THE US is teetering on the brink of oligarchy, warned a senior elected US lawmaker. Oligarchy is a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes.

President Donald J Trump, who made a spectacular comeback in a divisive US presidential race, has promised Americans their “golden age”. From day one in office, he has been making one pronouncement after another, never mind if they are grounded in reality. The latest is his grand design for Gaza. 

In his first term, he promised many things. He famously proposedto build a “big, beautiful wall” along the US-Mexico border, with Mexico picking up the tab. Four years later, the impenetrable barrier never materialised. As for the funding, Mexico did not pay for the wall. It was US taxpayers who ended up footing the bill, for whatever was erected. 

Then there’s the promise to “drain the swamp”, a phrase long used by politicians to signal efforts to curb corruption, cronyism and special-interest influence in Washington DC. What happened was quite the opposite. Under his watch, the administration itself got entangled in numerous conflicts of interest and ethics violations, with a good number of his appointees connected to lobbying or business interests. 

This time around, his approach appears bolder — some would say reckless — than ever before. His plans for rebuilding Gaza underlines his modus operandi. Announce an outlandish plan — don’t mind the details, like if other key stakeholders support the plan — and push the idea. Who benefits most from the plan to relocate the Palestinians living there? Who benefits from the rebuilding? Who will land the billion-dollar contracts? 

Such moves echo the hallmarks of oligarchic governance: Decisions made not for the public good but to enrich a select inner circle. 

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders minced no words in his critique. This is the same person who narrowly lost to former US State Secretary Hillary Clinton for the Democrat presidential nomination in 2016. 

Speaking on the floors of the US Senate on Feb 4, Sanders outlined the Trump administration’s move- ment toward oligarchy, authoritarianism and kleptocracy. 

“In my view, the Trump administration is moving this country very aggressively into an oligarchic form of society where extraordinary power rests in the hands of a small number of unelected multi-billionaires…where the rule of law, and our constitution, are being ignored and undermined in order to give more power to the White House and the billionaires who now control our government. 

“In my view, the Trump administration is moving this country very rapidly toward a kleptocracy — where the function of government is not to serve the people of America, but to enrich those who are in power,” he said. 

The senator also noted that the Trump administration was moving the US very aggressively into an authoritarian society where the rule of law, and its constitution, were being ignored and under- mined in order to give more power to the White House and the billionaires who now control the government. 

“We are seeing a government of the billionaire class, by the billionaire class, for the billionaire class. And it’s not being done secretly. It’s right out there for all to see,” he added. 

Sanders took listeners back to Jan 20 when Trump was inaugurated for his second term as the president. Standing around him were three billionaires — Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. Within two weeks of Trumps election, these tech titans have become some US$232 billion (RM1.03 trillion) richer. 

Where did these massive returns on investment come from? Sanders offered some ideas. Musk had spent over US$277 million to get Trump elected. Bezos, who owns the Washington Post, had rescinded its editorial board’s endorsement of rival Kamala Harris prior to the election. And Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Meta Platforms Inc, which owns Facebook and Instagram, agreed to settle a lawsuit with Trump for US$25 million. 

“These three multibillionaires are working with Trump because they understand one very important reality. Trump’s policies are designed to make the very richest people in this country even richer,” he said. 

Moving forward, imagine what they will be willing to do. And how they will benefit. Any way you cut it, these billionaires, and the legion that will follow in step, are in for a killing. The men on the street, including those desperate Gazans, are destined for continued hardship. 

• Habhajan Singh is the corporate editor of The Malaysian Reserve.

• This article first appeared in The Malaysian Reserve weekly print edition