Episode 22: National Insecurity – How Trump’s Vision Is Breaking the System

Episode Summary:
In this opening episode of our three-part national security series, we go back to basics — defining what national security actually is, how it’s evolved over time, and what it’s supposed to protect us from. We walk through the full range of threats facing America in 2025 — from cyberattacks and domestic extremism to climate collapse and geopolitical instability — and show how the system meant to keep us safe is being radically reshaped.

National security is no longer just about tanks and troops. It’s about energy grids, supply chains, clean water, elections, and public health. And under Donald Trump’s leadership, the institutions that manage these threats are being dismantled — on purpose. From Project 2025 to loyalty tests, this isn’t just a shift in policy. It’s an authoritarian takeover of the system that protects us all.

In This Episode:

• What national security actually is — and how it’s evolved from Cold War defense to cyber, health, and climate resilience
• How America’s national security system is supposed to function 
• The real threat landscape in 2025, from homegrown extremism to global cyber warfare
• Why Trump’s second-term vision rejects institutional competence and replaces it with personal loyalty
• How Project 2025 and Stephen Miller’s ideology are weaponizing national security from the inside

Why It Matters:
This episode sets the stage for the next two in our national security series. Before we meet the people Trump has placed in charge (Episode 23), or assess the fallout from their actions (Episode 24), we need to understand the foundations of national security itself.

Next Episode:
Episode 23: Trump’s National Security Team – Inexperienced, Ideological, and In Charge
We’ll meet the new cast of national security power players — from loyalists like Kash Patel and Stephen Miller to headline-grabbers like Kristi Noem, Pete Hegseth and Steve Witkoff. 

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Transcript

00:04

Hi everyone, I'm Bella Goode and I'm your host for today's show. Before I get started with our episode on national security, I'm going to detour for just a minute. I've recently attended our local Hands Off Protest as well as a couple of Bernie Sanders oligarchy rallies in both Colorado and Utah. I really want to attend more, and I hope that they continue. They remind me that we are not alone. These rallies are attracting 1000s upon 1000s of like minded people, all with many of the same concerns. Something terrible is being ripped out from underneath us in plain sight; our freedom, our rights, our way of life, the life that we want for our children and grandchildren. These rallies demonstrate that we want our opinions known and our voices heard. We were on a train, slowly but surely, heading down the tracks toward a better destination, and every time that I attend one of these rallies, I have renewed hope and faith that this will happen. Joyce Vance recently wrote, "We aren't powerless. The place to start fighting back is with knowledge." 

 01:15

During his first term in office, Trump turned the idea of being woke into something negative. That pretty much epitomizes his whole shtick. If people are uninformed about what he is doing, they won't object. So our job is to be well informed, to understand what's going on, pick the issue that matters to you the most and do a deep dive on it. Or pay attention to a number of different issues. Have conversations with friends and with total strangers about what's going on, but don't be complacent. That's the dictator's trap. We are not going to fall into it. Which, of course, is a perfect lead in to this podcast. It's all about staying informed. Soak up each topic. I'll do the research, the writing and the recording, and all you have to do is listen and prepare yourself for the challenges ahead. 

02:06

And with that said, today's episode kicks off a three part series on one of the most important and least understood parts of government, national security. It's what keeps the country running. It's what stands between order and chaos. And it's one of the systems being radically reshaped under Donald Trump. Before we talk about the people he's put in charge or the consequences of their actions, we need to understand the foundation. What national security is, how it has evolved, and what it's supposed to do, and why all of that matters now more than ever. This isn't just a political shift, it's a structural one, one with consequences for every single American. I'll start with a basic question, what is national security? What does it mean to keep a country safe? And how has that definition morphed over time? 

03:03

For most of the last century, national security was understood in narrow terms. It meant protecting the homeland from foreign enemies, usually with tanks, planes and troops. Think World War Two, the Cold War and the arms race. The threats were mostly external, and the response was military strength. National Security meant defense, and defense meant the Pentagon. But over time, that definition has expanded. As the world has grown more interconnected, new vulnerabilities have emerged. The fall of the Berlin Wall didn't eliminate threats. It just created different kinds of threats. The September 11th attacks made it clear that terrorism could strike at the heart of the country. The 2008 financial crisis showed that an economic collapse could shake national foundations. COVID 19 proved that a virus could do what armies couldn't;shut down a superpower. And cyber attacks from Russia, China and even independent hackers now threaten everything from elections to energy grids. 

04:13

Today, national security includes not just traditional military defense, but also economic resilience, cyber security, environmental stability, public health and even information integrity. This broader definition reflects a world where a weak power grid, a compromised email server or a viral pandemic can do as much damage as a missile. So what's the goal of national security in this modern context? It's not just to keep us safe from war, it's to protect the nation's ability to function, its institutions, the economy, infrastructure and people, from any threat that could destabilize it. A secure nation isn't one that hides behind walls, it's one that anticipates risk, prepares for disruption and weathers storms without falling apart. That's the baseline. That's what competent governments are supposed to manage, in theory. 

05:12

Coming up, we will explore how national security is supposed to function, not just the institutions and the policies, but the norms, the professionalism, the steady hands that have historically guided it, and what it means when that foundation starts to crack. So we defined national security in broad terms, as the protection of a nation's ability to function. Let's take a closer look at what that actually includes, because when most people hear national security, they picture fighter jets or CIA agents, but the real picture is much wider, and it's growing wider every year. At its core, national security still includes the basics that you'd expect, the classic responsibilities of any sovereign nation. 

05:58

First, there's national defense. This is the traditional role, defending the country from military attack. That means maintaining a strong military presence, staying ahead of adversaries in both technology and force, and being ready to respond to threats from abroad or at home. It's what the Pentagon, the armed forces and countless defense contractors, are positioned for. Then there's intelligence and counter intelligence. To stay safe a country has to see threats before they happen. That means gathering foreign intelligence, running surveillance on hostile players, and blocking espionage that targets sensitive systems, communications or classified operations. It's a game of chess played in the shadows, and if we lose, the consequences can be catastrophic. 

06:49

Internal Security is also a core pillar. This is where agencies like the FBI come in, preventing domestic terrorism, breaking up organized crime networks, and safeguarding the public from threats that originate inside our own borders, especially since 911 the line between foreign and domestic threats has blurred, making this work even more essential and more difficult. Foreign Relations might not sound like national security, but it is the strength of our diplomatic relationships can help prevent wars. It can stabilize regions and reduce the need for military action in the first place. A smart foreign policy is a national security strategy, one that solves problems without firing shots. 

07:37

But national security today isn't just about boots on the ground or spies in the field. It's also about the vulnerabilities baked into the systems that we rely on every day. These are the expanded dimensions of national security, the parts that didn't exist or weren't even recognized 50 years ago. Economic security, it means protecting the country's financial systems, supply chains and intellectual property from disruption or theft. It also means being resilient to global shocks like recessions, sanctions or the collapse of key industries. Cyber security is now front and center. Modern life runs on code, and a single breach can shut down hospitals, power grids, banks or voting systems. Nation states like Russia and China probe these weaknesses daily, and non state hackers can sometimes do just as much damage. 

08:35

And then there's environmental security, covering climate change, natural disasters and resource scarcity, because a mega drought, a category five hurricane or wildfire season from hell, can destabilize entire regions. As climate shifts accelerate, so did the security risks tied to water, food and land. There's also health security. Health Security became impossible to ignore after COVID 19. Pandemics can cost more deaths, economic damage and political disruption than some wars. National Security now has to include bio weapons, viral outbreaks and the public health infrastructure needed to survive them. 

09:20

Energy and food security round out the list. These are the foundations of daily life, and when they're disruptive, societies crack. That's why government monitors everything from fuel reserves to the availability of baby formula. It's not just about comfort, it's about national stability. None of these areas operate in isolation. They're all part of a complex web of global interdependence. US National security now involves confronting transnational challenges from rising authoritarianism and geo political rivalries of China and Russia, to terrorism, nuclear proliferation, climate migration and global supply chain shocks. 

10:04

To manage all of this coordination is key. Dozens of federal agencies, from the Department of Defense to the Environmental Protection Agency, have a hand in securing the country. It takes intelligence sharing, policy alignment and crisis planning across the board. Think of it as a sprawling network of interlocking systems, one that only works if every part is competent, prepared and communicating. Now that's the ideal. But under the surface, cracks are showing some of the very people now in charge don't seem to understand the job, or worse, they reject the idea that this broader definition of national security even matters. Next, we'll look at how national security is supposed to work, not just what it covers, but how it functions, and the standards that it's been built on, and why professionalism and process have always been its backbone. 

11:01

So how does how does all of this actually work, and how does it get done? National security isn't just a set of tasks. It's a massive, ongoing mission carried out by 1000s of people across dozens of agencies. But more than that, it's a system built on norms, on standards and a culture of competence. There is no single checklist that guarantees safety, but there are time tested expectations and the do's and the don'ts that have guided how national security is supposed to function. First, let's take a look at the do's. 

11:39

The first do is you do put qualified professionals in charge; people with experience in intelligence, defense, diplomacy, law or crisis management. You follow a process. You do invest in preparation. You do share information across agencies, and you do rely on institutions like the National Security Council to weigh options and coordinate responses. And you do make decisions rooted in facts, not ideology nor personal loyalty. You also build trust with allies, with the public and inside the system itself. Trust is what allows for quick response in a crisis. It's what gives commanders confidence, what keeps foreign governments working with us, and what assures Americans that someone competent is watching the door. 

12:58

So what are the don'ts? You don't wing it. You don't politicize intelligence. You don't hand out national security roles to cronies, influencers or ideologues. You don't retaliate against career officials for doing their jobs. You don't ignore warning signs. You don't skip briefings. You don't fire the watchdogs, and above all, you don't treat national security like a reality show or a loyalty test. That's quite a list. The ideal leader for this system is someone who understands complexity, respects institutions, listens to experts and thinks several moves ahead, someone who's calm under pressure, careful with words, and clear about threats and values. In other words, it's someone who takes the job seriously, because the stakes couldn't be higher. 

13:52

We've had leaders who have fit that mold. No administration has ever been perfect, and the National Security record of the United States does include some bad mistakes, but certain moments and presidencies are generally remembered for rising to the occasion. Think of FDR. Think of Franklin D Roosevelt, who led the nation through the Great Depression and World War Two, not just as a wartime president, but as a global strategist, who built alliances coordinated a massive national mobilization and laid the foundation for post war international order through institutions like the United Nations. His leadership redefined America's role in the world and showed how national security isn't just about Defense, it's about vision. 

14:41

Okay, think about John F Kennedy, who faced the most dangerous moment of the cold war during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Under intense pressure with nuclear war looming, Kennedy chose diplomacy and deliberation over escalation. He rejected military strikes and opted for a naval blockade and used back channel talks to de escalate the standoff with the Soviet Union. His calm, strategic leadership in those 13 days may have saved the world from catastrophe. You can also think of Ronald Reagan, who combined a strong defense posture with diplomatic engagement, his administration escalated pressure on the Soviet Union, while also negotiating landmark arms control agreements. His famous challenge to tear down this wall became the symbol of Cold War resolve, and his dialog with Mikhail Gorbachev helped ease decades of tension between nuclear superpowers.

15:44

And you can also think of George H W Bush, who inherited the opening and managed the actual end of the Cold War. A former CIA director and diplomat, Bush handled the fall of the Berlin Wall, German reunification and the dissolution of the Soviet Union with restraint and careful coordination. He avoided gloating or provocation, helping us to guide the world through a potentially chaotic transition without igniting new conflict. 

16:16

Each of these leaders understood what was at stake, and each surrounded themselves with professionals who took the job seriously. They respected institutions, they listened to intelligence, they worked with allies, and they didn't treat national security like a political prize or a family business. Those are the high standards, and that's the benchmark that we should be measured against, especially now, because before we look at who's in charge protecting us, we need to understand what we're up against. 

16:47

In the next section, we'll take a clear eyed look at the threats facing the United States today, and not just what's possible, but what's already happening. For the first time in modern history, national security officials agree some of the most serious threats to America are coming from inside the country. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security have warned that violent domestic extremism now poses a greater threat to public safety than foreign terrorism that includes armed militias, white supremacy groups, conspiracy driven radicals and politically motivated attackers. These groups are often fueled by disinformation and online echo chambers. They target government institutions, journalists, election workers, abortion clinics, and anyone that they perceive as standing in the way of their ideology. 

17:43

The January 6 attack on the Capitol wasn't a one off. It was a preview. Officials now track dozens of plots each year involving homegrown terrorists inspired by Q-Anon, anti government militias or people who simply want to remake the world so that it fits their views. And this threat isn't limited to fringe groups. Increasingly, the rhetoric that feeds this violence is echoed in political circles, blurring the line between criminal threat and political movement. When elected officials embrace conspiracy theories or demonize law enforcement, they create openings for violence to follow and beyond our borders. America faces renewed challenges from rival powers, especially China and Russia. 

18:32

China has become a strategic competitor on nearly every front, economically, militarily, technologically and diplomatically. It's expanding its military footprint in the South China Sea, exerting economic pressure through debt diplomacy and pursuing dominance in critical sectors like AI telecommunications and green energy. Its intelligence services have also been linked to massive data breaches targeting the US, government, personnel, tech firms and academic institutions. 

19:07

Russia, meanwhile, has shifted to hybrid warfare. It uses disinformation, cyber attacks, energy, blackmail and proxy conflicts to destabilize democratic countries. From its invasion of Ukraine to its interference in US elections, Russia continues to test the boundaries of global norms, betting that the West won't push back hard enough. Other geopolitical threats include North Korea's nuclear program, Iran's regional provocations, and a growing alliance of authoritarian regimes who share technology, intelligence and tactics, and a world increasingly defined by ideological blocks, America is no longer guaranteed the upper hand. 

19:53

And then there's the digital Battlefield, arguably the most active and least understood front in modern. Security. Cyber Security refers to protecting networks, systems and data, from unauthorized access, attacks or damage, and right now, that front is under siege. Countries like China, Russia, Iran, North Korea regularly conduct cyber operations against the United States. They target everything from government databases and defense contractors to financial systems, hospitals, power grids and voting infrastructure. It's not just nation states. There are ransomware gangs, often with state backing or protection, extorting billions from schools, cities and private companies. 

20:41

Some attacks are designed to steal data, others are meant to sow chaos or to test vulnerabilities for future use. And because the internet is borderless, a teenager in Moscow can cause just as much damage as a spy agency if they have the right code. America's cyber defenses are sophisticated, but they're also fragmented. Coordination between agencies and the private sector, it's improving, but it's still a game of catch up, and the next big breach might already be underway without any of us knowing it. 

21:14

And then there are other threats. National security isn't just about threats with missiles or malware. It's also about the systems that sustain life, and what happens when those systems break down. Climate change is a threat multiplier. It fuels wildfires, floods, droughts and storms, displacing communities, straining emergency services and reshaping global migration patterns, the Pentagon now treats climate as a national security threat because of its ripple effects, instability, famine, resource wars and the collapse of fragile governments. Water Systems, food supplies and energy infrastructure are also at risk, whether from a cyber attack, fiscal sabotage or environmental stress, these lifelines are increasingly vulnerable. 

22:06

In Texas and in the Midwest, energy grids are already buckling under climate strain. In the West, water scarcity is reshaping agriculture and interstate politics and across the country, aging infrastructure leaves communities exposed to disasters, both natural and man made. In short, the threats that we face today are more complex. They're more interconnected, and they're more frequent than at any time in living memory. All of them require coordination, competence and credibility at the top. 

22:41

We've talked about how national security is supposed to work. We've named the threats foreign and domestic, digital and environmental that are already testing our systems every day. But here's the problem, the real threats haven't gone away. Our adversaries haven't stopped probing our weaknesses, and yet the government that's supposed to defend us is being hallowed out, not by accident, but by design. Donald Trump's return to power has brought us a sharp and deliberate break from decades of national security norms. This isn't a policy shift, it's an ideological overhaul. The old rules, competence, caution, experience had been replaced by a single value; loyalty to him. 

23:25

In his first term, Trump tried to hire generals, intelligence chiefs and seasoned experts, and when they challenged him, when they told him things he didn't want to hear, they were pushed out. We're talking about Jim Mattis, McMaster, John Kelly, Mark Esper, one by one, they were showing the door. And what began as a revolving door of professionals became a loyalty test. This time around, Trump isn't making the same mistake, in quotes. "He's not hiring people with deep experience or independent judgment. He's hiring people who won't say no, people who believe in the same agenda, or who will fall in line regardless of consequences." 

24:07

National Security under Trump isn't about safeguarding the nation. It's about protecting the president, settling scores and consolidating power. This ideology has a name, and it's called Project 2025. It's the blueprint for Trump's second term, drafted by the Heritage Foundation and populated by loyalists like Russell Vought. The plan would dismantle the professional civil service, purge government agencies, and turn departments like the DOJ, like the DHS and even the military into arms of the presidency. 

24:42

Under this vision, experience is suspect. Diversity is dangerous, and the process is an obstacle. Trump's allies have promised to eliminate Diversity Equity and inclusion, the DEI initiatives across every federal agency, not because they're ineffective. But because they represent a different world view. In this narrative, DEI is a proxy for disloyalty, and disloyalty has no place in Trump's America. Another influencer in the administration, Stephen Miller has taken this even further, positioning himself as the ideological architect of the administration's internal security vision, using the tools of national security to criminalize immigration, threaten political opponents and to silence dissent. 

25:32

Under Miller's logic, security isn't about defending the nation. It's about defending a narrow vision of what the nation should be and looming behind all of this is Trump's twisted interpretation of Article Two of the Constitution. His legal advisors claim that because the Constitution vests executive power in the president, there are virtually no limits on what he can do. If the president orders it, it's lawful. This doctrine isn't just extreme, it's authoritarian. It removes the checks and the balances from the very system that's supposed to defend the nation from abuse in this world, national security isn't a shield to protect Americans. It's a sword to punish enemies, and that's not a metaphor. Trump has openly promised retribution against his critics, his political opponents and members of the deep state. He's vowed to weaponize federal agencies and bypass courts. He's not flirting with authoritarianism, he's planning it. But here's the deeper danger, vengeance is a terrible distraction from the real threats that we face. 

26:44

While Trump focuses on purging government staff, dismantling diversity programs and rewriting constitutional norms, America's enemies are still watching. They're still hacking, they're still building. They're still plotting. The world doesn't stop just because the President wants revenge. And all of this, the purge of experience, the obsession with loyalty, the ideological capture of institutions, leaves Americans with something that they rarely had their question; how about their own safety? That feeling that someone competent is in the room that the system will hold and that the guardrails will catch, that feeling is gone.What Trump is building isn't a new national security strategy. It's a personalized security state designed not to defend the United States, but to defend himself. 

27:36

So as we will explore in the next episode, the people he has put in charge of the system. The new national security team reflect this shift in full, they are influencers. They are ideologues and loyalists. Some have no relevant experience at all. Others are there precisely because they are willing to go along. And in this episode, we've laid the foundation of what national security is, how it evolved, and what it's supposed to do, and how Trump's vision represents a break from it all. 

28:10

In Episode 23 we will meet the people he's putting in charge, the influencers and the insiders now holding national security power. And then in Episode 24 we examine the consequences of that power in action when chaos replaces coordination and a national security breach rocks the country to its core. This story is still unfolding, but one thing is already clear, the system designed to protect us is under attack, not from enemies abroad, but from decisions made at the very top of America. 

28:45

That's it for today. Thank you for joining me. The full transcript and links are online. Now leave your comments. This isn't passive listening. It's a political dialog. You can also leave a review about this episode. It can help shape where this podcast goes next. Until next time, stay engaged, stay informed, and, most importantly, stay in the fight. This is Bella Goode, signing off.