Mehdi Hasan
@zeteo·1.6M subscribers·2.3K videos
Former Trump Official Says Homeland Security Needs to Be Dismantled
Posted
February 11, 2026
Views
13,251
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February 11, 2026
13,251
1,266
106
10.35%
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To break down the United States’ rapid descent into fascism, Mehdi is joined by former Trump official turned vocal critic of the president, Olivia Troye, who served as national security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence in the first term, as well as philosophy professor, author, fascism expert, and Zeteo contributor, Jason Stanley.
With ICE operating as a private police force for Trump, Troye tells Mehdi she’s not convinced that the entire Department of Homeland Security will survive if a Democrat wins the presidency in 2028, adding that she believes there needs to be a “complete review” of the department.
Former Yale professor Jason Stanley, who left the US and moved to Canada with his family last year after Trump returned to the White House, tells Mehdi that any Democratic lawmaker who believes ICE can be reformed “is being incoherent,” noting that ICE has been used to lay the groundwork to get people to “turn off their empathy” before “being unleashed against the American population at large.”
Watch the full interview to hear Stanley discuss the president’s use of foreign intervention as a way to distract from domestic discontent, and whether Troye believes she may have to leave the country too, in order to avoid retribution from her former boss Trump.
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ICE operates as private police force for Trump
Fascism defined as extending colonial oppression to white people
Trump uses foreign intervention to distract from domestic problems
Trump will always make situations worse regardless of intentions
Trump accelerating authoritarianism with racial profiling and political persecution
ICE functions as Trump's paramilitary force killing citizens
Trump weaponizing government, has militia, pursuing imperial expansion
Fascism extends colonial oppression to white populations
White victims of police violence treated differently than minorities
Trump's second term more dangerous due to removal of moderating influences
All government agencies weaponized for extreme right-wing agenda
Stephen Miller controls Trump's extreme agenda without opposition
Trump using DHS and military against protesters and dissent
DHS criminalizing dissent and monitoring conversations
Stephen Miller controls Trump and enables authoritarian system
Democrats proposing to reform fascist institutions instead of abolishing them
Authoritarian structures targeting minorities now unleashed on all Americans
ICE originally targeted Muslims, now weaponized by Trump
Trump's ICE training duration reflects white supremacist messaging
Trump's Davos comments about Somali Americans marked turning point
Trump openly stating racist views he previously concealed
DHS may not survive after Trump's use of ICE
DHS requires complete review and rebuilding due to abuse
Trump's authoritarianism contradicts conservative principles
Conservatives abandoned limited government principles for authoritarian obedience
Trump threatening to invoke Insurrection Act to deploy military in blue cities
DOJ operates as Trump's personal legal department
Trump will invoke Insurrection Act because moderating influences are gone
Trump views military as his personal force with no institutional resistance
Trump invaded Venezuela, kidnapped president, threatened Iran war
Trump using foreign intervention to distract from domestic problems like Mussolini
Trump openly discusses authoritarian plans but media ignores it
Authoritarian leaders openly announce their plans like Hitler did
Trump administration following Project 2025 with competent authoritarians
Trump administration mixes competent and incompetent authoritarians
Trump publicly discussing possibility of canceling elections
Pence supporting Trump's authoritarian foreign policy despite criticizing Trump
Trump pursuing foreign policy for personal financial and political benefit
Trump will make any situation worse regardless of initial intentions
Trump abandoned Venezuelan opposition and allies for personal grievances
MAGA mob threatens and intimidates Republicans who criticize Trump
Trump administration prosecuting former officials who criticize Trump
Former Trump official considering leaving country due to threats
Trump administration using federal power to prosecute political enemies
Columbia University capitulating to Trump administration on free speech
Academic leaving US to avoid complicity with Trump administration
Academic working from Canada to support US democracy initiatives
Canadian PM acknowledging selective application of international law
US adopting white supremacy as official state position
Canada should champion multiracial democracy against global intolerance
Trump's selective empathy based on victims' political alignment
Public pressure and street protests can influence Trump's actions
Continued public resistance and solidarity essential to countering authoritarianism
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