In this wide-ranging episode of The Silk and Steel Podcast, host Carl Zha is joined once again by Einar Tangen (Senior Fellow at CIGI) to dissect the latest "assassination attempt" on Donald Trump, the coordinated MAGA influencer machine, and the deeper forces that have captured American democracy.
The conversation covers:
• The assassination that nobody believes – social media reaction, the coordinated messaging, and why Trump's "ballroom" became a meme
• How the MAGA influencer network works – talking points distributed instantly, access traded for loyalty
• The corporatization of politics – why elected officials no longer think for themselves
• The Powell Memo (1971) – the blueprint for corporate capture of the US government (and how it succeeded)
• The "Clean Break" plan (1996) – Israel's 30-year strategy to dominate the Middle East
• The Pentagon's missing trillions – why it still can't pass an audit after 10+ years
• The Westphalian solution – "you be you, I'll be me" – how the world can force peace
• Why JD Vance is "scary" – what the tech oligarchs (Peter Thiel, Curtis Yarvin) really want
Plus: The difference between old oligarchs (steel, oil, rail) and new oligarchs (Silicon Valley), why the Democrats became the party of corporatists under Clinton, and how 95% of the world could economically force the US to end its wars.
Einar Tangen is a Senior Fellow at CIGI. Follow his work at Asian Narratives on Substack.
