Analysis of: Netanyahu to push Trump to take tough Iran stance during White House visit – US politics live
The Guardian | February 11, 2026
TL;DR
Trump administration juggles domestic crackdowns, far-right international alliances, and Netanyahu's Iran demands while suppressing dissent and managing economic fallout. The convergence reveals how imperial management increasingly requires authoritarian methods at home and abroad.
Analytical Focus:Contradictions Historical Context Class Analysis
This compendium of developments reveals the Trump administration navigating multiple crises simultaneously—each illuminating the contradictions of managing a declining imperial power. Netanyahu's push for harder Iran policies, a senior diplomat promoting European far-right movements, failed prosecutions of Democratic lawmakers for 'sedition,' and preemptive spin on weak jobs numbers all reflect a state apparatus struggling to maintain coherence. The attempted indictment of six Democratic lawmakers for reminding troops they need not follow illegal orders exposes a fundamental tension: the state requires military loyalty while its actions increasingly strain legal legitimacy. That a grand jury refused to indict suggests the judiciary retains some independence, but the attempt itself—driven by Trump's characterization of the video as 'seditious behavior punishable by death'—marks a dangerous expansion of executive power. Meanwhile, the administration's promotion of far-right European parties through a State Department official reveals how maintaining imperial hegemony now requires cultivating illiberal allies willing to align against 'liberal democratic' institutions that once served U.S. interests. Perhaps most telling is the White House's preemptive framing of job numbers. Peter Navarro's claim that 50,000 jobs monthly is now the appropriate benchmark because of deportations attempts to naturalize economic contraction as policy success. This ideological maneuver—making weakness appear as strength—reflects the challenge of maintaining capitalist legitimacy when material conditions deteriorate. The polling showing 74% want ICE reformed or abolished demonstrates the growing gap between state policy and working-class interests, a contradiction that cannot be resolved through messaging alone.
Class Dynamics
Actors: Trump administration (executive state apparatus), Military-intelligence establishment, Israeli state (Netanyahu), European far-right parties, ICE enforcement apparatus, Working-class immigrants, Democratic Party opposition, Wall Street investors, Corporate media
Beneficiaries: Defense contractors anticipating expanded Middle East operations, Private prison and detention industry, Far-right political movements internationally, Owners of rival infrastructure (Moroun/Ambassador Bridge), Capitalists benefiting from deportation-driven wage suppression
Harmed Parties: Immigrant workers and communities facing deportation, Service members pressured to follow potentially illegal orders, Workers in sectors dependent on immigrant labor, Democratic lawmakers facing prosecution for speech, General working class facing economic contraction
The executive branch is consolidating power against traditional checks—attempting prosecution of legislators, censuring retired military officers, and bypassing Congress on tariffs. The state apparatus serves capital accumulation while managing the political fallout of policies that undermine the material conditions of most workers. The alliance between U.S. and Israeli state interests reflects shared investment in maintaining regional hegemony, while promotion of European far-right parties represents an attempt to reshape international alliances toward authoritarian governance models more amenable to unilateral U.S. action.
Material Conditions
Economic Factors: Declining job creation (70,000 projected vs. historical 200,000), Mass deportation disrupting labor markets, Tariff policies creating economic uncertainty, Military spending for potential Middle East escalation, Infrastructure investment contested by private capital interests
The administration's immigration policy reveals the contradiction between capital's need for cheap, exploitable labor and the political utility of nativist scapegoating. Deportations remove workers who perform essential labor in agriculture, construction, and services, creating inflationary pressure and production disruptions. The preemptive jobs narrative attempts to naturalize this disruption as intentional policy success rather than economic damage. Meanwhile, Netanyahu's push for Iran confrontation would require massive military mobilization—a form of unproductive state expenditure that historically serves to discipline domestic populations and redirect economic contradictions outward.
Resources at Stake: Iranian oil and regional energy infrastructure, Military contracts for Middle East operations, Immigrant labor as economic resource, Control of U.S.-Canada trade infrastructure (Detroit-Windsor bridge), State Department resources directed toward far-right promotion
Historical Context
Precedents: McCarthyism and prosecution of political dissent, Reagan administration's support for authoritarian regimes, Bush-era 'with us or against us' international realignment, Historical pattern of economic downturns triggering nativist scapegoating, Pre-WWI great power competition and alliance-building
The current moment reflects late-stage neoliberalism in crisis. Since the 2008 financial collapse, the ruling class has faced a legitimation problem—standard economic management no longer delivers growth that can be distributed to maintain consent. The response has been twofold: domestically, increased authoritarianism to suppress dissent and scapegoat vulnerable populations; internationally, abandonment of 'liberal internationalism' for naked great-power competition. The promotion of European far-right parties marks a shift from postwar American support for centrist liberal democracy—those institutions no longer reliably serve U.S. interests in an era of multipolarity and declining hegemony.
Contradictions
Primary: The state must simultaneously maintain capitalist economic functioning (requiring immigrant labor, stable trade relations, international cooperation) while pursuing authoritarian nationalist policies that undermine these conditions (mass deportation, tariff wars, promotion of destabilizing far-right movements abroad).
Secondary: Military requiring legal legitimacy while being directed toward potentially illegal actions, Republican electoral vulnerability from ICE policies while doubling down on enforcement, Claiming economic success while preemptively explaining away weak job numbers, Promoting 'free speech' rhetoric while prosecuting lawmakers for political speech, Demanding allied compliance while actively destabilizing allied governments
These contradictions are unlikely to resolve smoothly. The polling on ICE shows material conditions generating class consciousness—when policies directly harm communities, ideological justifications lose purchase. The grand jury's refusal to indict suggests institutional resistance to authoritarian overreach. However, the administration's response to resistance has been escalation rather than moderation. The trajectory points toward either successful consolidation of authoritarian control or a legitimation crisis as the gap between state action and popular interest becomes unsustainable. The Iran question could provide the 'external enemy' needed to suppress domestic contradictions temporarily, following the historical pattern of imperial powers using war to manage internal crises.
Global Interconnections
The convergence of these stories reveals the interconnected nature of imperial decline. Netanyahu's pressure on Iran cannot be separated from domestic authoritarianism—both represent attempts to maintain a collapsing hegemonic order through force rather than consent. The promotion of European far-right parties reflects recognition that the postwar liberal international order no longer serves U.S. capital interests; a world of competing authoritarian nationalisms may better preserve American dominance than one of multilateral institutions where rising powers gain voice. The immigration crackdown connects to global labor arbitrage—as capital becomes more mobile, it requires either free movement of labor or intensified exploitation of immobilized workers. Mass deportation serves the latter by creating a terrorized, undocumented workforce afraid to organize while providing ideological cover for declining wages and conditions for all workers. The attempt to prosecute lawmakers for political speech mirrors patterns across the imperial periphery, where U.S.-backed governments have long criminalized dissent. The empire's methods are coming home.
Conclusion
These developments demonstrate that the contradictions of managing a declining empire in economic crisis cannot be resolved through policy adjustments—they require either transformation of the system or intensified repression. The 74% supporting ICE reform or abolition suggests mass deportation lacks popular legitimacy despite its political utility for capital. The grand jury's refusal to indict indicates limits to authoritarian consolidation. For working-class movements, the key insight is that domestic and international struggles are inseparable: opposing war with Iran, defending immigrant communities, and protecting civil liberties are not separate issues but facets of the same struggle against a ruling class increasingly unable to rule through consent. The weakness of the administration's position—preemptively explaining away economic failure, failing to secure indictments, facing overwhelming disapproval—reveals opportunities for organized resistance if movements can connect these struggles into a coherent counter-hegemonic project.
Suggested Reading
- The State and Revolution by V.I. Lenin (1917) Lenin's analysis of the state as an instrument of class rule illuminates how the administration's authoritarian moves—prosecuting dissent, militarizing immigration, censuring officers—reveal the state's class character when ruling-class interests are threatened.
- Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism by V.I. Lenin (1917) The competition over Iran, alliance-building with European far-right parties, and infrastructure disputes with Canada reflect the inter-imperialist rivalries Lenin identified as characteristic of monopoly capitalism in crisis.
- Prison Notebooks (Selections) by Antonio Gramsci (1935) Gramsci's concept of hegemony explains both the administration's ideological maneuvers (reframing job losses as success) and its crisis of legitimacy when consent fails and coercion becomes the primary mode of rule.
- Blackshirts and Reds by Michael Parenti (1997) Parenti's analysis of how capitalist democracies turn to fascist methods when liberal institutions can no longer contain working-class movements provides historical context for the administration's authoritarian trajectory.