What’s up with him now? My folks dial me up from Cairo while I’m chilling in NYC, and without fail, that question pops up. We’ve got this unspoken ping-pong going; they ask about Donald Trump, I question them about Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. Oh, the joy of being Egyptian-American — dictators on both sides of my dash.
Lately, the “he” my parents ask about seems glued to our chats.
I hopped over to the U.S. from Egypt in 2000, and I’ve been watching from the sidelines as America kinda morphs into Egypt. More power to the state, religion threading its pesky fingers into politics.
After every disaster — you know, the lies that dragged us into Iraq, the religious nuttiness that obliterated abortion rights, the cash and weapons showered on Israel — I figured, “Any second now, people will flip out, light the place up.” But no.
Then there’s Trump, twisting that power into a beastly regime that, just like in Egypt, hunts down culture, media, education, and anything that even smells like dissent. But I keep waiting for the meltdown.
Having spent over 20 years here, I’ve realized: most white folks would rather be compared to Russia or Hungary. God forbid someone likens them to Egypt or places run by Black or brown autocrats. Yeah, even dictatorships come with racial tags.
I hit up an anti-Trump protest in NYC this month. They said it was the largest since he walked back into the White House. Signs nailed Trump and Elon Musk; dogs wore “I bite fascists” jackets. Entertaining, sure, but where was the anger? Revolutions need more than feet on the pavement; they need fury, and bucketloads of it.
White Americans, the biggest voters, brought Trump to power both times, and they’re the most chill about it. Their white privilege blinds them to the mess. Loss of rights? That’s something for non-white folks in far-off lands like Egypt. But actually, where Trump’s leading the U.S. is a way bigger mess than Egypt, simply because of America’s global stomp. And yet, there’s no outrage — and that drives me up the wall.
White folks here? They’ve got this comically misplaced faith in their government and systems, thinking those will shield them from dictatorship. Their stubborn “we’re exceptional” belief keeps them blind to the fascism Trump’s spreading. Black and Indigenous peoples? They know better. They don’t trust these systems that often kick them down. For people from autocracies, the U.S. government feels like another tricky regime.
No matter how much we from authoritarian spots shout warnings about state power, white folks here shrugged and went, “Nah, can’t happen.” America’s like a teen set on its own slow wreckage.
I remember talking to Muslim Brotherhood officials back in Egypt. Their slogan? “Islam is the solution.” They wanted an Islamic state. Briefly, after 2011, they did rule but never held as much sway as white Christian nationalists in the U.S., turning it into a white Christian empire. Wild, right?
Imagine Pete Hegseth wanting a crusade with all his Crusader crosses. If he were Muslim, the U.S. would’ve swooped in to save the “free world.” Recognizing a theocracy’s much easier when the zealots don’t look like you.
The U.S. media loves to spotlight how the Muslim Brotherhood twisted religion into politics. But oddly quiet about Christianity’s rise here, especially the white Christian nationalists boosting Trump. In US newsrooms, white and Christian feel like the default, the harmless norm.
As a feminist, it grinds my gears how the U.S. media and many white Americans overlook what religion’s doing to women here. Trump’s backtracking diversity and abortion rights hits me hard. He put three conservative judges on the bench, scrapping Roe v. Wade, giving states free rein to ban abortion. Some white women rallied for this, acting as foot soldiers in the Christian patriarchy. Yet, they aren’t dissected like Muslim women.
My time in the U.S.? It’s radicalized me. Twenty-five years of witnessing state-sponsored patriarchy here and back home shoved anarchism into my feminism. Anarcho-feminist? That’s my don’t-mess-with-me level now. Unless Trump starts eyeing naturalized citizens for trouble, NYC’s where I’m anchored.
Before Trump’s re-election, I started lifting weights. Now, I can deadlift and squat more than myself. It wasn’t about who was in the White House, just personal goals. But it feels fitting. When fascism bulks up, maybe feminism’s gotta get dangerous.
The rage will come. It has to.
