A Reaffirmation of a Dark Path
The apparent re-election of Donald Trump could be interpreted, alarmingly, as the endorsement of a cataclysmic path for humanity, one almost too vast to comprehend.
As a child, I would listen intently to baseball games on an old radio next to my bed. When a powerhouse hitter stepped up, the crack of the bat resonating through the speaker was thrilling. The announcer would escalate his tone dramatically, proclaiming, “It’s going, going, gone!” This phrase symbolized supreme achievement—think of legends like Duke Snider or Mickey Mantle circling the bases after a home run.
Even though that phrase has faded from common use, it still resonates in my memory. However, it now conjures up a very different vision, tied to a very different type of leader—President Donald J. Trump. Nowadays, when I think of “going, going, gone,” it seems to reflect not a home run, but rather the troubling trajectory of the United States under his leadership.
No one should be shocked by this correlation. Over the last 24 years at TomDispatch, I’ve documented what feels like the gradual decline of both our nation and our planet.
We’re not just facing a typical decline seen in empires throughout history; we’re witnessing a significant downturn on a global scale.
I’ve witnessed this decline firsthand. Born on July 20, 1944, I entered a world soon to be transformed by the end of World War II, marked by the catastrophic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I grew up during the 1950s under the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower, a wartime general who saw the United States through the Korean War, resulting in a divided Korea—a frustrating and unsatisfactory end that foreshadowed many future military stalemates.
From Vietnam to Afghanistan to the broader Global War on Terror, American military efforts have often ended in impasse, despite the establishment of over 750 military bases worldwide and the creation of a dominant global naval and air presence.
Throughout these decades, as millions perished in these conflicts, the U.S. continued to funnel vast resources into what was ironically called the Department of Defense—though its actions seemed more offensive than defensive. Despite a series of military failures stretching over 75 years, under Trump’s administration, the Pentagon might break records not for wartime success, but for the level of funding it receives from American taxpayers. Trump’s proposed defense budget for 2026 sought an astonishing 13% increase, aiming to surpass one trillion dollars, not including additional billions allocated for border security and other national security measures.
To compound the military focus, Trump initiated a new conflict with an air campaign in Yemen, a country many Americans could neither identify nor locate on a map. This move seemed to align with a historical pattern of unsuccessful American military interventions.
Despite being a powerhouse during the Cold War—successfully establishing NATO and confronting the Soviet Union—the U.S. has experienced continuous military setbacks since its last clear-cut victory in WWII.
Spiraling into a Trumpian Abyss
Fast forward thirty-four years, and the landscape has dramatically transformed. Donald J. Trump has emerged as a central figure in this peculiar era, representing a stark departure from leaders like Eisenhower or Kennedy.
Looking back from a future vantage point, Trump might well be viewed as the emblem of a broader decline. Under his tenure, the remnants of America’s imperial stature seem to be flushing down a proverbial toilet, with the nation itself fracturing under the strain. Meanwhile, Trump, America’s first billionaire president, continues to focus on personal and familial enrichment, amidst a global surge in billionaire wealth—a trend highlighted by Oxfam’s startling figures from 2024.
Before even beginning his second term, the collective wealth of billionaires had increased by $2 trillion. In the U.S. alone, billionaire wealth grew by $1.4 trillion in 2024, with 74 individuals joining the billionaire ranks.
Trump’s administration, populated by at least a dozen other billionaires, has been characterized by policies that seem to prioritize wealth accumulation over governance. Even Elon Musk has played a role, contributing to significant government dysfunction at great personal cost, with his fortune dwindling by approximately $131 billion in 2025.
The President of Disastrous Proportions
What sets apart Trump’s era is not just an imperial decline, which history has often seen, but a profound global ecological decline as well.
It appears that Earth itself is being dragged down the same path. Unlike historical declines of great empires, the deterioration of our planet will have catastrophic consequences for humanity. The re-election of a leader who dismisses climate change as a hoax and actively promotes fossil fuel exploitation is a direct threat to our overheating world, already experiencing unprecedented environmental disasters.
At 78, Trump likely won’t face the worst outcomes of these policies, positioning him as a president whose legacy may be as damning as the infernal realms.
Given his track record, it’s bewildering that Americans chose to re-elect him, signaling a collective disregard for future generations. In many ways, Trump’s re-election may symbolize a societal death wish of unimaginable proportions.
Returning to the nostalgic phrase from my youth, “going, going, gone” might no longer just be a baseball term but a grave warning about our collective future under Trump’s leadership. Let’s hope it’s not a prophecy about the fate of humanity.
(Let’s sincerely hope not!)
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