Philip Giraldi – The Unz Review July 31, 2025

In some ways it is refreshing to have a president who is so profoundly ignorant that one’s expectations regarding what good policies might actually come out of the federal government are really, really low. It took Donald Trump six months to accept the reality of the slaughter going on in Gaza where Israel is killing roughly one hundred Palestinians every day whose only crime is that they are looking for food, water and shelter. Admittedly Trump has actually been bold enough to challenge his Israeli masters by declaring that videos from Gaza show a lot of people who Trump admitted were “starving”, and promised to “take care” of it. Yet he has done nothing but support the Israeli blockade and repress or even deport any voices in America who protest against the war crimes. And right before Trump promised to “take care” of starving Palestinians, an Israeli official described his pleasure to report that when it came to pressuring Israel “to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, Trump [has] made no such requests.” So the killing continues, financed armed and supported by Donald J Trump just as was the case under Genocide Joe Biden.

Indeed, instead of pushing Israel to allow in aid, Trump partnered with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to destroy the existing United Nations system for delivering it. As Trump took office in January, Israel banned access to Gaza by the United Nations Agency for Palestinian refugees in Gaza, and Netanyahu was and still is backed up by Trump. Trump’s chief negotiator Steve Witkoff has boasted that there is “no space” between the president and Netanyahu on handling the Gaza issue, with Trump continuing to call on the Israelis to “finish the job,” which clearly means doing whatever necessary to get rid of the Palestinian “problem.” Trump has also made clear that Israel will “manage” and “preside over” the distribution of goods as part of its security measures to keep Hamas from stealing the food, which is a lie that has been heavily promoted by Israel. Armed Israeli settlers have also been given a green light to intercept and blockade food and medicine convoys as they approach the Gaza border.

Trump’s odd pledge to provide assistance to Gaza came as he sat alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer last week. He said “I know your nation’s joining us, and we have all of the European nations joining us, and others also called and they want to be helpful. So we’re going to set up food centers and where the people can walk in and no boundaries. We’re not going to have fences.” He elaborated “We’re going to be getting some good, strong food. We can save a lot of people. Some of those kids — that’s real starvation.” Trump earlier last Monday had been asked if he agreed with Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments that there was no starvation in Gaza. He responded somewhat incoherently “I mean, based on television, I would say not particularly, because those children look very hungry.”

And it is certain that the children will stay hungry as Israel concentrates the Gazan population into restricted areas that will become death traps. Trump’s way of discussing the Gaza issue is, characteristically, very awkward and poorly expressed with “good, strong food” and “no boundaries…no fences.” His pledge to provide aid is also basically a lie or a “misspoke” as Trump has deferred to Israel in terms of how the flow of assistance will actually work. The reality is that both Trump and Starmer are reacting to popular sentiment in both the UK and the US, where voters have been rapidly losing any sympathy they might have had for the Israeli “security” policy vis-à-vis the Palestinians. Both leaders can reasonably be described as dedicated Zionists who are “controlled” by the Israel lobbies in their respective countries.

But more bloodshed was not the only Trump news during the past week. Apparently his outstanding performance in going to war with Ukraine, Iran, Syria and the Palestinians simultaneously has earned him recognition and rewards that will bring honor to his name for years to come. We are still waiting on possible receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize as recommended by no less an international notable than Bibi Netanyahu, but the Republican Party in the US has stepped in to fill the gap with legislation that will change the name of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC, removing the Kennedy and replacing it with Trump. Inside the building itself the main opera house will be renamed for the First Lady Melina Trump.

I must admit to being turned off by the promiscuous honoring of people in public life who have no honor and who, in Trump’s case, probably cannot spell or pronounce the word. My local public library here in Virginia was threatened with being posthumously named after Madeleine Albright by a virtue of a bill submitted to Congress by our local Democratic Party representative. As one recalls, Albright was completely unapologetic, quite the contrary, over the killing of 500,000 Iraqi children which she described as “worth it.” That makes her similar to our current crop of brainwashed psychopaths, including Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden, who have been complicit in Israel’s war crimes. In the case of my local post office, the bill to honor Albright did not advance, suggesting that some smells are too extreme even for members of Congress.

One might recall that the Kennedy Center has been around for a long time and was meant to honor an assassinated president. JFK and his wife were, in fact, active supporters of the arts both when he was in the Senate and after he became president. Trump and First Lady Trump’s ties to theater and cultural events is somewhat more elusive unless one considers parties at Jeffrey Epstein’s various residences to be high culture.

The real tragedy is that the name change is doable, even though there are several hoops that have to be jumped through to accomplish it. The federal government first authorized the Center’s construction in 1958. The project, funded by both the government and private donations, stalled and was revived under President John F. Kennedy, whose family led an effort to get the center funded and built. It was named in his honor following his assassination. Two months later, President Lyndon B Johnson signed the legislation making it a living memorial to Kennedy. The law relating to the building states that “After December 2, 1983, no additional memorials or plaques in the nature of memorials shall be designated or installed in the public areas of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.” Notably, there are four large new portraits of the first and second couples, the Trumps and Vances, in the center’s Hall of Nations, the main entryway to the facility. Until this year, the public spaces included only a bronze bust of President John F. Kennedy, so Trump or his facilitators have to a certain extent ignored that ruling. Nevertheless, as the Center’s names are protected by law it would require a new law to change that, which in turn would have to obtain 60 of the votes in the Senate to pass. As the Democrats are not likely to go along with that, the necessary majority would be lacking.

And that’s not all. The beatification of Donald Trump by Republicans in Congress continues to grow, and, let us not forget the Israeli government, which has called him the most pro-Israel president ever, meaning that the accolades with be fully backed by the immensely powerful Israel Lobby.

There are in fact a number of bills and other proposals floating around in Washington that would elevate Donald Trump the Man, turning him into something many magnitudes greater. Imagine getting the day off work in the near future to celebrate not only Flag Day on June 14^th but also Donald Trump’s birthday as part of the federal holiday. Or going to a bank on the Washington Metro which will be called the Trump Train to withdraw money and receiving a $100 bill with Donald’s portrait on it. Or landing in an airplane at Donald J. Trump International Airport, formerly Dulles International, near the nation’s capital before going to a performance at the Donald J. Trump Center for Performing Arts. Any and all of the above would be possible if a series of bills and measures Republican lawmakers have sponsored this year were to be approved.

Trump is little more than six months into his second term, but some Republicans are ready to elevate him into the pantheon of American greats, proposing an ever-growing list of bills paying tribute well before his second term ends. One lawmaker even proposes carving his face into Mount Rushmore next to Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt. Trump has told friends that would be his “dream” to be carved into Mount Rushmore. Fortunately perhaps, the National Park Service, which oversees Mount Rushmore National Memorial, has cited two reasons that Trump’s face cannot be added. First, it considers Mount Rushmore to be a “completed work of art.” Second, there is no room: “The carved portion of Mount Rushmore has been thoroughly evaluated, and there are no viable locations left for additional carvings.”

And the honors list grows longer and longer. Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina carries a pamphlet he gives to colleagues asking them to sponsor a bill that would direct the Bureau of Printing and Engraving to design and print a $250 bill in June 2026 bearing Trump’s image. The honor would coincide with the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence. It is, by the way, illegal to put the image of a living person on US paper currency or on a coin but Trump’s people seem to believe that rules exist to be broken.

If all of this sounds crazy to the reader, well it is, and it is intended to demonstrate the extent to which our country’s essentially ignorant leader has embraced a cult of personality about himself that goes beyond what Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Adolph Hitler had to offer. This immature but hubristic nut case will have us in more wars before too long just to demonstrate that he is so powerful and righteous that he can do it, not because there is any benefit to Americans or to the United States. Just witness the nonsense that has been going on over the past six months replete with phony negotiations leading to the recent warnings to Russia, the incessant pandering to Israel’s sadism, and the brain-dead attack on a non-threatening Iran. And in the latest development, Trump has declared that a “trade deal” with neighbor Canada will be “very difficult” because Ottawa intends to recognize Palestine! The US also stated on Thursday that it is going to impose sanctions on the Palestinians’ self-governance organization as well as on the body that represents it on the international stage. The sanctions will affect both the Palestinian Authority (PA) which was established by the Oslo peace accords, and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) which was recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people in return for it recognizing Israel and renouncing violence. The State Department said it will starting now deny visas to PLO members and PA officials.

Who needs any more of this nonsense?

Philip M. Giraldi, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a 501(c)3 tax deductible educational foundation (Federal ID Number #52-1739023) that seeks a more interests-based U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Website is councilforthenationalinterest.org, address is P.O. Box 2157, Purcellville VA 20134 and its email is inform@cnionline.org

Source https://www.unz.com/pgiraldi/hypocrisy-thy-name-is-trump/