Who Benefits Most From The Ongoing Coup?
While “follow the money” is typically a reliable way to trace the origins of nefarious activities, there are times when that guidance falls short, and “follow the benefits” becomes a more reliable pointer.
Take, for instance, the long list of “Executive Actions” initiated by the Trump administration since taking office just over two months ago. There are at least 4 players that receive the most benefits from these various actions: Trump, Musk, Putin and MAGA (meaning the Steve Bannon wing of the Don’s support team). They comprise what might be described as an “unholy alliance,” apparently bent on destroying the rule of law foundations of our democracy, one institution at a time, or all at once if possible — think blitzkrieg.
Of course, there are other players who benefit greatly from the current situation, starting with the authors of Project 2025, but we’ll come back to that group, as they warrant a different lens through which to consider their respective role. Their goals greatly overlap with the 4 primary beneficiaries, some more closely than others. But for now, let’s just look at the big four, and ask ourselves, who benefits the most from this alliance and the havoc that it seems intent on wreaking upon the American public?
To begin with, it’s important to remember that not all benefits carry equal weight. For example, while Don Trump may reap multiple benefits from the alliance, it’s pretty clear that just the single benefit of staying out of prison would be enough to motivate him to participate in a plan that justifies turning on his own base. And among other benefits, he’s getting the personal satisfaction of finally being able to go after all of his perceived enemies, while declaring himself King — punishing the innocent with zero self-awareness, hesitation or impunity of any sort. But staying out of prison alone would have been enough to have him participate in the alliance and its master plan.
Musk gains in all sorts of ways, having traded self-respect and previous goodwill for the promise of multiple financial and personal benefits, including a path to eliminating what we currently know as NASA, Social Security and other federal programs — replacing them with private alternatives (including his own private companies). He doesn’t need any more money (or does he?), but there are many other benefits he already enjoys, both personally and professionally, acting as “Co-President.”
MAGA, as we have come to know it, reaps benefits mostly associated with throwing cultural red meat to the willfully ignorant Trump supporters who mistakenly assumed that once in office, Trump would create immense benefits for them personally. Their current revelry in “owning the libs” will soon be eclipsed by the personal pain brought on by the Trump administration’s neo-fascist policies.
So of course, that leaves Vladimir Putin, long-term thinker with toxic delusions, and a brilliant manipulator of easy marks like Trump and his ilk. What, you might ask, does Putin gain from the unholy alliance? One can hardly imagine any additional American carnage that Putin might have wished for that he isn’t already receiving from Trump’s and Musk’s actions since Trump took office. With Trump and Musk in the White House, his dreams of global conquest must seem well within reach at the moment.
As might be obvious, while there are juicy benefits already being realized by each unholy ally, there is a large handful of items on the list that seem to benefit only one party: Putin. Musk reportedly spent 2 years in regular dialog with Putin, leading up to the 2024 election. We don’t know what they spoke about; but whatever it was, Musk was ready for action as soon as Trump’s presidential campaign was under way. He bankrolled Trump’s unexpected wins in every swing state, and was awarded free rein as soon as Trump took office. He then proceeded, at Trump’s supposed direction, to decimate government infrastructure. But on behalf of whom exactly? It’s not like Musk personally benefits from most of these actions taken.
Is a picture is worth a thousand words? I offer you an admittedly incomplete (but still eye-opening) snapshot of benefits that have been reaped by the four primary beneficiaries, so far. Project 2025 is the subject of a different exploration that warrants the time of those investigative reporters still courageous enough to take a deeper look. The question there might be: why do almost all of the plans described in Project 2025’s manifesto happen to match up so well with actions that would benefit Putin directly?
I invite you to consider the attached spreadsheet and share your own insights and observations below in the “comments” section. This list is admittedly incomplete, as each new day adds another “action” or two, or three, to the blatantly fascist, un-American game-plan. But you get the drift. As posited by Occam’s Razor, the simplest explanation is usually the correct one.
(To participate in extended discussion and a vote, this article also appears on my Daily Kos page)