Comic Villain? Hollywood Thug? A French Take On Trump — And The Plot For Crushing Him

-OpEd-

PARIS — “It is a tale. Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury. Signifying nothing.” It’s tempting to summon Shakespeare’s Macbeth to describe the first 10 weeks of Donald Trump’s second term as U.S. president — Trump II, the comeback. But, as we’re talking about America, let’s get inspiration from Hollywood instead.

It all began like Francis Ford Coppola’s sequel to The Godfather: a vengeful president, desperate to be respected at last, threatening to extort money from business leaders, university presidents, congressmen and even foreign governments in exchange for his protection. Almost everyone knelt, starting with the Democrats’ major supporters, led by Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and others.

But while the extortion is obvious there, the promise of protection seems very uncertain, as demonstrated by the “deal” in Ukraine: the plundering of its underground resources ($500 billion), in exchange for… nothing, no guarantee of security. We’ve gone from The Godfather to Scarface, but with a detour via Dr. Strangelove, named after the paraplegic former Nazi scientist who shouted “Mein Führer” between two barely suppressed Hitler salutes. Any resemblance to Elon Musk is purely coincidental — and highly inappropriate.

This madness would be hilarious if it were confined to Hollywood. The machine destroying the foundations of U.S. power — and therefore of the world order born in 1945 — is unfortunately operating for real, at full speed. And it has accelerated since April 2.

In a scene worthy of Batman, Trump donned the Penguin costume and the Joker’s manner — Batman’s two nemeses, who want to plunder Gotham City and take revenge on a troubled youth — in the White House gardens. It is a grotesque outfit, accompanied by fanfare and a cheerful air before declaring war on the entire world, including the United States.

This is a trade war unlike anything seen since the 1930s, with punitive tariffs on everyone, especially allies (20% for Europe and 28% for Japan) and the most fragile countries on the planet. These include Laos, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Myanmar — after the earthquake, where only Russia and China helped, as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) disappeared — Bangladesh, and Botswana, with tariffs between 37% and 48%. Penniless bastards.

If you’re not a U.S. comic book superhero, how do you beat The Godfather-Scarface-Dr. Strangelove-Joker all rolled into one person?

Strike in a united manner

Since reality is, unfortunately, less amusing, three things must be done while we wait for the Trumpian madness to be neutralized.

First, we must establish a united front, not only among ourselves, Europeans and the British, but also with all the powers in the world that are not hostile to us, and that are on the rise in the 21st century. Japan, South Korea, India, Brazil and countries in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America must become our new allies and privileged trading partners.

Second, we must strike, but quickly and hard, and in a very united manner. We must not only respond to Trump with tariffs that are at least as punitive — and particularly where they hurt the U.S. such as in financial and digital services. But we also need to remove from our European companies’ supplier lists U.S. investment banks, law firms, consulting firms and accounting firms — which transfer all their data to Washington as a result of the Patriot Act.

Not a single euro of Europe’s abundant savings should remain invested in U.S. Treasury bonds or U.S. companies.

But we must also be very vigilant regarding European companies which, out of weakness and short-term financial calculations, would like to relocate their production to the U.S. The dilapidated state of certain parts of U.S. society, which suffers from increasingly unskilled labor at prohibitive prices and risks of civil violence and major unrest, should help our companies think twice about offshoring.

Forms of punitive exit taxes should also be considered, keeping in mind that the rules of the game have changed thanks to Trump: It is no longer a question of globalization and outsourcing to the lowest economic bidder. It is about relocating regionally, rebuilding supply chains that we can manage locally and within our control. This will likely change our priorities: less “just-in-time,” more inventory; less disposable consumption, more sustainable purchasing. This will take time: all the more reason to start quickly.

Take advantage of the brain drain

A third action to be taken immediately: not a single euro of Europe’s abundant savings should remain invested in U.S. Treasury bonds or U.S. companies. It’s up to major asset managers to set an example, particularly the European leader, who is French. If European and Asian investors like Japan and China stop buying dollars and withdraw their funds, the dollar will cease to be the global reserve currency.

While we wait for this bad movie to end…

Trump won’t have anyone to finance his abysmal deficits (.8 trillion public deficit, no less). The U.S. stock market will collapse, as will the retirement plans of 160 million Americans: No one will support Trump, Musk, Vice President JD Vance, strategist Steve Bannon, and other sorcerer’s apprentices of the global economy.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, while we wait for this bad movie to end, it is up to us to be as inventive and welcoming as possible to take advantage of the incredible brain and talent drain that has begun in the United States.

The best U.S. researchers, academics, scientists, digital entrepreneurs, bankers and lawyers, who are rightly fearing for themselves and their children in an increasingly violent, impoverished and self-imploding America, are looking elsewhere, particularly towards Europe. It is up to us to play this game as best we can, with special (inpatriate) statuses, the opening of English-language schools, etc.

In 2026, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States, in which the French played a very important part.

“La Fayette, we are here” would be a beautiful expression of the capital brotherhood that has existed between our two countries for centuries, and which Trump’s follies cannot undermine.