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Trump World: Division at Home, and Now Abroad [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-06-19
It used to mean something to be American. At our best, we were a nation of neighbors, of believers in democracy, decency, and responsibility. We disagreed, sure, but we shared a basic belief that this country could be good, and should be good. That conviction, however fragile, stretched from our sidewalks to our foreign service. It sent food to hungry families and launched radio broadcasts teaching kids not to pick up rifles. It held that a free society was worth investing in.
That vision is dying, not just at home but abroad.
Donald Trump’s America is not a nation of neighbors. It is a battlefield. A country where military parades glorify strongmen and protesters wave signs reading “No Kings.” A place where culture war replaces national purpose. Now, that same politics of division is being exported.
USAID, the agency that once helped stabilize fragile democracies and bolster social cohesion, is being gutted. In places like Burundi, educational radio programs that taught tolerance, cooperation, and nonviolence have been defunded. These weren’t partisan projects. They were peacekeeping tools, designed to prevent civil war. But Trump doesn’t see aid as peacekeeping. He sees it as waste.
The consequences aren’t abstract. When USAID pulled funding from those radio stations, tensions rose. One report warned that young people, once taught to de-escalate conflict, are now drifting toward radicalization. We’re not just letting go of idealism. We’re inviting chaos.
This should be personal. Because America’s postwar promise wasn’t only about Europe’s recovery or Cold War strategy. It was about us. Our identity. We believed in rule of law, in protecting the vulnerable, in offering a hand rather than a fist.
Foreign aid is a mirror. It reflects what kind of country we think we are. And right now, the image is cracking.
The good news? That promise isn’t gone. Not yet. But every day that passes under this administration, the window narrows. The further we get from the world we built — one of alliances, generosity, and shared values — the harder it will be to find our way back.
USAID is not just a budget line. It is a lifeline. A thread connecting us to a better version of ourselves. We can still hold on. But we have to decide, as a country, whether we believe in building bridges or burning them.
Let’s not forget who we were before we hated our neighbors. And let’s not let that memory die quietly, overseas.
We are Fighting Back . You Can Too.
The Alliance for American Leadership is tracking the impact of aid cuts, rallying support to restore funding, meeting with members of Congress, and reminding Americans of the real meaning of American leadership: decency, duty, and hope.
In just our first two months, we've recruited over 400 volunteers from 41 states, including 23 senior campaign strategists and the former Briefing Manager for the Kamala Harris Presidential Campaign.
And we’re only getting started.
We are on track to mobilize 5,000 volunteers by the 2026 midterm elections to fight for American leadership. We will resist fascism, restore USAID, and rebuild America’s role as a force for good in the world. This is our moment to lead with integrity and purpose, showing the world. What true American values are all about.
But behind every meeting, every voice, and every victory is the operational engine that makes it all possible — and right now, we need your help to keep it running.
We must raise $20,000 to sustain the operational infrastructure that powers this movement. That means funding our digital outreach and empowering the young, diverse, and working-class leaders who are too often left out of the fight. Your support keeps the lights on, the teams moving, and the pressure on Congress at full force.
If you want to stand with us:
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