Trumpstein and the gun-toting women: the pattern that discards his female allies

Trumpstein and the gun-toting women: the pattern that discards his female allies

There is a pattern repeating itself with almost mechanical precision in the circles of American power in recent months: a woman builds a persona as a "take-no-prisoners lady," basks in the warmth of Trumpism, gets her share of the spotlight and, within weeks, is cast aside without ceremony. The phenomenon has been dubbed in some circles the cycle of the "gun-toting women," and the list of casualties is long: Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi, Tulsi Gabbard, Karoline Leavitt, Valentina Gómez, María Elvira Salazar and, in the final stretch, María Corina Machado.

The mechanics never change. First the persona: the congresswoman who swears absolute loyalty, the governor who describes herself as a "woman who takes up arms," the candidate who burns books and promises public executions. Then the usefulness: each one covers a flank the leader does not want to cover personally. And in the end, the disposal. Trumpstein uses them and then discards them, sums up the thesis running through the whole analysis.

From Marjorie Taylor Greene to Kristi Noem: the pattern of the casualties

The case of Marjorie Taylor Greene is the most telling. She was one of the most fanatical trinc, went as far as suggesting she would kill for Trumpstein, and ended up accused of treason and singled out by her own pack of devotees. The main reason, according to the story making the rounds: not being pro-Israel enough. The one-time loyal shield-bearer became a target.

Kristi Noem wanted to play the tough-woman card. She described herself as a "woman who takes up arms" and admitted to having killed her dog. She was picked as national security adviser. During an immigration raid she tried to intimidate people by brandishing a rifle, but the result was ridicule: she did not know how to hold it and ended up pointing it at the head of a colleague, who noticed. The mockery was fierce, including the theory that she had killed her dog by accident. It was all a show, including her appearance at CECOT, the Salvadoran detention facility some describe as a human zoo.

Pam Bondi, known for threatening the "Organización criminal de los Soles," was also discarded shortly after. Tulsi Gabbard, an Iraq veteran with ties to Shiism through her contact with local interpreters, was burned when the war with Iran escalated. Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary always aggressive with the media and a faithful guardian, received the cruelest blow: being told to go take care of her children.

Valentina Gómez: the most pathetic case of all

The candidate born in Medellín and living in Texas tried every stunt possible to win the favor of the supremacist electorate: she sabotaged a Muslim gathering, proposed publicly executing immigrants convicted of rape or homicide, burned a Quran and hurled slurs like "don't be weak and lgtb." Nothing worked. Even white voters thought it was too much, some even calling her mentally disabled, according to the judgment being whispered. Trumpstein rejected her and gave his support to a rich old Texan, John Carter.

María Corina Machado and the most screwed-over Nobel Prize in history

The close of the list is the most striking. María Corina Machado, presented as the "Iron Lady," a great leader and Nobel laureate, received every award and medal a mortal could accumulate. Trumpstein noticed and brought her down fast: "She has no support or respect," he said, handing her the Nobel Prize as the most screwed-over laureate in human history, according to the description. The image of the medal being presented to Trump at the White House, as a gesture of gratitude for his leadership, circulated as a symbol of servility.

María Elvira Salazar, the Cuban-American who went so far as to say that María Corina is sacred and threatened to attack Venezuela if she were touched, also landed on the radar. Trumpstein is afraid of her, just as he was of the "platanote," and when he is afraid he does not attack directly: he sends third parties.

The repeating pattern: use, display and discard

The conclusion drawn from this tour is that Trumpstein does not have a problem with bossy women, but with women who stop being useful. The ones who work for him are the "prudish nerds," not the empowered gun-toters. Those who build a persona of a woman with a weapon over her shoulder end up becoming the persona that gets discarded.

The striking fact: of all those mentioned, the only one still standing is the one who never brandished anything.