The Real Danger We Are Facing: The Playbook of Manufactured Outrage and the Dismantling of Democracy

The recent dismantling of USAID is not about fraud, waste, or even government efficiency. It’s a test case for a new kind of governance—one where facts are manipulated, oversight is erased, and executive power expands unchecked. This move is part of a broader strategy: manufacture a scandal, flood the public sphere with selective outrage, and use it to justify dismantling any institution that provides independent oversight or challenges the authority of the President to rule his subjects as he sees fit.

The implications of this strategy reach far beyond USAID. This is the clearest and most aggressive consolidation of power the United States has seen in modern history. If successful, it will reshape governance at every level, turning the executive branch into the final arbiter of truth, law, and policy—unchecked by regulators, auditors, or even elected officials in opposing parties.

Inevitably, this erosion of institutional oversight will seep into political control, election manipulation, and an executive that decides not only what information is "true," but also who is allowed to challenge it. This is no longer just about dismantling government agencies. It is the systematic elimination of democratic checks and balances—one step away from the most monarchical system the U.S. has seen since before the Revolutionary War.

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Manufacturing a Scandal: The USAID Case

Recent actions against USAID have been justified by highlighting specific instances of alleged wasteful spending. However, these claims often lack context and are presented in an intentionally deceptive manner.

Three examples:

Claim: "USAID spent $6 million on tourism in Egypt."

• Reality: This funding was part of an economic development initiative in North Sinai, approved during the Trump administration in 2019. The portrayal of this expenditure as recent frivolous spending omits its original context and intent.

Claim: "USAID spent $1.5 million to promote workplace diversity in Serbia.

• Reality: This investment aimed to enhance economic participation by reducing workplace discrimination, thereby fostering business growth. Framing it solely as ideological waste disregards its broader economic objectives.

Claim: "USAID spent $47,000 on a transgender opera in Colombia."

• Reality: This grant, issued by the State Department—not USAID—supported cultural diplomacy efforts to promote representation in the arts. Misattributing this funding and reducing it to an inflammatory phrase distorts its actual purpose.

A genuine financial review would assess the outcomes of these investments, compare them to other expenditures, and consider alternative approaches. However, the current narrative focuses on eradicating institutions that function independently of the executive branch.

The Absence of Comprehensive Audits

If USAID were truly riddled with fraud and inefficiency, a comprehensive financial audit would be the appropriate response. Such an audit would:

• Be conducted by independent financial experts.
• Compare USAID's spending to other government expenditures for context.
• Provide transparent, publicly available findings detailing strengths and weaknesses.
• Recommend measured reforms rather than wholesale dismantling.

Notably, USAID's Office of Inspector General (OIG) regularly conducts audits to ensure accountability. For instance, the audit of USAID's financial statements for fiscal years 2024 and 2023 concluded that the financial statements were presented fairly and in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

The Importance of Genuine Accountability

I regularly work in the nonprofit sector, where audited financials are a standard expectation for organizations of any size. These audits ensure transparency, responsible financial stewardship, and accountability to stakeholders. If nonprofits operate under such scrutiny, it is reasonable to expect federal agencies to undergo rigorous, transparent audits as well.

However, the current approach replaces genuine oversight with deception, using misaligned facts to justify structural changes that affect thousands of jobs and countless lives globally. Decisions of this magnitude should be based on thorough analysis and legitimate reform, not distortion and manufactured outrage.

The Ripple Effect: From USAID to Political Control

The method used to justify the elimination of USAID—selective misinformation, cherry-picked outrage, and bypassing legitimate oversight—will not stop with government agencies. Once it is accepted as an effective—and I loathe the use of the following word in this context—legitimate strategy, it will be applied anywhere those in power seek to control outcomes.

Controlling Elections and Opposing Candidates

Without agencies that operate independently of executive control, there will be nothing to stop the same tactics from being used to control elections.

• Federal Election Commission (FEC): The FEC, which monitors campaign finance, is already under attack. If the agency responsible for enforcing fair election laws is weakened or dismantled, nothing will prevent dark money from flooding elections—allowing the government/party in power to bankroll or sabotage candidates at will.
• Selective Investigations of Political Opponents: With unchecked power, the party in power can target political opponents by manufacturing scandals, weaponizing law enforcement, or burying financial corruption within their own ranks.

• The Department of Justice and FBI: These institutions are already under fire. Without independent legal enforcement, who will hold politicians accountable for corruption, bribery, or election fraud? If these agencies are dismantled or brought under full executive control, “justice” will become a weapon wielded only in one direction.

What’s happening to USAID is just the beginning. The erosion of oversight will expand to election security, law enforcement, and the judiciary. With no independent watchdogs left, politicians won’t just be protected from consequences—they will be able to manufacture outcomes that ensure their hold on power.

The Most Monarchical America Since the Revolutionary War

The founding fathers explicitly rejected centralized executive power because they had lived under a monarchy that controlled information, appointed loyalists rather than public servants, and dictated laws without oversight. Sounding familiar?

The pattern we’re seeing today—an executive branch consolidating power by dismantling oversight institutions, removing media that is critical of their actions, selectively punishing critics, and shaping the narrative through misinformation—has more in common with pre-Revolutionary Britain than with any American system of government in the last 250 years.

Where we are heading will not be a democracy. It will be rule by decree.

Why It’s Worse Now Than Ever Before

While the U.S. has faced constitutional crises and power struggles in the past, today’s power grab differs in two key ways:

1. It’s happening in plain sight. Unlike previous political scandals, this one isn’t being hidden—it’s being broadcast as a victory and the red hats, replacing the red coats of old, are cheering along their new monarch every step of the way. Instead of denying the power grab, the Executive Branch is celebrating it, relying on the manufactured outrage and ignorance of supporters to justify and support their every action.
2. It provides a blueprint for leaders at other levels of government. Governors, state legislatures, and local leaders are watching. If this strategy works at the federal level, there is nothing stopping it from being replicated across state governments—leading to unchecked, authoritarian control at every level.

The Next Front: Governors and State-Level Power Grabs

What happens at the federal level nearly always trickles down to the states. If a sitting U.S. president can dismantle oversight agencies with misinformation and executive action, state governors will do the same.

Here’s how this strategy will be replicated at the state level:

1. State Auditors and Election Commissions Will Be Targeted.
2. Public Services Will Be Defunded and Replaced with Private Control.
3. Governors Will Operate With Fewer Checks and Balances.

What Happens When the Playbook Becomes the Norm?

If this strategy succeeds—if oversight can be eliminated through selective outrage and misinformation—there will be no stopping its spread.

Imagine a country where:

• Elections are run by officials who answer only to the executive.
• No agency exists to verify financial corruption in government.
• Opposition candidates are disqualified based on manufactured scandals.
• Judges, law enforcement, and regulators are appointed based on loyalty, not law.

That is the future we are facing.

If you think this sounds alarmist, consider this: Five years ago, no one would have believed that an entire government agency could be dismantled without an independent audit.

And yet, it just happened.

My Predictions: Future Targets at the Federal Level

The strategy employed against USAID sets a precedent that will be applied to other agencies that provide oversight or produce inconvenient data. My predictions for future targets include:

• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB): They will be accused of over-regulating financial institutions.
• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): They will almost certainly be portrayed as hindering economic growth.
• Internal Revenue Service (IRS): The IRS has already been depicted as persecuting political adversaries, but it will only get worse and they will either be dismantled and replaced or loyalists will be placed in key positions to protect the ruling class.
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): They will be blamed for stifling business through overregulation.
• The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI): Without independent legal enforcement, who will hold politicians accountable for corruption, bribery, or election fraud?

What Can Be Done?

This is currently happening, but the future I predict is not yet inevitable—stopping it, however, will require more than just outrage. When an agency is declared, “too corrupt to fix,” it is crucial that we ask:

• Where is the full audit of the agency?
• Why is that data missing?
• Who really benefits from removing this institution?

Beyond that, we must:

1. Demand Transparency. If an agency or oversight body is dismantled, ask for full independent audits, not selective “scandals.”
2. Support Independent Journalism. The only reason these power grabs are being exposed is because journalists—not government agencies—are holding officials accountable.
3. Pay Attention to State and Local Elections. If this strategy spreads to state governments, it will be exponentially harder to undo.
4. Call Out Manufactured Outrage. Don’t fall for sensationalized, misleading narratives designed to provoke emotional reactions rather than provide factual analysis.

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A Final Thought & Warning

If our representatives allow USAID to be dismantled in this way—without pushback, without an audit, without real accountability—they are endorsing a system where power is unchecked and “truth” and “facts” are dictated. What happens next should not be a surprise. We’ve seen this playbook before—in authoritarian states, in history books, and in pre-Revolutionary America. Plus, our Nation has already lived through the beta version of this programming. Remember what then-Senior Counselor to President Trump, Kelly Ann Conway, said on “Meet the Press”?

“Sean Spicer, our press secretary, gave alternative facts.”

If we do nothing, this will not stop with USAID. It will not stop with government agencies. It will not stop with elections.

It will stop when democracy itself is beyond repair…

THAT is the real danger we are facing.

A special thanks to Joel Emery for his February 8, 2025, Facebook post—you got my wheels turning. Your breakdown of the USAID dismantling and the dangers of manufactured outrage provided critical insights that helped shape this article.

Sources:

1. The Atlantic: The Atlantic. (2025, February 13). Trump administration's rapid actions to undermine USAID lead to global humanitarian crises. The Atlantic.
2. Associated Press: Associated Press. (2025, February 13). USAID funding halt severely impacts faith-based organizations, leading to project disruptions and layoffs. AP News.
3. Reuters: Reuters. (2025, February 12). Cuts to USAID halt US farm research at universities, sources say. Reuters.
4. New York Post: New York Post. (2025, February 12). Trump fires USAID's top watchdog after reports of billions wasted on educating al Qaeda terrorist and drag shows. New York Post.
5. The White House: The White House. (2025, February 13). Fact sheet: Waste and abuse within USAID. The White House.
6. Center for Global Development: Center for Global Development. (2025, February 13). Analyzing the White House's claims about USAID's spending. Center for Global Development.
7. PBS NewsHour: PBS NewsHour. (2025, February 13). Watchdog raises concerns over lack of oversight for unspent aid after USAID dismantling. PBS.
8. Forbes: Forbes. (2025, February 10). Elon Musk pushes false claim ex-USAID chief earned $23 million: The biggest DOGE hoaxes spread on X. Forbes.
9. Associated Press: Associated Press. (2025, February 11). USAID employees want a judge to keep blocking Trump's effort to pull most of them off the job. AP News.
10. Reuters: Reuters. (2025, February 11). USAID contractors join others suing Trump administration over dismantling of agency. Reuters.
11. Associated Press: Associated Press. (2025, February 7). USAID notice instructs staffers to stay out of its headquarters. AP News.
12. The Times: The Times. (2025, February 13). Russia asks Elon Musk to hand over names of dissidents. The Times.