KEY TAKEAWAYS

• What is going on in America from Japan's perspective?

• What is Donald Trump doing to America and what are the Americans doing to stop him?

• Why is Donald Trump so friendly with Putin and why is Donald Trump sending out the National Guard across America?

DONALD TRUMPS AGENDA: DESTROY AMERICA?

Daniel TJ International Correspondent Tokyo, Japan

You know, I was sitting the other day scrolling through the news, sipping a lukewarm cup of coffee (because I always forget to drink it when it’s actually hot), and I couldn’t shake this thought that’s been gnawing at me: Trump’s America doesn’t feel like the America I grew up with.

And yeah, I know—every generation says that, like the country’s always shifting under our feet. But this… this feels different.

This feels like he’s trying to take the U.S. and stretch it into some kind of Russia-lite system, where strongman politics become the norm and dissent is painted as dangerous or even “un-American.”

And it’s weird because, if you’ve ever studied Russian politics—or even just watched enough documentaries—you know it’s all about consolidating power.

Control the courts.

Control the press. Control the narrative. And you start to see echoes of that in Trump’s world.

Remember the endless rants about “fake news,” about the “deep state,” about how anyone who disagrees with him is basically an enemy of the people?

That’s right out of the authoritarian playbook. It’s not even subtle.

Now, I’m not saying America is Russia. We’ve got way too much grit, too much history of rebellion, too many people who flat-out don’t like being told what to do.

But it does make me wonder: is this what he actually wants? To push and push until people fight back so hard that he can point to the chaos and say, “Look! The country’s falling apart!

I’m the only one who can fix it. And you know what? I’ll need more time—past 2028—to do it.”

That thought sends a chill down my spine.

I mean, think about it: Trump thrives on division. He always has. The man doesn’t operate in calm waters; he feeds off the storm. Every rally, every post, every off-the-cuff remark that sends headlines spiraling—it’s not random.

It keeps people hooked, keeps him in the center of attention. And what better way to hold onto power than to stir the pot so much that the kitchen catches fire?

Then he can walk in, point at the flames, and say, “See? Without me, you’d all burn.”

I had a friend tell me last week, “Don’t worry, Americans won’t put up with it.” And I believe that.

Truly. We’re not the kind of people who just roll over when someone tries to dictate our lives.

But here’s the scary part: what if that resistance, that fight back, is exactly what he’s banking on? Like, he wants the protests, he wants the outrage, because then he can frame it as chaos that only he can solve.

And in that twisted logic, maybe even call a state of emergency. Imagine him saying, “The country’s too unstable for an election right now, folks. I’ll just stay a bit longer until things calm down.”

Sounds crazy, right? Except… not really. Not anymore.

I remember in 2016, sitting in my living room with my sister, laughing at the idea that Trump could actually become president. It felt like a bad joke that went too far. And then—boom. Election night hit us like a freight train.

We were stunned. So when people say, “That could never happen here,” I kind of wince. Because, well, it already did.

And now, in 2025, here we are again, staring down the barrel of the next few years, wondering if we’re watching democracy bend to its breaking point.

Here’s the thing though: Americans are fighting back. You see it in the protests, in the way people are organizing locally, in the small-town meetings where folks stand up and say, “No, this isn’t who we are.”

I’ve been to a couple myself—not massive crowds, just fifty, sixty people in a library basement—but it matters. Those conversations, those connections, they’re the heartbeat of democracy.

It’s messy and it’s loud and sometimes it feels like nothing changes, but it’s there. And Trump, for all his bluster, can’t stamp that out without showing his true hand.

And maybe that’s what gives me hope. That stubborn streak in us. The same one that told the British to take their tea tax and shove it.

The same one that marched in Selma. The same one that pushed for women’s votes, workers’ rights, gay rights—you name it.

America’s never been perfect (God, far from it), but the people? We don’t stay down for long.

Still, I can’t help but wonder if Trump is playing a longer game than most folks think. What if the goal isn’t just the White House—it’s rewriting the rules so the presidency becomes a throne, in all but name?

You look at Russia and Putin’s “elections,” and you start to see how it works. Shift the system slowly, normalize the power grabs, convince people it’s all “for stability.” Before you know it, you’ve got one man in power for decades.

And yeah, Americans probably won’t put up with it. But not putting up with it could mean protests, riots, strikes—chaos. And chaos? That’s the perfect excuse for a wannabe strongman to grab more control. That’s what keeps me up at night.

I’ll tell you something personal: last year, I went to D.C. for the first time in ages. I stood outside the Capitol, and it hit me how fragile all of this is.

Those marble steps, the dome gleaming in the sun—it looks so solid, so permanent. But then I remembered the footage from January 6th, windows smashed, people storming those same steps. And I thought, “Man, this is all held together by faith. By trust.

By us agreeing that the system works.” And once that faith cracks… it’s hard to patch it back up.

So yeah, maybe Trump wants us to fight back. Maybe he’s hoping for the kind of unrest that lets him stretch his power past 2028.

But the thing is, if we know that, if we see it for what it is, we can’t just play into his hands. Fighting back doesn’t always have to look like screaming in the streets.

Sometimes it’s quieter, but just as powerful—like voting, like organizing, like refusing to buy into the fear.

And maybe that’s the key. Not to give him the chaos he’s begging for. To resist in ways that don’t feed his narrative.

To keep pushing for that messy, imperfect, frustrating democracy we’ve always had. Because as shaky as it feels right now, I’d take that over a Russian-style strongman government any day.

So, I don’t know, maybe this is me rambling over coffee. Maybe I’m being paranoid. But it’s hard to shake the feeling that we’re in one of those defining moments, where the story could go either way.

Trump’s America could either drag us closer to authoritarianism, or it could wake us up enough to fight for what we actually want this country to be.

And honestly? I’m betting on the latter.

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