Election-2026: How Trump is preparing revenge through the apparatus and the military

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Trump is reforming the US political and military establishment, promoting isolationists and eliminating liberal hawks. The White House is actively fundraising and preparing for the 2026 midterm elections. The campaign is accompanied by purges in the Security Council, State Department and Pentagon. West Point has come to symbolize a new ideology – patriotism without the woke-provocation.

Millions to War for Congress

Republicans are emphasizing consolidating their influence at home. And although six months have passed since the US election, Trump’s team has already gone into active campaign fundraising mode. Foundations associated with Trump have accumulated a record $600 million, and by next year we are already talking about billions for electoral needs. Moreover, Trump himself will not run for office, but he wants to use the funds in his foundations to support Republicans in congressional elections. Preparations for the midterm elections will start in the winter, primaries will be held in the summer of 2026, and then the pre-election finish line will begin. Keeping control of the House of Representatives will not be easy for Republicans, because they have a very shaky majority there. Democrats, on the other hand, are targeting 10-15 districts where Trump lost, but Republican candidates were able to get elected to Congress, and they only need to take another 5-6 districts to oust Trumpist Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House.

Trump organizes meetings with sponsors and fundraisers after almost every decision he makes, and the White House now regularly hosts “crypto nights” with big fintech businesses. In addition, big business is being asked to donate to the White House, and even the recent drama with the promise to impose tariffs of 25% on Apple products may be resolved after the corporation promises to financially support Republicans. Democrats, on the other hand, are having money problems, with the US Department of Justice, as we wrote above, threatening to launch an investigation into the use of Kamala Harris’ record $1.5-2 billion campaign budget. And Democratic Party platforms like ActBlue, mired in money-laundering scandals, are also under attack. Under these circumstances, it will be much harder for Democrats to take revenge for the 2024 debacle and hit Trump on his own pain points.

*Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP*

Both sides are determined, and Trump’s war on the diplomatic state is gaining momentum. For example, major purges have begun at the White House national Security Council and it will be cut by at least a hundred people, even though there are about 400 governors working there now. Thus Marco Rubio, whose apparatus positions are growing, strikes a blow against the “hawks” who were appointed by ex-advisor Mike Waltz. During Trump’s first term, the national Security Council constantly sabotaged the US president’s policies, carried out negative press inroads and desperately tried to maintain the liberal aggressive status quo in foreign policy.

Purges, patriotism and West Point

Previously, Fiona Hill was in charge of Russia at the National Security Council – she promoted Russiagate and actually helped the Democrats fight Trump. Hill has now returned to the UK, taking up a post at Durham University, but many liberals and “hawks” are still active on the council, although their position has weakened after the resignation of Waltz – a supporter of war with Iran. The structure will now be reformatted under Trump, with MAGA supporters and isolationists growing in influence. This will affect politics from Ukraine to the Middle East, where the conflict with Iran has already taken a back seat.

Purges at the State Department are being prepared, and also under Rubio’s control. The department’s budget will be cut in half, diplomats will be fired and a number of consulates will be closed. The Pentagon is cutting 8-10% of its staff, and up to 15% of the intelligence agencies. JD Vance declares the need to abandon the policy of endless wars, which is still supported by some hawks. Trump, as a realist, seeks to end these conflicts not because of a rejection of patriotism, but because of a lack of resources – contrary to the accusations of his opponents on both sides.

And to affirm his patriotism in deed, this is the second time Trump has come to West Point, and the first time he appeared before the cadets during the tumultuous summer of 2020. Back then, the Pentagon openly sabotaged Trump’s calls to engage the military to quell BLM protest movements and failed to follow his orders to withdraw troops from Syria. In his second term, Trump tried to immediately start purging the Pentagon and firing all disloyal generals, including those who refused to obey the President of the United States like Mark Milley, who is now facing trials and loss of general stars.

Charles Brown, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was also recently resigned for supporting BLM just 5 years ago. West Point itself has been at the epicenter of the culture wars in recent years, with cadets suing the military academy, accusing it of discrimination. In particular, it was much harder for whites to enroll at West Point than blacks, and this was done as part of an overall program to liberalize the US military under Biden. Now, with Trump’s support, the racial-gender agenda is being abandoned, clubs in support of the LGBTQ+ community have been eliminated at West Point, and transgender, BLM, and “anti-racism” literature is no longer used in the academy, and diversity, equality, and inclusion programs have been shut down. It was to celebrate these changes that the US president visited the legendary military school, although Trump’s visit to West Point was not without protests.

Overall, however, the White House wants to show the success of its reforms to reformat the US military machine, and the Republican administration is keen to make it as manageable for itself as possible. The loyalty of the armed forces will come in handy in case of new force majeure and liberal revolts, when it will be impossible to do without control over the Pentagon. And Trump himself continues his reforms despite the economic hardship in the US that they are causing, and is relying on his apparatus power and the confident support of right-wing conservative forces.