Trump, the world’s greatest imperialist, is coming to Korea. He is the enemy of the working class and oppressed people around the world.
Trump has consistently supported Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in pursuit of Middle Eastern hegemony. Netanyahu praised Trump as “the greatest American president ever.”
Trump has called for a ceasefire in the Ukraine War, but he continues to wage an imperialist proxy war against Russia, recently weighing the provision of Tomahawk long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine.
The hegemonic rivalry with China, which intensified during Trump’s first term, has significantly increased military tensions in Taiwan, the South China Sea, and the Korean Peninsula over the past decade. An actual conflict in any of these areas would put South Koreans on the brink of war.
Trump is also mobilizing military force to solidify his hegemony in Latin America. He is deploying warships, sinking vessels, and is even considering a ground attack on Venezuela.
Thus, Trump is unleashing a torrent of violence across the globe, using any means necessary to secure US imperialist hegemony.
Trump is also a ruthless sacrificial victim of workers and ordinary people for the sake of the wealthy and corporations.
In the United States, he is pushing for tax cuts and welfare cuts for the wealthy, and has laid off a large number of public sector workers. The ripple effects of the tariff war initiated by Trump are exacerbating the crisis of unemployment and restructuring for workers in the United States and around the world.
To shift the burden of suffering onto workers and ordinary people, Trump is reinforcing a variety of reactionary ideologies, including anti-immigrant sentiment, the rollback of women’s rights, homophobia, and white supremacy. By scapegoating social minorities, he seeks to gain political advantage from the public’s disillusionment with neoliberal centrists.
It’s also important to note that Trump is encouraging far-right and fascist forces and suppressing the left and labor movements. He emphasizes a “war from within” against the left and even mobilizes the military to suppress and deport immigrants. This is intended to bolster the confidence of far-right and fascist groups.
The Trump administration is also fueling the far-right in Europe. At a gathering of the German fascist party Alternative for Germany (AfD), Trump’s close associate Elon Musk gave a rousing speech, and Trump’s Vice President Vance criticized European countries’ attempts to curb the far right as “Europe’s biggest worry.”
In Latin America, the US is leveraging its influence to more actively protect the far right. This is evident in Brazil, where the US imposed high tariffs on former President Jair Bolsonaro, citing his handling of the far-right coup attempt. In Argentina, when far-right President Javier Millei was facing economic hardship, the US signed a currency swap agreement and eased beef import restrictions to support him.
The far-right in South Korea is also gaining traction under Trump. They were enthusiastic when Trump raised the issue of “church raids” during the South Korea-US summit last August. The expectation that if President Lee Jae-myung’s crisis deepens, Trump will oust him and replace him with a far-right figure is a significant force uniting the far-right in South Korea.
However, the Lee Jae-myung administration is pursuing a state visit of the highest caliber, offering Trump the “highest level of courtesy.” There are even rumors of awarding him the Grand Order of Mugunghwa.
During the South Korea-US summit, President Lee Jae-myung praised Trump as a “peacemaker” and flattered him by gifting him a red hat, a symbol of the American far-right movement MAGA. He now intends to continue this trend in the name of “pragmatic diplomacy.”
However, from the perspective of activists around the world fighting against Trump and the imperialism and far-right he represents, these actions by the South Korean government are counterproductive. President Lee Jae-myung, who came to power thanks to the movement that thwarted a far-right coup, is only disheartening to see him curry favor with Trump.
Therefore, it is important to condemn Trump’s visit independently of the Lee Jae-myung administration.
However, condemning Trump’s visit from the perspective of opposing Trump’s “economic exploitation” and defending Korea’s “national interests,” as some have done, ultimately amounts to defending Korean capitalism. From this perspective, international working-class solidarity cannot be achieved.
Trump’s approval ratings in the United States are currently at an all-time low, and millions are rising up in resistance, as evidenced by the “No King” protests on October 18th. People are taking to the streets against the oppression Trump instigates, the burden of the economic crisis, the suppression of the Palestinian solidarity movement, and the oppression of the labor movement and the left. These are the forces we must defend.
By raising our voices in condemnation of Trump’s visit to Korea, let us stand in solidarity with the anti-Trump and working-class movements building resistance in the United States.
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