Submitted by Renee Parsons
Even before the recent Epstein uproar assaulted the Presidency of Donald Trump, there were early warnings that expectations for Trump’s political performance were about to be disappointed.
Almost immediately after the Inauguration, a metamorphosis appeared to overwhelm Trump with anticipation that he would stop the Ukraine war as he had so loudly and boldly proclaimed before and after the election. In his victory speech on election night, Trump said, “I’m not going to start wars, I’m going to stop wars.”
At the very least, Trump’s experience as 45th President taught him that his familiar chant ‘this is not my war’ was self serving and that every President becomes Constitutionally responsible for all Federal government policy. The President does not get to pick and choose. That Presidential authority provides the necessary clout to pull the plug on US support for Ukraine.
Abandoning his earlier pledge as a ‘Peace President’ with a certainty to end the Ukraine conflict in one day, it is unclear if Trump understood the implications of NATO expansion in Ukraine or the global geopolitical transformation that is underway.
In any case, his fervor to stop the war faded quickly as Trump morphed from being an outspoken MAGA candidate into promoting a chaotic foreign policy at the Deep State’s bidding.
At the outset of its SMO (Special Military Operation) in February, 2022, the Russians presented a non-negotiable Twelve Point Peace Proposal of ‘root causes’ that remains unacknowledged by the US.
Trump’s rationale for not fulfilling his campaign promise was that resident neocons convinced Trump it was Russian President Vladimir Putin’s responsibility to adopt a ceasefire; that it was Putin who needed to stop the war despite Trump’s earlier bravado to shut down US support.
By mid-March, however, right out of the gate, Trump further challenged his Nobel Peace prize dream when his foreign policy team met on Signal (along with Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg) to plan an unanticipated bombing run on Yemen. The Houthis, probably the poorest people on the planet, had been harassing Israeli ships through the Red Sea in a show of opposition to the genocide on Palestinians in Gaza.
After a two month unconstitutional bombing campaign costing in excess of $1 billion, the US called it quits and withdrew as the US Navy lost two ships.
There have been few indications that Trump ever had a consuming interest in the broad range of foreign policy issues awaiting his attention. His first term in the Oval Office confirmed that while Trump is a tough talker, he has little ability to address international issues with a diplomatic tact or attention to detail.
Trump has always marched to a different drummer as his first six months in office provided a disconnected approach to foreign policy with an unpredictable performance on Ukraine, no mention of the genocide in Gaza, a struggling tariff policy, an unprovoked attack on Iran and perpetuating a crisis with China.
One partial explanation for Trump’s flawed performance on foreign policy might include a majority of mediocre cabinet appointments who lack the depth of necessary experience to assist a struggling President. Other than Vice President JD Vance, Tulsi Gabbard at DNI Director and RFK jr. as Secretary of HHS, none are members of the A team.
To date, the Trump administration has no US Ambassador to Ukraine or to Russia, keeps the US-Russian Consulate closed and has not renewed air flights to Russia.
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As the Trump campaign geared up for the November vote, prominent big tech entrepreneur Elon Musk joined the campaign to elect Trump. In recognition of the country’s $37 trillion debt, Musk gave birth to DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) identifying bureaucratic waste, fraud and abuse in an effort to bring fiscal sanity to government agencies.
At the same time, Trump ran into a buzzsaw when the contentious HR 1, One Big Beautiful Bill Act (BBB) hit a brick wall as Members of Congress announced their opposition to increasing the Federal debt by $3 Trillion in the name of a tax cut. Congress added another $150 billion which, according to a Brown University study, 50% of which will end up in the pockets of the US military industrial complex.
Musk described the BBB as a “disgusting abomination” warning that next November, “all politicians who betrayed the American people should be fired” adding that “When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste and graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,”
Even before Musk publicly dissed Trump’s contentious Bill, Congressional opposition surfaced with two House GOP Members led by Rep. Tom Massie (Ky.) voted against the Bill. On the Senate side, Sen. Tom Tillis’ (NC) opposition earned him a Trump dismissal, causing Tillis to announce his drop-out from the 2026 Senate election.
Soon after publicly dissing the BBB, Musk, who offered a much needed diplomatic presence, was out the door.
He took the opportunity to announce formation of the America Party wisely strategizing the 2026 mid term elections with a handful of Senate and House candidates rather than an impractical attempt to replace the entire 435 Members of Congress in one fell swoop.
In response to the threat of a new political party, Trump said he was “saddened to see Musk go completely off the rails.” Predicting that third parties create “complete and total destruction and chaos” and by the next day, changed his tune with “I think it’ll help us. I think it’ll help.”
On the heels of Musk’s departure and as if to disdain his desire for the Nobel Peace Prize, Trump ordered an unprecedented bombing raid on Iran’s three enrichment facilities claiming “complete and total obliteration” in what became known as the Twelve Day War.
Alas, the American unconstitutional effort to support Netanyahu failed to produce the desired results. MIT Prof Ted Postol confirmed that Trump’s bombing results were not accomplished as implied.
Given Trump’s long term relationship with Israeli premier Netanyahu, the President joined the chorus denouncing Iran’s legal right as a member of the NPT to enrich uranium.
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Meanwhile, the concept of an America Party becomes more stimulating and inspiring as HR 4016, the always notorious NDAA bill (National Defense Appropriations Act) was adopted on a 221 – 209 final passage vote. The 2026 NDAA will fund the Defense Department at $832 billion.
As usual, a minority opposed funding of the Pentagon budget with only three Republicans voting NO on final passage. They were GOP Reps. Tim Burchett (Tennessee), Marjorie Greene (Georgia) and Tom Massie (Ky).
Rep. Greene offered an amendment that would decrease $500 Million in military aid to Israeli Nuclear Armed missile defense system (ie Iron Dome). Greene added that the US already provides $3.8 Billion annually to Israel in foreign aid and in April, 2024, the US provided an additional ‘supplemental’ of $8.7 Billion.
The backstory on her amendment is that the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza was bombed by Israel as it was providing refuge for hundreds of Palestinians including children and as the parish priest was injured. That amendment failed by an appalling 422 voting No with six voting Aye including only two Republicans (Greene and Massie).
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), Rep. Betty McColllum (D-Minn) and Zionist Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) all spoke in opposition to Greene’s amendment.
Rep. Greene introduced a second amendment to cut all funds from Project Ukraine which had already received $175 billion in direct military and economic aid. Greene’s America Last amendment would assure that no further US resources will be sent to Ukraine. It failed on a 76 – 353 vote.
Reps. McCollum and Rep. Calvert spoke against the amendment while supporting President Trump’s ‘decisive action’ to provide new NATO weapons to Ukraine.
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In addition to incurring the wrath of President Trump for outspoken comments against the BBB and the bombing of Iran, Rep. Tom Massie has been targeted by the President and MAGA Ky which has already spent $1.8 million to defeat Massie in a GOP Kentucky primary.
Never one to hold back, Trump laid it on Massie:
“I don’t think he does a good job for the country. He’s always a No. I call him Rand Paul Jr. Nothing constructive at all. He’s just terrible. Thomas Massie from Kentucky. Nothing constructive… I don’t think he is a very smart guy; a good education but that’s about it. I oppose somebody; I oppose somebody. If the voters, for some reason, the voters…. they almost always seem to go along with me. They know I’m working hard; …have a high IQ; they like high IQ people. I make good decisions. Trump is right about everything. You know I don’t like guys who vote no, vote no. there’s nothing,. let him get what he wants, let him vote yes but if you look at his voting record, he’s going to have an opponent, a big opponent, a good opponent who’s going to win… a poll just came out and it shows that anybody I endorse against Massie loses by 25 points..he’s going to be history I think…I thought the Senate was going to be tougher than the House; we got there- pretty much what we wanted; it’s the biggest bill ever passed if we get this done. Most people wanted 7 or 8 different bills. By doing it this way, the bill has something for everybody.”
“After Trump obliterated Iran’s nuclear weapons program, Massie sided with Democrats and the Ayatollah,” the ad says. The truth is that the US did NOT ‘obliterate’ Iran’s nuclear research facilities per Prof. Ted Postol’s lengthy analysis.
Trump further predicted that we “will have a wonderful American Patriot running against him.”
No stranger to Congressional hanky-pank, Rep. Tom Massie (Ky) offered a Resolution (HR 581) that would require the DOJ to release all unclassified Epstein List documents, plea bargains, records and all other communications in its possession.
After the House Rules Committee, using parliamentary trickery, blocked a Discharge Petition to allow the Resolution to reach the House floor for a vote. Speaker Mike Johnson released the House early for a five week summer recess in order to avoid a confrontation. Massie and his co-sponsor Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Caif) hope to secure the necessary 218 signatures to force a House Floor vote immediately after the August recess.
Currently eleven Republicans have co-sponsored the Resolution including Reps. Boebert (Colo), Van Drew (NJ), Burlison (Mo), Greene (Ga), Burchett (Tenn), Mills (Fla), Miller, (Ohio). Crane (Az), Mace (Sc), Self (Texas) and Barrett (Mich).
Democratic co-sponsors include Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), Jim McGovern (Mass.), Hank Johnson (Ga.), Jamie Raskin (Md.), Ryan Patrick (N.Y.), Debbie Dingell (Mich.), Joe Neguse (Colo.), Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Nydia Velazquez (N.Y.).
Trump went on Massie attack mode with a Truth Social essay on 7-21 “Fire Thomas Massie – Thomas Massie….the worse Republican Congressman and an almost guarantee NO VOTE each and every time..is an embarrassment to Kentucky. He is lazy, slow moving and totally disengenuous. A real loser. Never has anything positive to add. Looking for someone good to run against his guy. Someone I can endorse and vigorously campaign for.”
In addition, Massie questioned Trump’s unconstitutional bombing of Iran’s three nuclear enriching facilities further earning the President’s wrath: “When two countries are bombing each other daily in a hot war, and a third country joins the bombing, that’s an act of war,” Massie said in another post. “I’m amazed at the mental gymnastics being undertaken by neocons in D.C. (and their social media bots) to say we aren’t at war … so they can make war.”
Without needing a direct challenge, Massie easily confronts the Trump Administration by being an independent thinker who analyzes his own intellectual judgment and moral compass to vote against its misguided illegal wars or support public release of Epstein files.
If the GOP remains at the same level as today’s GOP, offering the same quality of legislative oversight and second-rate candidates, the Uniparty will retain its identity as the GOP will continue to lose future elections.
Renee Parsons has been an elected public official in Colorado, an environmental lobbyist with Friends of the Earth and a staff member in the US House of Representative in Washington, DC. Before its demise, she was also a member of the ACLU’s Florida State Board of Directors and President of the ACLU Treasure Coast Chapter. She is a regular contributor to Global Research.