Executive Disorder: Worst. Reboot. Ever.

Alex Andreou, Naomi Smith with special guest USA Politics Guru, Dr. Brian Klaas, look at the flurry of executive orders and try to sort the wheat from the chaff. And how should Europe respond? Which fights are not worth fighting and where the red lines should be drawn. Plus 'Wokey Dokey' and 'Grin and Share It'. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** “Donald Trump simultaneously says we should execute drug dealers and pardoned the largest drug market creator in human history. And so he is creating one of the hallmarks of authoritarian rule, which is a tier of justice that says: if you’re my friend, if you’re an ally, the rules don’t apply.” “The Republican Party, when it goes on to legislation, it’s in trouble. The stuff that they’re proposing, with the exception of immigration, some of the domestic policy proposals they have are toxic.” “The economy is the one area where the political laws of gravity could apply. You cannot tell people that their grocery bill has gone down when it hasn’t. But the motivated reasoning of ‘now Trump is back, everything is good’ - that will get him through for quite a while.”  “Musk could have the world’s best information service at his fingertips. Information is the crucial part of good decision-making in life and he could have the single best private intelligence agency in the world. And instead he’s getting his news from idiot zealots on X.” “There’s going to be things that the Trump administration is able to do internationally, by throwing around American power, which is formidable. The question is whether that is a good strategy over the long run. You can get people to do things because they’re afraid of you, but there’s a view that, long term, this erodes American power.” “If [as a European gov’t] you pull your punches all the time, you’re going to end up with the worst of every world: you’re going to end up undercutting your own dignity and power on the international stage, and you’re not going to get Trump to change.” GRIN AND SHARE IT Read - and watch video - about equal marriage being legalised in Thailand. CALLS TO ACTION LINKS: Brian's article on how volunteering makes one a supercitizen. Kick your X habit, finally, by using one of three Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Packs. With one click, it will hook you up with, among many good accounts, Alex, Naomi, Kenny, and Brian. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Email us at [email protected]. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices