Anne Appelbaum reports that “[Darren] Beattie [the acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs] has also asked [State Department staff] for any communications that mention certain buzzwords, including ‘incel,’ ‘q-anon,’ ‘Black Lives Matter’ and ‘great replacement theory.’ Beattie appears to be compiling some kind of document that will serve to ‘prove’ something that did not happen: That the Global Engagement Center, which never operated inside the United States, was somehow censoring American conservatives.”[1]
It is distressing, though hardly surprising, that this request so blatantly paints “involuntary celibates,” who blame women for refusing them sex; Q-Anon, particularly notorious for its participation in the January 6 coup attempt; and paleoconservatives who think “Black and brown” people are attempting to outbreed and displace white people as victims. It is distressing, though hardly surprising, that “Black Lives Matter,” which seeks to call white supremacist gangsters (usually known as the “police”) to account for disproportionately killing, injuring, and harassing Black people should be so blatantly cast as an ‘enemy.’ And, to be clear, at least as Appelbaum tells it, the consensus at the Atlantic seems indeed to be that this is about assembling an ‘enemies list.’[2]
Such a project is, of course, the stuff of paranoia. It is also the product of delusion. After all, most people manage to find mates for at least a part of their lives. Great Replacement Theory has always been the paranoid ranting of a small subset of conservatism. And Q-Anon’s archetype is a fellow who wears horns and fur pants and carries a spear. These ‘victims’ are hardly sympathetic characters even if white supremacist gangsters continue to enjoy support from a majority of the U.S. public. Which tracks right along with poll results showing declining support for Donald Trump and his policies.[3]
But what would be most seriously delusional is any imagination that even if this project succeeds in incriminating anybody, it will somehow garner sympathy for ‘incels,’ paleoconservatives, Q-Anon, or Trump himself.
That, of course, is not what this is truly about. Trump is pursuing policies regardless of public opinion. He ran on a promise to reduce inflation; his tariffs can only increase it. He ran on promise to bring jobs back to Amerikkka; we may well be headed for a recession and ‘stagflation’ instead.[4] He might intend to run for a third term but it’s more likely, that even as delusional as he is, he understands quite well that he can’t.[5] It is indeed unlikely, with his preference for fast food,[6] he can even live much longer (I’m mildly surprised he survived to inauguration). This is, in short, a man with nothing to lose. He’s going for autocracy[7] and he’s going for revenge.
And that’s what the ‘enemies list’ is about.
[1] Anne Appelbaum, “The State Department Makes an Enemies List,” Open Letters, May 3, 2025, https://anneapplebaum.substack.com/p/the-state-department-makes-an-enemies
[2] Anne Appelbaum, “The State Department Makes an Enemies List,” Open Letters, May 3, 2025, https://anneapplebaum.substack.com/p/the-state-department-makes-an-enemies
[3] Pew Research Center, “Trump’s Job Rating Drops, Key Policies Draw Majority Disapproval as He Nears 100 Days,” April 23, 2025, https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/pp_2025-4-23_trump-100-days_report.pdf
[4] Eric Levitz, “America may be headed for this rare type of economic crisis,” Vox, April 6, 2025, https://www.vox.com/politics/407296/stagflation-trump-tariffs-recession-inflation-risk-odds
[5] Natalie Allison and Matt Viser, “Trump once joked about a third term. Now, he says it’s no laughing matter,” Washington Post, May 2, 2025, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/05/02/trump-third-term/
[6] Chris Cillizza, “A history of Donald Trump's fast food addiction,” So What, February 23, 2023, https://chriscillizza.substack.com/p/a-history-of-donald-trumps-fast-food
[7] Frank Langfitt, “Hundreds of scholars say U.S. is swiftly heading toward authoritarianism,” National Public Radio, April 22, 2025, https://www.npr.org/2025/04/22/nx-s1-5340753/trump-democracy-authoritarianism-competive-survey-political-scientist