Project 2025: Trump's Policy Selection

Expectation Management: waiting for a limited hangout

Published: 2025-02-25

---

Introduction

HR Clinton was meant to follow Saint Obama, the delicately tongued, Nobel Peace prize winning warmonger, into the Oval Office. Instead, a US populist wave saw Donald Trump defeat Clinton after she stole the Democratic nomination from Bernie Sanders. The RussiaGate Hoax she launched to smear Trump was supported extensively and illegally by branches of the US government (FBI, Dept. of Justice, CIA) because they expected her to win and thus not be prosecuted. Trump's base riled against the persecution and elected him. The deep state elements continued anyway. Armed by wall to wall US corporate media (MSM) coverage, they undermined his administration. As he himself admitted, he was totally inexperienced in corralling the forces within and feeding off the US government.

He did, however, arm Ukraine. One could view this as a response to the anti-Russian media blitz run against him, and thus forgive him for this. An additional explanation also fits, to which we shall come.

Following the BSB (Blinken, Sullivan, Biden) administration's two hot wars in Ukraine and Palestine, both of which were supported by the MSM, Trump was gifted the role of peacemaker. But, he had first to defeat Saint Obama's third anointed and second failed female successor, Harris. She was weighed down by the US armed and funded Israeli genocide run under her Vice Presidency, and defeated by her voice and vacuity. She offered no hope for any change. The US population showed they are not the idiots the MSM attempts to treat them as. Trump then lept out of the gates implementing the changes he promised, having learned much during his years in the wilderness.

In Ukraine, he was dealt the strongest of hands, another war based on a pack of lies which the US and its NATO partners had already lost. It yielded at best partial results for the NATO allies invested in it. Russia is not weakened at all. Rather, BRICS has risen. Russia has re-proven the adage that waging a land war against its people is a failed endeavour — Don't poke the bear!

The orchestration of the war started under Obama in 2014 with the EuroMaidan "most blatant coup in history" facilitated by US State Dept's 'Toria Nuland and cemented by then Vice President Biden. As the US, under Trump, began selling weapons and training to the Armed Forces of Ukraine into which the neo-Nazi muscle used in the coup was integrated, the media coverage of the neo-Nazis funded by corrupt Ukraine oligarchs dried up. The US Military Industrial Complex was making money, the CIA was building bases and it wouldn't do for the MSM to be informing the US population of who was being funded, armed and trained. At the same time, an identical process was being run in Syria. The civil war in the Donbas which sparked the Minsk Accords disappeared below the hysteria being whipped up over the hoax and the "moderate rebel" Dirty War in Syria.

Euphoria

The second three week period of Trump's second administration produced an euphoria across the alternative media geopolitical commentators' audiences. The tragedy of yet another US proxy war is likely to end. Diplomatic ties between the two largest nuclear powers are being reconstructed after heightened nuclear tensions during the Ukraine war which saw the US proxy fire missiles and fly drones deep into Russia and invade its territory, twice. The Biden administration had become utterly reckless. Under Trump, a relief from the psychological torture of a potentially nuclear war was finally at hand.

Preceding the relief was a totally unexpected boon, the pausing of funding for USAID. This exposed the funding of the fraudulent media loop which facilitated the warmongering.

The two combined produced the euphoria. On top of the relief, the exposed MSM fraud vindicated the alternative media's coverage and burnished their reputations. The euphoria has almost elevated Trump into Saviour Trump status for some.

He is taking on the deep state!

Expectation Management

MICIMATT (the Military, Industrial, Congressional, Intelligence, Media, Academic, Think Tank complex) is a sprawling, advanced, financial state influence apparatus comprised of at least the 7 parts named.

A while back this newsletter advocated a minor change to McGovern's acronym. It was missing the term Corporate, which was only shadowed by "Industrial". A better acronym might by MICCIMATT, beginning Military Industrial Corporate Congressional ...

The Trump administration's USAID funding pause was an attack on a small but vital part of the overlap between Intelligence and Media. Before the National Endowment for Democracy was split from the CIA in 1983, private foundations and "off the shelf" enterprises were used by the imperial foreign interference agency for the same purposes. The activities of US Agency for International Development (USAID), created by President J.F. Kennedy, used to be dominated by international humanitarian assistance programs. The two had become dominated by grotesque projects for foreign political interference.

If one listens to the Congressional sessions on limiting the funding to USAID which will produce the legislation which enforces whatever funding changes become permanent after the pause, one will hear rhetoric about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and other domestic political initiatives. Brian Berletic, during his discussion with Prof. Glenn Diesen, remarked that from Thailand nothing has changed after Trump's pause. The same US influence operations continue.

It may be true that the volume in the MSM of regime change narratives from places like Georgia has been turned down. Berletic warns us to not count our chickens so quickly, to watch for the legislation. The Intelligence and Media sections of MICCIMATT can easily re-instantiate their older methods anyway.

As noted in the "The Hard and Soft Power Arms of MICIMATT", the Military Industrial arm of MICCIMATT has already pushed back against a reduction in its funding.

MICCIMATT's structures are deep. The limited attacks which Trump has issued against them seem motivated by a justifiable anger at their roles in the RussiaGate hoax and the undermining of his first term. The alternative media have a term for the results of what Trump seems to be bent on. Indeed, Whitney Webb's publication is named after it. What Trump's vendetta will achieve looks very much like a limited hangout.

That is not to say that Trump's efforts are illegitimate, or that they will not be successful in achieving their limited objectives, or that one should expect the Trump administration to take on the entire MICCIMATT racket. Just as the MSM and parts of the Atlanticist political apparatus are having to adjust to reality, a little expectation management on what the Trump administration can realistically achieve seems wise.

Policy Smack-down

In his prepared speech to the now UK-led Ukrainian Defense Contact Group (UDCG) at NATO HQ in Brussels on 2025-02-12, US Secretary of Defense Hegseth informed the group and the world of the military component of the Trump administration's initial foreign policy. The US is withdrawing from the lost war in Ukraine.

The US will not be dragged back into the conflict via Article 5 if any NATO ally chooses to further involve itself.

If [capable European and non-European] troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission. And they should not covered under Article 5.

[Emphasis mine. Note the language. It is a recitation of policy: “If, should, should not”.]

Indeed, Russia has clearly expressed that there is only one method to authorize a "peacekeeping" force in Ukraine, the U.N. Security Council, where Russia holds a veto.

However, continued Hegseth, Ukraine will need aid, and you, EuroVassals, are going to provide it:

Safeguarding European security must be an imperative for European members of NATO. As part of this Europe must provide the overwhelming share of future lethal and nonlethal aid to Ukraine.

There is a "threat facing Europe". You will be "expanding your defense industrial base" and "speaking frankly with your people about how this threat can only be met by spending more on defense. 2% is not enough; President Trump has called for 5%, and I agree.

...

We [the US] also face a peer competitor in the Communist Chinese with the capability and intent to threaten our homeland and core national interests in the Indo-Pacific. The U.S. is prioritizing deterring war with China in the Pacific, ...

Together, we can establish a division of labor that maximizes our comparative advantages in Europe and Pacific respectively.

Borrowing Rights

A US administration has a library of policy options from which to choose which have been advocated for by the leadership of donor corporations to the party which the legislative and executive government represent. These policies are formulated by Think Tanks funded by tax exempt donations from the profits of large US businesses.

The policy which Hegseth declared at the UDCG meeting is outlined under the title "Russia" across pages 181 and 182 [absolute page numbers 214 and 215] of the Heritage Foundation's “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise” (see sources), the policy component of the "pillars" of Project 2025.

[PDF. Screenshot of the Russia section quoted.]

The policy guidance begins by stating the old maximalist position of "The end goal of the conflict must be the defeat of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a return to pre-invasion border lines." The policy paper is explicit of the war goal — defeat Putin. It then moves to a counter position which "desires a swift end to the conflict through a negotiated settlement between Ukraine and Russia". The 'end swiftly' reasoning comes from:

Another school of conservative thought denies that U.S. Ukrainian support is in the national security interest of America at all. Ukraine is not a member of the NATO alliance and is one of the most corrupt nations in the region.

The Heritage Foundation advised a "middle path". It asked "What is in the interest of the American people?" (MAGA), recommending a balance between 'isolationism' and 'interventionism':

U.S. military engagement must clearly fall within U.S. interests; be fiscally responsible; and protect American freedom, liberty, and sovereignty, all while recognizing Communist China as the greatest threat to U.S. interests.

The section, titled Russia, finishes unequivocally with:

The next conservative President has a generational opportunity to bring resolution to the foreign policy tensions within the movement and chart a new path forward that recognizes Communist China as the defining threat to U.S. interests in the 21st century.

[Emphasis mine.]

Is this not the policy which Hegseth informed the EuroVassals that the US is implementing? The Pivot to Asia is back on the menu. The ‘Russophobic Cold Warmongers’ had but limited success in this round, just as they did when they attempted in 2008 the other of Brzezinski's ploys, attacking Russia from Georgia. The MIC made money, but Putin is a difficult nut to crack. So, off to Taiwan we go.

Lessons are on offer. The first is that administrations come and go, but corporate interests are always served. International political agendas may take longer, depending on the selected enemy and circumstance. No bother. The second is that different corporate missions are served differently by different governments according to circumstance and the borrowed policy they choose from the Think Tank library.

Realistic policies with nasty consequences

The policy paper acknowledges that the US military needs a pause while it restocks. Under the section titled "Strengthen America’s defense industrial base" (page 96, absolute 129) the MIC admits its current situation and makes its recommendations:

1. Replenish and maintain U.S. stockpiles of ammunition and other equipment that have been depleted as a result of U.S. support to Ukraine. This will strengthen the defense industry supply chain and ensure that adequate inventory exists if it is needed for a future conflict.

2. Collaborate with industry to develop a prioritized list of reforms that the DOD and Congress can enact and implement to incentivize industry to help America’s military innovate and field needed capabilities.

Read on for more, including point 5:

5. Review the sectors currently prioritized for onshoring or “friendshoring” of manufacturing (kinetic capabilities, castings and forgings, critical materials, microelectronics, space, and electric vehicle batteries); evaluate them according to the strategic landscape; and expand or reprioritize the list as appropriate.

The current battle over the Ukrainian "Rare Earths" spoils of war is an aspect of the "onshoring or friendshoring" effort. Wait for the US to return to targeting Bolivia for its Lithium resources to "friendshore" electric vehicle (read drone) batteries.

Influence

In 2024 when candidate Donald Trump was asked about Project 2025 and his relationship with it, he responded "I know nothing about Project 2025" and "I disagree with some of the things they're saying". He was not lying. He, like politicians everywhere, are influenced by MICCIMATT. That is its job.

He may be offended by some of the actions by some of MICCIMATT’s arms. He may even want to fight some of its corruption. How much of a limited hangout this becomes will be interesting to watch.

Wherever Trump is waging peace, I'm all for it. But the litany of betrayal and death from Afghanistan, via Iraq and Libya, onwards to Syria, Ukraine and then Palestine does not inspire any future confidence from me.

When the MICCIMATT complex identifies the profitable opportunity for its declared war with China, the US government will implement it.

We can advocate against it.

Praise peace. Warn against war.

Addenda

In Helmer’s summary of Macron’s visit to the Whitehouse to beg for US military backing for a “peacekeeping” type force to be placed in Ukraine, “after we have negotiated a lasting peace”, he refered to a Trump social media post. In it the “deal” for minerals in exchange for who knows what is termed the “Critical Minerals and Rare-Earths Deal”. See above (point 5.) for “critical minerals”. Project 2025 is being quoted.

Larry Johnson noted Trump’s diplomatic slight to Macron when he was greeted by a protocol official rather than Trump himself.

Helmer quoted Macron to share what the French President thinks he achieved:

a clear American message that the US as an ally is ready to provide … solidarity for [the European force].

Macron is grasping at straws.

As for Rare Earths, Helmer provided the US Geological Survey data so we all know who’s got what:

Can you see Ukraine on that list?

MoA quotes NakedCapitalism who have also worked off analysis by Berletic and Helmer, as was the article above. Their conclusion is that there is no consistency in Trump's rhetoric and that the wrecking ball he's run through the US apparatus is hampering the US administration's ability to act. Yes to all of the above. But, there is, IMHO, a more interesting question to be asked.

France and the UK re-declared an entente a year ago. It is they who are demanding that their own security forces are involved in a "peacekeeping" force, after a peace has been agreed. These troops, if deployed, are obviously not for protecting Ukrainians as the two nations have been promoting the war which has been killing them.

They will be there to protect other French and British persons in Ukraine. The question is, what will these operatives be doing? Obviously, the French and British embassies will be protected, bases of operations. I suggest, however, that the real intention is two-fold. Primarily the operatives are to ensure that the nasty details (corruption, plans to attack Russia and whathaveyou) of the war are not revealed. Equally important is to control whatever government emerges, which is another way of achieving the first objective.

France and Britain are fighting to protect their political reputations and "win" the peace. Trump is just doing Trump. I suspect that there are serious arguments happening in the background via the French, British and US intelligence agencies trying to wrangle political transition and control in Ukraine.

<>

There is one other suggested possibility, that the “100 year” agreement between Britain and Zelensky illegitmately representing Ukraine contains unpublished details (“secret annexes”) which hand over to the UK ownership of ports, utilities and mineral lease rights. Alex Krainer asserts this based on the loose wording of Article 11 in the agreement.

If the agreement contained these kinds of sweetners for the UK that make it less idiotic for Britain. Their problem is Zelensky’s illegitimacy.

Given that the US has just signed a deal for Ukrainian minerals, either Z has been double dealing and the battle will be between the US and UK for the minerals as part of a ‘spoils of war’ split, or the above speculation was false. Mysteries abound!

or support this work via Buy Me A Coffee or Patreon.

Sources

Opening Remarks by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at Ukraine Defense Contact Group (As Delivered), Hegeseth, US Dept. of Defense, 2025-02-12

Project 2025 Publishes Comprehensive Policy Guide, 'Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise'; The Heritage Foundation; Archive.today; 2024-11-08

• PDF

• Ukraine (24 occurances)

• China (483 occurances)

Project 2025: Full List of Organizations Behind Proposals; Newsweek; Archive.today; 2024-08-07

Does Trump Really Have A Plan For Ukraine?; b.; Moon of Alabama; 2025-02-25

Trump's Incomprehension - "Thank You, Dear Donald"; John Helmer; Dances with Bears; 2025-02-24

Trump and Europe Fail to Realize that Russia Has a Vote; Larry C. Johnson; SONAR21; 2025-02-24

“Today, President Emmanuel Macron of France joined me in the Oval Office …”, @realDonaldTrump, Truth Social, 2025-02-25Trump Reins in Europe and Israel, While Daniel Levy Shines Before the UNSC; Larry C. Johnson; SONAR21; 2025-02-25

What's the deal with Ukraine's rare earths?; Alex Krainer; Trend Compass; 2025-02-25

Report: Ukraine Agrees to Minerals Deal With the US; Dave DeCamp; Antiwar; 2025-02-25

The Hard and Soft Power Arms of MICIMATT; YesXorNo; 2025-02-23

Late Night Rant | Lexicon: MICIMATT and Defence; YesXorNo; 2024-01-03

Corruption in Ukraine Simplifies CIA+MI-6 Coordination of Nazis and Treasonous Russians Attacking Nuclear Armed Russia with NATO Weapons; YesXorNo; 2024-03-21

Brian Berletic: Peace with Russia and Defunding the Deep State - Retreat or Reviving the Empire?; Glenn Diesen; Glenn Diesen; 2025-02-20

Is There a Real US-EU Split? Or Simply "Division Of Labor" for US Primacy?; The New Atlas; The New Atlas; 2025-02-22

• It was Berletic who identifed Project 2025 as the policy source. Credit to him.

Scott Ritter : Do the Russians Want Peace?; Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom; Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom; 2025-02-24

---

Copyleft: CC0