The 2016 US Elections
The Trump-Bannon government: Rule by decree
By Patrick Martin, 30 January 2017
The Trump administration’s order against immigrants makes clear that the new government intends to utilize its control over the state to the maximum to enforce the interests of the financial oligarchy.
The SEP and IYSSE begin nationwide meetings on the significance and implications of the Trump election
By a WSWS reporting team, 27 January 2017
The Socialist Equality Party has held the first of an ongoing series of meetings across the United States in San Diego and Detroit.
Trump’s pro-corporate rampage of reaction
Executive orders approve Dakota, Keystone pipelines
By Patrick Martin, 25 January 2017
The White House ordered the expediting of corporate projects and froze all antipollution regulations by the EPA.
Trump nominee defends administration’s assault on health care
By Kate Randall, 25 January 2017
Price arrogantly dismissed questioning about the new administration’s planned assault on Medicare, Medicaid and health care in general.
Senate moves toward confirmation of billionaire opponent of public schools
By Isabelle Belanger, 25 January 2017
The Senate will vote January 31 on the confirmation of Betsy DeVos, the billionaire proponent of school privatization.
The Election of Donald Trump: The Insurrection of the Oligarchy
New pamphlet from Mehring Books
By , 25 January 2017
The demonstrations against Trump foreshadow the eruption of class struggle in the US on a massive scale.
The way forward in the fight against Trump
By the Socialist Equality Party, 23 January 2017
The only social force that can settle accounts with the capitalist oligarchy is a politically conscious working class, armed with a socialist and internationalist program.
Trump delivers diatribe against press at CIA headquarters
By Barry Grey, 23 January 2017
Trump’s attack on the corporate-controlled press underscores the degree of tension and conflict within the state as the new administration takes office.
Millions across the US protest Trump
WSWS continuing coverage
By a WSWS reporting team, 23 January 2017
The WSWS continues its coverage of Saturday’s anti-Trump protests, in which millions of people participated in over 600 demonstrations around the world.
Appearance of military officers during Trump’s inaugural address still unexplained
By Jerry White, 23 January 2017
There has been no explanation as to why, in an unprecedented fashion, ten military officers stood prominently behind Trump during his inaugural address before promptly dispersing.
Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren support General “Mad Dog” Mattis as head of Pentagon
By Niles Niemuth, 23 January 2017
The former Democratic presidential candidate Sanders also voted to confirm General John Kelly as the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
Divisions in UK ruling elite widen over post-Brexit orientation to Trump
By Chris Marsden, 23 January 2017
UK Prime Minister Theresa May has made Trump’s election the cornerstone of her post-Brexit strategy, adapting to a yet-more open embrace of Trump by the anti-EU right-wing of her party.
Trump scraps TPP and outlines trade war agenda
By Mike Head, 23 January 2017
Ending the Trans-Pacific Partnership is not a retreat into US isolationism but a ramping up of the offensive, commenced under Obama, to reassert American hegemony in Asia.
Anti-Trump demonstrations across Australia
By our reporters, 23 January 2017
While the organisers promoted Hillary Clinton and gender politics, many of the attendees voiced concerns about the rise of militarism, the erosion of democratic rights and the growth of the far-right.
SEP/IYSSE public meetings
The fight against the Trump administration: The way forward
By , 23 January 2017
At these meetings, representatives of the SEP and IYSSE will speak on the significance of Trump’s election and the political perspective that must guide opposition to war, inequality and dictatorship.
Thousands protest Trump in New Zealand
By our reporters, 23 January 2017
Workers and young people attending the rallies were concerned about the danger of war, the rise of nationalism and bigotry, and social inequality in the US.
Special report
Massive worldwide protests against Trump presidency
By a WSWS reporting team, 22 January 2017
Millions of people participated in over 600 demonstrations around the world, spanning every continent, in the largest global protests since the run-up to the Iraq war.
Democrats overwhelmingly back nominees
Senate confirms Trump generals to head Pentagon, Homeland Security
By Barry Grey, 21 January 2017
The lopsided support of the Democrats for Trump's military nominees highlights the basic agreement of both big business parties on a policy of expanded militarism and war abroad and increased repression at home.
Trump’s fascistic diatribe: On the road to World War III
By Patrick Martin, 21 January 2017
Trump’s inaugural address combined nationalistic chest-thumping against foreign countries with bullying demands for patriotism and conformity at home.
More than 200 arrested in Washington DC
Dozens of protests against Trump’s inauguration across the US
By our reporters, 21 January 2017
Police arrested 217 protestors at anti-Trump demonstrations in Washington, D.C. on Friday, as thousands rallied across the country against Trump’s inauguration.
Trump nominee reaffirms support for assault on Medicare and Medicaid
By Zaida Green, 19 January 2017
Representative Tom Price, named to head the Department of Health and Human Services, testified before a Senate committee.
Immigrant rights protests held across the United States
By Clodomiro Puentes, 19 January 2017
Amidst a broader wave of anti-Trump protests leading up to the inauguration on Friday, demonstrations targeting the incoming administration’s immigration policies were held last weekend.
Wealth distribution in the United States and the politics of the pseudo-left
By Eric London, 18 January 2017
An analysis of statistics on economic stratification in the United States reveals the material basis of identity politics.
Thousands attend Democratic Party health care rally in Warren, Michigan
By Shannon Jones, 16 January 2017
The rally, addressed by former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, was part of a series throughout the country, with Democrats posturing as opponents of Republican plans to attack health care.
With bipartisan support, Trump defense nominee outlines plans for global war
By Tom Eley, 13 January 2017
The Senate Armed Services Committee voted 24-3 to waive the legal restriction preventing the approval of a secretary of defense who has not been out of the military for at least seven years.
Trump taps anti-vaccine activist to chair vaccine safety panel
By Brad Dixon, 13 January 2017
Robert F. Kennedy has for the past decade promoted the debunked claim that vaccinations are linked to autism, which was also supported by Trump during his campaign.
Growing nervousness in Europe over Trump
By Peter Schwarz, 13 January 2017
Initial hopes that Trump would moderate himself after the election campaign and pursue a course compatible with traditional Republican politics have not been realised.
Anti-Russian war-mongering dominates Senate hearing on Trump nominee for secretary of state
By Andre Damon, 12 January 2017
Senators from both parties took turns denouncing Russian President Vladimir Putin as a war criminal, autocrat and murderer.
Trump press conference: The oligarchy rules
By Patrick Martin, 12 January 2017
Trump’s press conference Wednesday morning was an hour-long demonstration of oligarchic arrogance and contempt for democratic principles that has no parallel in modern American history.
Trump nominee for attorney general defends right-wing, anti-democratic agenda
By Patrick Martin, 11 January 2017
The confirmation hearing for Senator Jeff Sessions made clear that the Trump administration will be the most right-wing in American history, and Democrats will do nothing to oppose it.
Documents alleging Trump-Moscow ties leaked to media, intensifying conflict in US state
By Joseph Kishore, 11 January 2017
The release of the documents appears to be a last-ditch effort by sections of the intelligence apparatus to prevent the inauguration of Trump, which is only 10 days away.
Obama’s farewell address: One last round of clichés and lies
By Niles Niemuth, 11 January 2017
In a speech as banal as dishonest, Obama boasted of the supposed progress achieved during his eight years as president while warning that the social inequality he has helped foster poses a threat to democracy.
Meryl Streep, Donald Trump and the Golden Globes
By David Walsh, 11 January 2017
The actress’s remarks at the Golden Globes, an annual event organized by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, were quite mild and limited.
As Senate confirmation hearings begin
Trump names son-in-law to White House post
By Patrick Martin, 10 January 2017
Jared Kushner will be the seventh billionaire to take a top position in the Trump administration.
Intelligence report offers no evidence of Russian hacking of US election
By Patrick Martin, 7 January 2017
The declassified version of the report that was delivered to President Obama and President-elect Donald Trump consists of unsupported assertions by the CIA, FBI and NSA.
Trump’s coming confrontation with China
By Peter Symonds, 7 January 2017
No longer having the economic muscle to lay down the international trade rules, the US has begun a dramatic military build-up in Asia to assert its dominance, even if that leads to war with China.
Split widens between Trump, CIA over Russian hacking allegations
By Andre Damon, 5 January 2017
President-elect Trump and factions of the political establishment aligned with the CIA hurled accusations at each other Wednesday over allegations that the Russian government sought to influence the 2016 US election.
Notes on the Trump transition
Wall Street lawyer to head Securities and Exchange Commission
By Tom Hall, 5 January 2017
Trump’s appointment of Jay Clayton to head the SEC is another sign that his administration intends to remove all restrictions on the financial industry.
As new Congress is sworn in: Democrats signal readiness to work with Trump
By Patrick Martin, 4 January 2017
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi adopted a conciliatory stance toward the billionaire president-elect and his ultra-right cabinet.
Right-wing campaign on hacking allegations continues
Democrats, Republicans call for new sanctions against Russia
By Tom Hall, 3 January 2017
The demands are part of the ongoing campaign for an intensification of Washington’s economic and military confrontation with Moscow.
Trumka on Trump: AFL-CIO chief urges president-elect to work with unions to save capitalism
By Jerry White, 30 December 2016
AFL-CIO head Trumka wrote an op-ed piece in the New York Times offering the services of the unions to suppress working-class opposition to the incoming administration.
Trump’s new White House office for trade war
By Peter Symonds, 24 December 2016
Trump’s decision to pull out of the TPP is not a retreat from Obama’s confrontational policy toward China but a marked intensification on all fronts.
Trump names billionaire corporate raider Icahn to slash regulations on business
By Patrick Martin, 23 December 2016
Carl Icahn, long notorious for asset stripping and destroying jobs, is the seventh billionaire to be assigned a major role in the Trump administration.
Trump’s tweet and the danger of nuclear war
By James Cogan, 23 December 2016
Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested the use of nuclear weapons to achieve American imperialist ends and impose Washington’s dictates.
Trump’s election fuels foreign policy debate in Australia
By Peter Symonds, 22 December 2016
The disputes centre on the basic dilemma facing the ruling class: how to balance between China, Australia’s largest export market, and the US, its longstanding strategic partner.
Obama threatened war over alleged Russian election hacking
By Patrick Martin, 21 December 2016
The “red phone” between the White House and Kremlin, a relic of the nuclear confrontations of the Cold War, was pressed into service.
As Electoral College rubber-stamps election
Trump adds another billionaire to his administration
By Patrick Martin, 20 December 2016
Vincent Viola, a commodities speculator and owner of the Florida Panthers hockey team, is the sixth billionaire in the Trump administration.
Ahead of Electoral College vote: Democrats intensify McCarthyite campaign against Russia
By Patrick Martin, 19 December 2016
The campaign by the Democrats against Trump is not over the far-right character of his cabinet, but his insufficiently aggressive attitude toward Russia.
Trump names hard-line “deficit hawk” to head budget office
By our reporter, 19 December 2016
Representative Mick Mulvaney, a South Carolina Republican, has backed a federal debt default and a government shutdown as methods of forcing cuts in social spending.
China accuses US of using undersea drone to spy
By Peter Symonds, 19 December 2016
The incident intensifies the US-China tensions produced by the Obama administration’s “pivot to Asia” that has transformed the South China Sea into a dangerous flashpoint.
David North speaks in London on Donald Trump’s election
By our correspondents, 19 December 2016
Approximately 100 workers, students and youth attended a lecture in London on Saturday delivered by North, the chairman of the International Editorial Board of the WSWS and national chairman of the Socialist Equality Party of the US.
Trump taps right-wing supporter of settlers as ambassador to Israel
By Bill Van Auken, 17 December 2016
David Friedman, an attorney who helped Trump reap millions from the bankruptcies of his Atlantic City casinos, is considered to the right of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
European powers criticize Trump’s threats against China
By Alex Lantier, 17 December 2016
A month before Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president, tensions are already emerging with the European powers over his “America first” program.
Obama, Clinton stoke anti-Russia campaign
By Patrick Martin, 17 December 2016
In his final press conference, Obama reiterated claims of Russian government hacking against the US election while refusing to provide any evidence.
Trump meets with tech industry leaders
By Kevin Reed, 16 December 2016
President-elect Donald Trump met with 13 prominent US technology company executives on Wednesday in an event at Trump Tower in New York City.
Trump nominates opponent of environmental regulation for secretary of the interior
By Nick Barrickman, 15 December 2016
Montana representative Ryan Zinke has built a congressional career out of supporting anti-environment legislation, austerity and war.
Trump, Republicans spout nationalism and reaction at Wisconsin rally
By Christopher Davion and Catherine Long, 15 December 2016
During his speech, Trump hailed the right-wing figures in the state who have overseen brutal attacks on workers’ living standards and democratic rights.
After election debacle, Democrats debate identity politics
By Niles Niemuth, 15 December 2016
The publication of an op-ed by Columbia University professor Mark Lilla questioning the efficacy of identity politics continues to draw a heated response from figures in and around the Democratic Party.
David North speaks in Berlin on Donald Trump’s election
By our correspondents, 15 December 2016
More than 250 students and workers crowded into a lecture hall at Humboldt University to hear North’s lecture on the causes and consequences of the outcome of the US presidential election.
Trump picks oil mogul as secretary of state
By Patrick Martin, 14 December 2016
The nomination of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson puts the finishing touches on Trump’s government of billionaires.
Former Texas governor who called for abolition of Energy Department to be Trump’s energy secretary
By Patrick Martin, 14 December 2016
As an unsuccessful presidential candidate, Rick Perry called for the abolition of the Department of Energy.
Green Party ends bid for presidential election recount in Michigan and Pennsylvania
By Niles Niemuth, 14 December 2016
The Greens’ only successful recount effort, in Wisconsin, reaffirmed Donald Trump’s electoral victory over Hillary Clinton.
The United Steelworkers, Wilbur Ross and economic nationalism
By Evan Winters, 14 December 2016
The USW has a long history of collaborating with billionaire asset stripper Wilbur Ross, Trump’s pick for commerce secretary.
Betsy DeVos: Religion and profit in the war on public education—Part 2
By Nancy Hanover, 14 December 2016
Under the banner of “free enterprise,” Trump’s pick for education secretary has combined religious obscurantism with American hucksterism and the promotion of militarism.
Security theater at Trump Tower in New York City
By Mark Witkowski and Philip Guelpa, 14 December 2016
Extreme security measures, representing a further “normalization” of a pervasive militarized police presence, have been established at Trump Tower.
White House, Clinton campaign intervene in conflict over Russian hacking charges
By Andre Damon, 13 December 2016
The White House and the Clinton campaign intervened Monday in the escalating conflict between the intelligence agencies and among different factions within the state over US policy toward Russia.
China reproaches Trump over Taiwan stance
By Peter Symonds, 13 December 2016
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman warned that US-China cooperation was “out of the question” if Trump interfered with the One China policy.
Trump endorses Duterte’s murderous drug war in the Philippines
By Joseph Santolan, 13 December 2016
Trump’s call to Duterte was not just to shore up damaged relations with an ally against China, it expressed Trump’s enthusiasm for police state measures within the US.
Betsy DeVos: Religion and profit in the war on public education—Part 1
By Nancy Hanover, 13 December 2016
Under the banner of “free enterprise,” the DeVos family has combined religious obscurantism and bigotry with American hucksterism, exploitation, tax dodging and the promotion of militarism.
Australia: Intense discussions about Trump victory at SEP meetings
By our reporters, 13 December 2016
The strong response to the SEP meetings demonstrates a significant politicisation among new layers of workers and youth.
Behind hacking allegations: Explosive conflict over US policy toward Russia
By Patrick Martin, 12 December 2016
Behind the claims of Russian hacking in the 2016 elections is a raging dispute within the US ruling elite and its military-intelligence apparatus over what policy to adopt towards Moscow.
Trump threatens to overturn One China policy
By Peter Symonds, 12 December 2016
By placing a question mark over US-China relations, Trump is recklessly compounding rising uncertainty in Asia and around the world, as well as the threat of war.
Markets pushed to record highs on Trump surge
By Nick Beams, 12 December 2016
The chief component in the rise in the Dow over the past month has been a 33 percent surge in shares of Goldman Sachs, accounting for 29 percent of the stock index’s ascent.
Oil industry stooge tapped to destroy the Environmental Protection Agency
By Daniel de Vries, 12 December 2016
Trump's nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt signals an attempt to gut environmental protections.
The New York Times' hypocritical rant against social media
By Andre Damon, 12 December 2016
While the Times editorial is framed as a critique of Trump, its real target is public access to information that is not censored and massaged by the US intelligence apparatus.
Obama’s parting shot at Russia
By Bill Van Auken, 10 December 2016
While Obama and the Democrats bow to Trump as he assembles the most right-wing administration in US history, they remain concerned that he is insufficiently bellicose toward Moscow.
Courts halt presidential election recount in Michigan
By Patrick Martin, 9 December 2016
A federal judge announced Wednesday he would defer to a decision by the Michigan Court of Appeals that Green Party candidate Jill Stein did not have standing to seek a recount.
Trump chooses millionaire fast food executive as secretary of labor
By Shelley Connor, 9 December 2016
Andrew Puzder, CEO of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, is a long-time opponent of minimum wage increases and mandatory overtime for salaried employees.
A Trump junta?
By Bill Van Auken, 9 December 2016
The growing number of recently retired generals joining the Trump cabinet is an expression of the ever-growing power of the military over political life.
A cabinet of generals: Trump appoints John Kelly to lead Department of Homeland Security
By Eric London, 8 December 2016
The unprecedented prominence of the military in the incoming cabinet is a dangerous sign that the American ruling class is preparing for war abroad and repression at home.
Trump picks trusted go-between as ambassador to China
By Peter Symonds, 8 December 2016
Branstad’s support for the TPP and his unfamiliarity with key foreign policy issues indicate he will not play a significant role in determining US policy toward Beijing.
Trump names opponent of public housing to run Housing and Urban Development
By Fred Mazelis, 7 December 2016
Former Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson is a vitriolic opponent of social programs to benefit the working class.
After Carrier deal, effusive praise for Trump from steelworkers union
By Jerry White, 7 December 2016
The United Steelworkers union praised Trump’s protectionist and chauvinist policies along with his deal with Carrier, which will wipe out 1,300 of the firm’s 2,100 production jobs in Indiana.
Trump’s phone call with Taiwan: A provocation against China
By Peter Symonds, 6 December 2016
Trump’s policy in the Asia-Pacific of “peace through strength” is a strategy not of peace, but of war.
Trump picks General “Mad Dog” Mattis for secretary of defense
By Patrick Martin, 5 December 2016
The selection of retired General James Mattis has been greeted with approval across the political and national-security establishment and in the major organs of the corporate-controlled media.
Trump victory strengthens Israel’s far-right and settler parties
By Jean Shaoul, 5 December 2016
Trump’s remarks on the Israel/Palestine conflict reflect the most extreme demands of Israel’s settler movement and Netanyahu’s political rival Naftali Bennett.
Trump’s talk with Taiwanese president heightens US tensions with China
By Peter Symonds, 5 December 2016
The phone conversation—the first between US and Taiwanese leaders since 1979—undermines decades of protocols based on Washington’s acceptance of the “One China” policy.
Trump declares support for Dakota Access Pipeline ahead of evacuation order against protesters
By Joseph Kishore, 3 December 2016
Under the watchful eye of the Obama administration, protesters have been subjected to brutal violence from the police and National Guard.
CEOs, Wall Street to drive Trump economic policy
By Patrick Martin, 3 December 2016
Hedge fund boss Stephen Schwarzman will chair the President’s Strategic and Policy Forum, which will begin meeting with Trump on economic policy after his inauguration.
Trump backers sue to block recounts
By Patrick Martin, 3 December 2016
Lawsuits were filed in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, where Trump’s margin of victory has shrunk dramatically.
Trump outlines right-wing program of extreme nationalism at Cincinnati rally
By Joseph Kishore and Jerry White, 2 December 2016
While couched in populist rhetoric, Trump’s proposals center on corporate tax cuts and deregulation, combined with expanding the military, widening police powers and curtailing immigration.
Tensions mount over US presidential election recounts
By Patrick Martin, 2 December 2016
Wisconsin officials began reviewing ballots, while the Trump campaign took legal action to block the recount in Michigan.
Deal to “save” Indiana Carrier plant will cut 1,100 jobs
By Jerry White, 1 December 2016
Trump reportedly told the CEO of Carrier’s parent company that federal and state tax cuts and the lifting of corporate regulations could save more money than moving to Mexico.
Trump names Medicare opponent to head health programs: Who is Tom Price?
By Nick Barrickman, 1 December 2016
The naming of Tom Price to head the Department of Health and Human Services signals the intention of the incoming Trump administration to begin the dismantling of Medicare.
President-elect Trump on flag-burning: The crisis of American democracy
By Joseph Kishore, 1 December 2016
Trump’s statement on flag-burning reflects not only the authoritarian disposition of the president-elect, but the far-reaching decay of bourgeois democracy in the United States.
A cabinet of billionaires
Trump forms a Wall Street government to attack health care and workers’ rights
By Patrick Martin, 30 November 2016
Trump has picked Wall Street banker Steven Mnuchin as treasury secretary and anti-Medicare zealot Tom Price to head the Department of Health and Human Services.
US president-elect says flag burners should be stripped of their citizenship
By John Burton, 30 November 2016
President-elect Donald Trump’s tweet that people who burn the American flag in protest should be stripped of their citizenship is a repudiation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
Trump refuses to sever ties with his business empire
By E.P. Milligan, 30 November 2016
Trump has business interests in real estate, management and branding in no less than 18 foreign countries, spanning virtually the entire globe.
Black Lives Matter blames “white supremacy” for election of Trump
By Evan Blake and Barry Grey, 30 November 2016
The organization ignores factual analyses of the actual vote to present a false interpretation of the election as the expression of a society dominated by racism.
Obama extends global reach of US Special Operations death squads
By Patrick Martin, 29 November 2016
The global mandate of the new formation means US death squads could be sent virtually anywhere, from European cities to South American jungles, including in the United States itself.
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