Week 7: Spectacle and Suppression
From corporate triumphs to political exile: loyalty and fear define the week
Reading Time: 5 minutes
Introduction
By the seventh week of Trump’s second term, the regime’s rhythm had become clear: spectacle for the cameras, punishment for dissenters, and rewards for oligarchs. Each day carried a new performance, stitched together not by policy but by propaganda. This week showed the regime refining its playbook using children as props, debt as a weapon, dissent as grounds for exile, and foreign policy as theater.
Here’s what Week 7 looked like day by day.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
— George Santayana, Spanish-American philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist
TL;DR:
Monday: $165B chip investment hailed as patriotic triumph but built for corporate giants; Linda McMahon confirmed to privatize education.
Tuesday: Trump weaponized grief (renaming a wildlife refuge after a murdered child) and heroism (honoring a cancer survivor) for propaganda.
Wednesday: A tariff break for automakers and a hostage-return spectacle highlighted optics over outcomes.
Thursday: Courts threatened with financial ruin for challenging federal policy; Rep. Al Green censured for dissent.
Friday: Public Service Loan Forgiveness gutted to punish nonprofits and educators outside regime orthodoxy.
Saturday: ICE deported a permanent resident for pro-Palestinian activism: the first known exile for political expression.
Sunday: Ukraine “peace talks” teased, intelligence pause lifted; both staged as theater, not diplomacy.
Monday, March 3 – Chips for the Oligarchs, Schools for the Guillotine
Trump stood shoulder-to-shoulder with TSMC’s CEO C.C. Wei to announce a $100 billion Arizona expansion, on top of $65 billion already committed. At $165 billion, it was the largest foreign investment in U.S. history: five fabs, packaging plants, and a research hub. Trump wrapped it in “national security” language, hailing it as a patriotic triumph.
The real winners were obvious: Apple, Nvidia, AMD, Qualcomm, Broadcom—the titans of the chip economy. Workers provided the photo op, not the payout. The 40,000 construction jobs and “tens of thousands” of high-tech positions are temporary, precarious, and subject to industry churn. The promised billions in output amount to a glitter bomb: flashy numbers masking the same old corporate giveaways.
That same day, the Senate confirmed multi-billionaire and former Administrator of the Small Business Administration (2017-2019), Linda McMahon, as Education Secretary, 51–45. She wasn’t picked to strengthen schools but to hollow them out: Title IX re-weaponized, equity initiatives shredded, and public schools marketized into arenas for hedge funds and ideologues.
Tuesday, March 4 – Grief as Spectacle, Loyalty as Doctrine
Trump renamed the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge in Texas after Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old murder victim. On paper, memorialization; in practice, propaganda: her tragedy weaponized to justify harsher immigration policies.
That evening, Trump delivered his fifth address to Congress. Amid triumphal rhetoric, he staged a moment of tenderness, naming 13-year-old cancer survivor D.J. Daniel an “honorary Secret Service agent.” Applause followed, but the purpose was clear: survival repurposed to sanctify loyalty and the security state.
One child’s death fueled xenophobia; another’s survival fueled obedience. Both grief and heroism became instruments of power.
Wednesday, March 5 – Markets for Show, Militarism for Keeps
Trump granted automakers a 30-day tariff break. Sold as relief, but it was really theater: temporary, uncertain, and designed for headlines. Later, he paraded eight U.S. citizens freed from Hamas captivity, issuing a “last warning” for cameras.
Economic manipulation fused with performative foreign policy: corporations were appeased, the public was handed illusions of protection, while trade instability and diplomatic crises went unresolved.
Thursday, March 6 – Silencing Dissent, Shielding Power
Trump extended tariff pauses on Canada and Mexico, another staged gesture. More dangerous was a memorandum forcing any group challenging federal policy in court to pay damages if they lost, turning litigation into a financial death sentence. Advocacy groups, journalists, and even local governments risk bankruptcy for resisting.
Meanwhile, the House censured Rep. Al Green for interrupting Trump’s address, a symbolic but chilling reminder: dissent is punished, obedience enforced.
Friday, March 7 – Education Strangled, Civic Relief Crushed
Trump signed an order revoking Public Service Loan Forgiveness for organizations with a “substantial illegal purpose”, a definition broad enough to hit immigrant aid groups, civil rights nonprofits, and even teachers’ unions. What was meant to alleviate debt and support civic work was turned into an instrument of ideological control.
Saturday, March 8 – Deportation as Deterrent
ICE raided Mahmoud Khalil’s New York apartment, detaining the permanent resident in Louisiana for pro-Palestinian activism; the first known deportation tied to political expression under Trump. The message: lawful status offers no shield; dissent can cost you freedom or residency. Fear becomes the policy.
Sunday, March 9 – Peace as Pageantry
Trump lifted a short-lived intelligence freeze on Ukraine and teased Saudi peace talks. Both were choreographed theater: policy staged for optics, not outcomes. Foreign policy once again reduced to performance, with appearances trumping strategy.
This Was The Week In Trump’s Regime
Week 7 revealed the full choreography of Trump’s regime: loyalty staged, dissent crushed, policy reduced to theater. Oligarchs prosper while the public is managed with fear, distraction, and spectacle. The message is clear: democracy isn’t dismantled in secret, it is dismantled in the spotlight.
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I’m no longer shocked by anything he says or does, just sick and disgusted. Why Congress doesn’t stand up for their constituents is beyond me. Well, not really. They are afraid of losing their lifelong pensions when most of them are already better off than we the people. Disgusting.