As a part of alleged budget slashing and cost-cutting initiatives, the Trump Administration commenced its second term by freezing over 1,800 federal research grants, sending shockwaves through the scientific community. Between February and June of this year, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) distributed $8 billion less to universities and other research institutions than it […]
Tag: Trump
The Chinese Dream Versus a Chemical Crisis
China has backed itself into a diplomatic corner. In order to achieve its ambitious goals, Beijing must balance its reputation, relations with potential investees in the Global South, and relations with the United States. In terms of the U.S., Beijing wants to project power, mainly by winning the trade war through strategic leveraging of counternarcotics […]
The Aesthetic of Authoritarianism: AI and the Trump Government
Donald Trump’s government hasn’t been shy about embracing generative AI. No later than his second day in office, the President announced the $500 billion Stargate project: a joint private venture aimed at constructing 20 AI datacenters in the US. Standing beside Trump when he made the announcement were the leaders of OpenAI, Oracle, and Softbank […]
Dismantling U.S. Economic Dominance, BRIC by BRIC
The greatest threat to the U.S. dollar isn’t a rival currency–it’s a financial system that doesn’t need one. And that’s exactly what the BRICS alliance–originally Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa–is trying to build. What started as a loose economic partnership has evolved into a strategic alliance bent on dismantling U.S. economic dominance. But […]
Soft Power, Hard Lessons: The Cost of Economic Nationalism
The Playground President The president of the United States views the global arena like a school bully views their playground; failing to see that playing the popular kid is a much better strategy. A bully is typically someone with none or very few friends, with little means of getting what they want without violence or […]
Trump’s Deportation Policy Cuts Two Ways in California’s Economy
One in every eight Americans are immigrants and California is home to 10.6 million of them. To that end, immigrants have significant importance on the economy and culture of California. It is a large misconception that immigrants don’t positively contribute to the economy and benefit from their residency in the US without paying taxes. In […]
Milei and MAGA: A Love Story
If the pragmatic James Carville gave us the slogan “It’s the economy, stupid,” we now have an ideologue’s response. Javier Milei, the self-described “anarcho-capitalist” President of Argentina, won the 2023 presidential election off the back of his rallying cry “Long live freedom, Goddamnit!” Just last month, Milei’s slogan, glistening and italicized, found itself engraved on […]
Names Games and America’s Re-Frame: Trump’s Renaming Spree
My phone was constantly buzzing with “Breaking News” alerts during the first day of Trump’s presidency. Seeing the flood of his executive orders, withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement, the World Health Organization, eliminating DEI programs, and more was exhausting. But I caught a break when I saw the headline reading “Trump renames ‘Gulf of Mexico’ […]
Carbon Taxation: The Key to Decarbonization
Climate Change: The State of Emissions and the Trump Administration Climate change is a ticking time bomb sitting under humanity’s feet. Environmental scientists predict that within years billions could die from famine, heatwaves, floods, and resource wars. Current climate modeling cannot remotely capture the true effects of warming, as every aspect of human existence depends […]
Flight to the Right: How Democrats Lost San Francisco Asian Americans
In a historically progressive city, San Francisco’s Asian American community showed up and showed out in support of right-wing candidates and policies down the ballot in the 2024 election. While Trump’s share of Black and Latino voters hardly shifted, Trump captured Asian Americans in tension with the Democratic Party. After President Donald Trump’s onslaught of […]