?

Should the Left support “National Security”?

Will stealing documents bring down Trump?

Since Monday August 8, TV and social media have been abuzz with Trump’s theft of documents. He took boxes of government property with him to Mara Lago when he left in January 2021.

This has caused raging debates. Were the documents classified? Did he declassify them? Did he have the power to declassify them? Does it even matter if they were classified or not?

The Republican response was typical : About Trump , “ I see no evil, I hear no evil, I speak no evil.” “ Any criticism of Trump is a political witch hunt by the Democrats. Joe Biden ordered the “raid” against his political opponent.”

The MAGA/right wing response was also typical: “ The FBI is corrupt. It is a Democratic Party police force against patriots. Defund the FBI! ( the irony of this one is too much even to comment on.) It is time for Civil War”.

The Democratic Party response also followed the typical liberal lines: “ National Security is sacrosanct. No one is above the law. Trump needs to be held accountable.”

The emotional reaction of most Liberals and leftists is understandable. Trump is the supreme object of hatred. Anything that will bring down this , racist misogynist would-be dictator is good. Maybe this will finally get him!

There are plenty of reasons to oppose Trump and Trumpism, but this is not one of them !

The fight over documents is a mud wrestling contest. Each wrestler represents an inhumane team. Anyone who jumps in the ring will end up covered in mud.

The whole premise of the debate is that “national security” is sacred. The TV commentators assume that everyone supports this. They think the real question is whether Trump jeopardized national security.

People on the left should oppose this whole premise. “National Security” is used to justify everything from U.S. slaughters in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya , Palestine, Sudan, Yemen and…. to jailing whistle blowers like Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning. It is used to suppress dissidents on the left and right ( but mostly the left!). National Security is the excuse for the 800 billion dollar military budget while people sleep homeless in the streets of every major city in the U.S.

The U.S. is the world’s major imperialist power. It has over 800 foreign military bases. It backs horrific governments like Saudi Arabia and Israel. It’s military is the world’s single largest user of fossil fuels. “ National Security” is a slogan used by the ruling class to increase its wealth and power.

Sure , the Left needs to fight Trump and Trumpism. We need to oppose the right-wing groups that he has encouraged. However, we can’t effectively do this by supporting the liberal wing of big business . This wing , the Democratic Party, is also opposed to workers and the poor.

The Democratic Party has presided over the largest transfer of wealth from the bottom 90% to the top 1% in U.S. history over the last 50 years. One estimate is a transfer of $50 trillion. It has backed austerity ,deregulation and lower taxes on the rich. It refuses to provide even the basics of other economically developed countries ( universal health care, free college, adequate old age pensions , public housing , paid parental leave etc.)

Trumpism is the result of the failures of the Democrats. With falling living standards and social deterioration, too many turned to the faux alternative of racist, sexist “America First” politics. We won’t attack the roots of Trumpism by supporting neo-liberal liberalism which nurtured those roots.

Unfortunately, some on the Left have gone to the other extreme. They actually defend Trump against attacks on his “civil rights” ! They think they can appeal directly and sympathetically to the MAGA crowd because it too opposes the status quo. They forget that MAGA wants a more reactionary society, one with fewer rights for workers , women, people of color and the poor. Instead of appealing to them, we need to oppose them and present a positive alternative.

The Left needs an independent policy. We need to put forward a socialist solution to the real problems a majority of people face. We won’t do that by buying into the liberal narrative around “national security”. As tempting as it is to bash Trump over stealing documents, we need to focus on the real issues.