In his notorious Leviathan of 1651, British liberal philosopher Thomas Hobbes made the case for man’s underlying bestiality: “Hereby it is manifest that during the time men live without a common Power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called War; and such a war as is of every man against every man.” Hobbes called for such a super-dictator, or Leviathan, to make sure men are kept “in awe.”
Presidential candidate Donald Trump has fully embraced this outlook in an op-ed published in Newsweek on Oct. 17, in which Trump argued for full-throated support of Netanyahu’s Israel, aggression against Iran and China, and McCarthyite intolerance and repression at home.
Trump began with an attack on President Biden: “We must also confront the absolute failure of the Biden administration, whose incompetence and ignorance invited this heinous and deadly assault on civilization itself.… Every step of the way, Joe Biden has empowered and emboldened America’s enemies the world over—and clearly none more so than the terrorist group Hamas, and their bloodthirsty sponsor, the villainous regime in Iran.… Meanwhile, Iran and China strengthened ties with oil deals worth hundreds of billions of dollars.”
Trump continued: “Under my leadership, our approach was the exact opposite.… I eliminated Iran’s terrorist mastermind Qasem Soleimani, who was killing our soldiers and everyone else.… When I return to the White House, I will once again stand with Israel 100 percent.… We will implement strong ideological screening for all immigrants to the United States. No longer will we allow dangerous lunatics, haters, bigots, and maniacs to get residency in our country. If you empathize with Radical Islamic terrorists and extremists, you’re disqualified. If you want to abolish the state of Israel, you’re disqualified. If you support Hamas or the ideology behind Hamas, you’re disqualified. And if you’re a Communist, Marxist, or Fascist, you are disqualified.
“In addition, we will aggressively deport resident aliens with jihadist sympathies. In the wake of the attacks on Israel, Americans have been disgusted to see open support for terrorists among the legions of foreign nationals on college campuses…. Likewise, the mobs of pro-Hamas barbarians we saw in the streets of New York and other cities last week have no place in America.… Under my administration, we will proactively send [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] ICE to pro-jihadist demonstrations to enforce our immigration laws and remove the violators from our country.”
Trump concluded: “Finally, we will fully secure our border and begin the largest deportation operation in American history, including removing all the illegal aliens from countries that hate us and hate our values. Under my administration, we will hunt down and remove all Iranian spies, agents, or suspected agents from the United States government.…
“In the meantime, the entire world must stand with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s war-time government as they seek to defeat these murderous enemies.”
