Gavin, Europe & the Inadequacy of Hope

It’s hard to be hopeful when you know it has to get worse before it gets better.

Five years in the trenches while my nation degenerates into a fascist banana republic has made me nearly immune to the emotion of hope. To be honest about it, my brain treats hope like kryptonite, transforming it into what feels more like dread. The reason for this is like many of us, I’m suffering from a form of PTSD created by extended, repetitive, tragic disappointment. Hope requires vulnerability, it requires imagining yourself in a happier future, knowing it might not happen. When the reward doesn’t happen enough times in a row, like Pavlov’s dog, we become conditioned to not even try.

All punishment and no reward makes Jack a dull boy.

However, there are now two rays of light that I would be remiss not to recognize—a firmly united Europe, who made a historic trip to DC to prevent WWIII, at least temporarily, and the bonkers-amazing social media accounts of California Governor Gavin Newsom. While these may seem like very different things, they both represent large-scale, effective pushback against the Trump regime.

First, on Monday the leaders of Germany, France, Italy, Finland, UK, the EU and NATO all converged on the White House with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, with a united front—and a very shrewd plan. They love-bombed Donald Trump with a near North Korean-style praising session in front of the cameras. Zelenskyy gushed over the insipid letter that Melania wrote to Putin—despite the fact that it was almost certainly written by AI—and gave a letter from his wife to Trump in return. Zelenskyy also wore a suit jacket despite his policy of not doing so in wartime. He was humble and non-provocative, yet strong, sincere, and unwavering. When Marjorie Taylor-Greene’s boyfriend Brian Glenn of OANN asked about his suit, after being the one to berate him for not having one last time, Zelenskyy said “You are in the same suit. I changed, you did not.” Zing.

Despite numerous pre-meeting Truths and interviews effectively demanding Zelenskyy surrender territory to Putin, when face-to-face with the continent of Europe backing up Ukraine, Trump decided being isolated in front of the world was a worse option than being praised by them. This was only possible because of extremely savvy planning and coordination ahead of time, and perfect execution by everyone in the room, especially Zelenskyy.

Disarmed by the show of unity, however, Trump redirected his frustration at his own citizens, declaring that he was going to eliminate mail-in ballots, which is against the Constitution—because Vladimir Putin told him to. Trump was also very interested in the fact that Zelenskyy hasn’t had an election in 3 1/2 years because he’s at war—openly musing in front of international leaders that he might get into a war to stay in power.

But the most honest moment came on a hot mic when Trump said to European leaders that he really believes Putin will do a peace deal “for me.” Trump thinks his personal relationship with an imperialist war criminal invading Europe is going to bring peace, as long as Putin gets what he wants.

In truth, as Winston Churchill wrote in his memoirs in 1948, it is a fatal delusion.

Donald Trump has no understanding of history, but the good news for the rest of us is that there are people in power who do.

While Europe seems to get it, America is mostly still slack-jawed and frozen. However, the beginnings of a very interesting phenomenon are happening around the social media accounts of Gavin Newsom, which feels very similar, in a strange way, to the stiffening spine of Europe.

Newsom has hired a young team of digital warriors that have elevated him to the Twitter spotlight through righteous fury at Trump, punishing takedowns of MAGA, and a policy of not giving a damn what anyone says. It’s beautiful to watch them operate. And they are only getting better. It was a brave, risky move for a career politician running the 4th largest economy in the world to make, but it is working brilliantly.

There is a reason for taking that risk, of course, which is that Texas and some other number of red states are openly trying to rig the electoral system before 2026 by mid-decade gerrymandering. Newsom is the only man in the country who could realistically counter that threat—and he is throwing punches with the gloves off. That is, dare I say it, hopeful.

I will write more about this, but Newsom’s team is using a lot of the techniques I’ve been writing about. He has deduced that this is not politics anymore and the rules are different. He is mounting a cognitive insurgency.

How to Mount a Cognitive Insurgency: Know. Name. DISRUPT. — Part III

While both Gavin Newsom and Europe are encouraging signs individually, together they are more significant. As I’ve written, Trump and his regime have no intention of ever leaving voluntarily. One of the most important potential backstops against a complete autocratic takedown in America is a united, forceful Europe. Trump won’t get any more visits like Monday’s if he cancels elections or starts arresting his political opponents en masse. He will think twice about some of his more catastrophic ideas if he knows the sane world is watching. But it also gives domestic opposition movement like Newsom’s, air cover.

Pincer Movement: How to Push Out the American Reich

Being hopeful is difficult when you know things are going to get worse before they get better. Trump and his regime are hell-bent on transforming America into a fascist feudalist monarchy. Nevertheless, it is not inevitable. When the leaders of Europe and California are willing to make big moves to push back, hope, as inadequate as it may be, springs eternal.

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