Trump’s “isolationism” vs. Deep State

Basirat News, Tehran – interview with Kevin Barrett,

I doubt that Trump’s isolationist instincts will prevail over the imperialism of the Deep State.

Kevin Barrett is a scholar of literature and Islamic Studies, but he has been doing political analysis and commentary since 2006, when he was forced out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the American academy, for researching and writing about the September 11th, 2001 attacks and supporting the idea that this event was a neoconservative coup or “inside job.” 

Following is the full text of Basirat’s interview with Kevin Barrett.

Q : Do the American people have tendency towards conservatives or Donald Trump’s popularity was the result of his political slogans?

A : The American people are basically conservative, like many other peoples. But Donald Trump’s support stems not from his conservatism, but rather his anti-elitist and anti-foreigner rhetoric. Trump has attacked the media, the political parties, immigrants, Muslims, and various foreign countries including China (which he claims is profiting from trade deals), Iran (which he says threatens Israel and is profiting of nuclear deal), and Europe and Japan (which he says are not paying enough for the US occupation of their countries.) Many working-class Americans have seen that during the past two decades, their standard of living has deteriorated, and they are looking for someone to blame. Trump has skillfully offered a long list of scapegoats. But we should keep in mind that Trump is actually not very popular. He does have his core supporters, but he also has the highest negative rating of any new president in US history. So he will preside over a deeply divided America.

Q : Should we expect Donald Trump applying his promises about immigrants and Muslims or he would be a different person after being elected?

A : Trump will not be able to keep his campaign promise to deport more than 10 million illegal immigrants. The logistics would be too expensive, and the backlash would also be intense – especially from the big corporations that are dependent on illegal immigrants as cheap labor. But in the event of another big false flag attack, he may be able to ratchet up Islamophobia to new heights, and persecute Muslims far beyond the level they are being persecuted now, which is considerable. The failure of American Muslims to actively resist the propaganda version of 9/11/2001 and the so-called “war on terror” has left them deeply vulnerable.

Q : What would be his foreign policy strategy?

A : I don’t think Trump himself  has a strategy, because he doesn’t have a broad or deep understanding of the world. He has instincts, prejudices, and emotional reactions, but no real analysis or policy prescription. The good news is that his instincts are isolationist, meaning that he is not interested in policing the world for the US Empire; he would rather try to rebuild America at home. The bad news is that he will be surrounded by neoconservatives who are experts in deceiving Americans to gain support for neocon wars. I would not be surprised if the neoconservatives stage another big false flag event like 9/11/2001 or bigger, to force Trump into the wars they want, and give him the police state tools to resist the protests that threaten to hobble his presidency. The result might look a bit like 2001, when George W. Bush was inaugurated with low popularity ratings in the wake of a contested election, but then managed to achieve near-unanimous support, even from those who had been his enemies, due to the false flag event on September 11th.

Q : What would be his attitude towards the Iran and p5+1 deal?

A : He says he will scrap it, though now he has changed that to “renegotiate” it. I can’t imagine how he could possibly renegotiate it in a way that would be acceptable both to Iran and to the neoconservatives allied with Netanyahu. So he will likely scrap the agreement. What this means for US-Iran relations isn’t clear, but obviously Iran needs to be extremely wary and well-prepared for all contingencies.

Q : It was said that the US would be isolated under Trump administration. What do you think?

A : I doubt that Trump’s isolationist instincts will prevail over the imperialism of the Deep State. Already Trump is appointing neoconservatives and establishment insiders for key positions. Although it is possible that the US will reach an entente with Russia over Syria and the Ukraine, in all other areas we should expect a more aggressive US policy under Trump, not a more isolationist one. The only way the US will retreat from its empire is if it is forced to, and that will only happen in the event of a huge economic crisis together with widespread social unrest. Such a scenario could materialize during Trump’s presidency, but it is not guaranteed by any means. The self-appointed guardians of empire will do everything they can to prevent it.

Q : How intense would you describe the public unrest after elections and what will be its effects?

A : There have been ongoing demonstrations all over the US protesting Trump’s election. Never in US history has a newly-elected president would met with such a strong opposition. I expect the unrest to continue, with ongoing protests from the Black Lives Matter movement and the Hispanic community and lots of their supporters. Trump is a narcissist, so he will deeply resent the protests and wish that he had a way to crush them. Another big neocon false flag could give him the police state tools to do that. In the worst case scenario, we could  witness the end of the American Republic and the rise of an openly fascist dictatorship.

Kevin Barrett, Senior Editor

Dr. Kevin Barrett, a Ph.D. Arabist-Islamologist is one of America’s best-known critics of the War on Terror.

He is the host of TRUTH JIHAD RADIO; a hard-driving weekly radio show funded by listener subscriptions at Substack and the weekly news roundup FALSE FLAG WEEKLY NEWS (FFWN).

He also has appeared many times on Fox, CNN, PBS, and other broadcast outlets, and has inspired feature stories and op-eds in the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, the Chicago Tribune, and other leading publications.

Dr. Barrett has taught at colleges and universities in San Francisco, Paris, and Wisconsin; where he ran for Congress in 2008. He currently works as a nonprofit organizer, author, and talk radio host.

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