Letter #2 to Denmark
In the spring of 2025, I wrote a series of letters to Danes, explaining what the US looks like from the inside. I wrote them in Danish originally, but here are the translations.
Letter #2 from the US
March 9
Hi, I have lived in Southern California for almost 27 years, and this is what I see.
Trump and MAGA go hand in hand. He drives them, and he created them (from the fragmented Tea Party). As I mentioned in the first letter, MAGA people live entirely in their own news bubble. They don’t follow CNN, BBC, MSNBC, Washington Post, New York Times, or The Hill. They consume NewsMax, Joe Rogan, Breitbart, and The Gateway Pundit. These outlets constantly glorify Trump’s achievements, spinning everything to seem positive. If something goes even slightly wrong, they believe it’s part of Trump’s master plan because they think he’s playing chess while everyone else is playing tic-tac-toe.
MAGA also acts like a vicious “attack dog.” If you say something negative about Trump in the media, you can expect a tornado of death threats. This applies to politicians, judges, journalists, or even regular people who get caught in a news cycle. Even prominent Republicans who criticize Trump face the same fate. These death threats often include terrifying mentions of family members.
You’ve probably encountered MAGA people online. They rarely have arguments, usually resorting to insults, telling you that your opinion doesn’t matter because you’re not American, and then laughing at your so-called “liberal tears.” They are entirely convinced that Canada is now the enemy, and they genuinely believe that Greenlanders want to become Americans. After all, they read about it, and Trump Jr. even went there to confirm it.
There is no point in arguing with MAGA supporters. They cannot be convinced. But there is a small glimmer of hope. As Republicans continue to fire people left and right, even MAGA supporters are losing their jobs. This has led to some astonishing articles where they cry and express disbelief, unable to comprehend how it could happen to them. After all, they weren’t the lazy workers — that was everyone else. MAGA believes that all government employees are lazy, corrupt, and burdening the system, so they think they should all be fired. And that’s precisely what they’re trying to do now — shut down institutions, fire as many people as possible, or force them out.
The law is clear enough. Trump cannot shut down the IRS or USAID. He can’t just fire everyone, because Congress controls the budget. But this is where it gets interesting. A group of far-right conservatives, who believe in a vastly different distribution of global resources and power, devised a plan called Project 2025.
The plan was leaked during the election, and Trump denied knowing about it. That was a flimsy lie since he often met with its creators, and JD Vance was one of its co-authors. Project 2025 is essentially a detailed guide on how to dismantle democracy. As soon as Trump took office, his administration hired many of the people behind Project 2025, and they began executing their plan. It’s incredibly frustrating that the Democrats didn’t prepare better for this.
Whatever your opinion on Project 2025, it is disturbingly effective. They studied every rule and were ready from day one. Here are a few examples of their tactics:
DOGE, Elon Musk’s Government Oversight Initiative: This project is sent to agencies like USAID, claiming the president has granted them access — though they have no legal right. Before anyone can stop them, they start firing people, creating chaos. Even critical roles are eliminated. Employees are threatened: resign voluntarily or be fired. Anonymous emails from government accounts spread the intimidation. This method has worked alarmingly well.
Panel Disruption: Some organizations are governed by panels requiring five members for decision-making. Trump can’t directly dismantle these agencies, but by firing two members, he leaves them without a quorum, rendering them unable to act. The organization effectively ceases to function.
Credit Card Limitations: Employees have had their government credit card limits reduced to $1. Technically, they still have the cards, but they can’t perform their duties. Many were stranded overseas when this measure took effect.
Installing Loyal Leadership: Trump rapidly replaces leadership with people who can fire and dismantle agencies. Thanks to the Republican majority in Congress, all his nominees are swiftly approved.
Project 2025 is brutally effective, extremely dangerous, and has already drafted most of the executive orders that Trump eagerly signs.
The project, along with Trump, is also on a revenge mission against anyone who has ever spoken against him. They’ve fired FBI agents involved in the Mar-a-Lago document retrieval, filed lawsuits against prosecutors and lawyers involved in cases against him, and targeted judges. While they may not always win, they create a pervasive atmosphere of fear. Fighting a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice is not only stressful but incredibly expensive. Trump has strategically installed Pam Bondi to ensure all of this is carried out.
Trump’s decisions are mostly driven by what benefits him personally. He loves feeling special, receiving praise, and being told how great he is. While he publicly pushes tariff policies and trade wars, it’s really Project 2025 operating behind the scenes, successfully advancing its agenda. JD Vance, who wrote the plan’s foreword, is fully onboard. Their ultimate goal is to tear everything down and replace it with loyal operatives. They envision a new world order — and it’s not a good one.
These are deeply frightening times here.
Brev #2 fra USA
9 march, 2025
Hej, jeg har boet I Syd Californien I snart 27 år, og dette er hvad jeg ser.
(Undskyld mit lidt gebrokne dansk)
Trump og MAGA går hånd i hånd. Han driver dem, og skabte dem (fra det lidt fragmenterede Tea-Party). Som jeg nævnte i det første brev, så lever MAGA folk helt i deres egen nyhedsboble. De følger ikke CNN, BBC, MSNBC, WST, NYT eller The HIll. De lever på NewsMax, og Joe Rogan, Breitbart og The Gateway Pundit. Alle disse outlets gurgler Trumps store bedrifter, og alt bliver spundet til at være godt. Hvis noget går bare lidt galt, så er det nok en del af Trumps Masterplan, for de tror han spiller skak og alle andre spiller kryds og bolle.
MAGA agerer også som en grim ‘attack dog’; og hvis du siger noget negativt herovre i medierne, kan du se frem til en tornado af dødstrusler. Det gælder for politikere, dommere, journalister, eller almindelige mennesker som bliver fanget i en nyheds-cycle. Sev prominente republikanere der siger noget imod Trump kan se frem til det. Og det er jo meget gerne dødstrusler der nævner familierne. MAGA har I sikkert mødt på nettet, de har sjældent argumenter, men starter som regel med at svine en til, sige at du er ligegyldig for du er ikke Amerikaner, og ende med at grine over dine ‘tårer’ som de siger. De er helt med på at Canada nu er fjenden, og de tror, nej, de er overbeviste om, at Grønlænderne helt vil være amerikanske. For det har de skam læst, og Trump JR. var jo derovre og kunne bekræfte det.
Der er ingen grund til at diskutere med MAGA folk. De kan ikke overbevises. MEN det er lidt håb. Efterhånden som republikanerne er begyndt at fyre folk til højre og venstre, fyrer de jo osse MAGA folk. Det giver jo nogle utrolige artikler hvor de græder og ikke kan forstå hvordan det skete mod DEM, de var jo ikke dovne arbejdere, det var jo alle de andre. Ikke at nogen er dovne, det er bare hvad MAGA tror. De mener, at enhver offentlige ansat er doven, snyder, belaster systemet og burde fyres. Alle offentlige ansatte. Og det er præcist, hvad de prøver at gøre nu. Nedlukke alle institutioner, fyre så mange som muligt, eller tvinge dem ud.
Loven er klar nok. Trump kan ikke lukke IRS, eller UASID. Han kan ikke fyre alle og enhver, for det er regeringen der sidder på pengepungen. Her er det så det bliver interessant. En gruppe højreorienterede der tror på en helt anden fordeling af verdens ressourcer og magt, lavede en plan det hedder Project 2025. Planen blev lækket under valgkampen, og Trump benægtede kendskab til den. Det var en lidt tynd løgn da han tit mødtes med dem og JD Vance var medforfatter Stort set beskriver Project 2025, i mange detaljer, hvordan man nedriver demokratiet. Så snart Trump blev valgt, har hans regering hyret alle dem fra Project 2025, og de er i gang med at udføre deres plan. Det er jo på et personligt plan ret frustrerende at Demokraterne ikke kunne forberede sig bedre på det.
Hvad man nu ellers synes om Project 2025, så er det uhyre effektivt. De har læst alle reglerne og de var klar fra den første dag. Her er et par eksempler på hvordan de opererer.
1. DOGE, Elon Musks projekt om regeringens besparelser bliver sendt ind til f.eks USAID. De har ingen lovlig adgang, men siger at præsidenten har givet dem adgang. Før de kan stoppes begynder de at fyre folk. Kaos. Selv kritiske poster bliver fyret. Der er trusler om, at hvis man ikke frivilligt siger op, bliver man fyret. Emails kommer fra anonyme email adresser i regeringen. Denne taktik har virket ret godt.
2. Nogle organisationer er drevet af et panel, der kræver 5 mennesker for at træffe beslutninger. Trump kan ikke nedrive hvad de gør, men han kan fyre to af dem, så der ikke er quorum til at tage nogen beslutninger. Effektivt er det slut med den organisation.
3. Sæt en kredit-limit på alle de ansattes kreditkort på $1. Ja, de har det stadigt, men de kan ikke udføre deres job. Mange blev for øvrigt strandet rundt om i verden, da det tog effekt.
4. Skift ledelsen til en der KAN fyre og nedlægge. Og det er sket i superfart, da republikaneren i congressen har flertal og har godkendt alle.
Project 2025 er super effektive, meget farlige, og har skrevet langt de fleste 'executive orders’ som Trump glædeligt underskriver.
Project 2025 og Trump er osse på hævntogt efter alle, ALLE, der har nogensinde sagt noget ondt om ham. De har fyret FBI agenter der var med til at hente hans ulovlige top-secret papirer fra Mar-A-Lago. De sagsøger alle jurister, der har været anset eller med på sager mod ham. Dommerne har de osse kig på. Der er langt fra sikkert de vinder, men de skaber en utroligt aura af skræk, og det er jo osse dyrt at have en sag mod sig fra USA’s justitsministerium. For netop der har Trump fået Pam Bondi ind, som direkte gør alt dette muligt.
Trump handler mest ud fra, hvad der er godt for ham selv. Han elsker at være speciel, at blive rost, at få at vide at han er så god. Han driver tarifferne (told krigen), men bag scenen er det Project 2025 der er i fuld gang med deres agenda, med stor succes indtil videre. JD Vance er en del af det projekt, han skrev forordet. Deres endelige mål er at rive alt ned, installere deres egne folk som er loyale. De ser en ny verdensorden, og den er sgu’ ikke god.
Det er meget skræmmende tider herovre.
