Reference News website reported on April 15 that the German "Der Spiegel" weekly website published an article titled "The Radical 'Whisperer' Around Trump" on April 9. The author is Mark Pitsch. Here is a compilation of the article: There has always been an atmosphere of confrontation within Trump's circle. He encourages his subordinates - no matter how absurd their positions are - to engage in internal strife until one side wins or loses completely. As early as 2017, The Washington Post pointed out: "Want to change Trump's policy stance? Then try to be the last person to advise him." Right-wing Senator Ted Cruz lamented on April 7: "President Trump's shoulders are occupied by both angels and demons. Whose voice will he listen to? Let's hope he listens to the angels." However, during this turbulent period, Trump seems increasingly inclined to listen to the voices of the demons - those most sharp, extreme, and eccentric views. Besides Peter Navarro, who was imprisoned between Trump's two terms, there are also far-right "internet celebrity" Laura Loomer and Christopher Rufo, the flagbearer of the "anti-awakening" movement. These agitators are gradually increasing their influence at the White House. Trump is more unrestrained than in his first term, with no prudent advisor left to dissuade his wild ideas. So, who is whispering their thoughts into Trump's ears? Peter Navarro This 75-year-old Harvard graduate has been active in Trump's political circle since 2016, serving as a campaign consultant and trade expert. His view that "tariffs are beneficial and free trade is harmful, especially for China" has always been quite isolated among contemporary economists, but Trump now gives this hardliner an open door. Trump's arguments for initiating a tariff war are almost entirely based on Navarro's long-standing claims. Navarro told CNBC on April 7: "We will迎来 a turning point for the revival of American manufacturing, with actual wages and profits both increasing." Among the 13 books Navarro has published, six repeatedly cite the views of an economist named "Ron Varla" - later he admitted that this was actually a fictional character created using the letters of his own name, calling it a "Hitchcock-style literary technique." Navarro's political career began with the Democratic Party, but after spending a long time in China, he concluded that the country was engaging in unfair economic practices, thus becoming a hardliner on China. Navarro's economic propositions occupy an important part in Trump's unofficial governing program, "2025 Plan," which the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation released during the election campaign. Despite Trump's frequent changes in many political views, one thing remains consistent: he firmly believes that the United States should not have a trade deficit with any country. Navarro believes that tariffs must be imposed to curb imports in order to revitalize American industry. These views have made Navarro a marginal figure in the economics community, yet they provide theoretical support for Trump's global trade perspective. Therefore, Navarro has managed to stay in a core position longer than many of Trump's other "short-lived" advisors. In Trump's first administration, he was in constant conflict with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who was pro-Wall Street. At the beginning of the pandemic, Navarro publicly downplayed the threat of the virus and promoted ineffective hydroxychloroquine, while warning of the risks of the virus in internal memos. After the 2020 election, he denied Trump's loss and participated in overturning the election results. Refusing to comply with the subpoena from the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th Capitol riot, he was sentenced to three months in prison for "contempt of Congress." On the day he was released from prison, he directly flew to the Republican National Convention to support Trump. Laura Loomer This far-right "internet celebrity" and podcast host has been around Trump for some time. Her absurd conspiracy theories - such as forwarding a video claiming that the September 11 attacks were carried out by insiders - even made Trump's team long consider her too extreme. Claiming to be a "journalist," Loomer considers the United States as a "white Jewish-Christian nation," calls leftists "barbaric," and equates Haitians with cannibals. According to her self-description, the ride-hailing platform suspended her account due to her racist hate speech against Muslims, and all social platforms (except for Elon Musk's X platform) and digital payment services have blacklisted her. She calls herself a "proud Islamophobe" and is revered as a hero in far-right circles, with her surname being verbified: someone being targeted by her is said to be "loomered." Trump favors this "courageous woman." Last year, when he recognized Loomer at his private club, Mar-a-Lago, he exclaimed: "You're still so beautiful!" During the campaign, Loomer squeezed into Trump's inner circle and is now fully involved. Last week, Trump fired six members of the National Security Council, the Director of the National Security Agency, and his civilian deputy. The personnel changes at the National Security Agency particularly shook the intelligence community. According to The New York Times, it was Loomer herself who advised Trump in the president's office, claiming that these officials were "insufficiently loyal." Later, Loomer indirectly confirmed this statement. Christopher Rufo This activist, podcaster, and documentary producer is more cunning than most of Trump's "whisperers" and equally extreme. In 2020, he began targeting "critical race theory." This scientific theory, originally discussed and researched in academic circles about systemic racism, was distorted by Rufo into a new battle cry for the right wing to counteract "woke culture," used to undermine the "Black Lives Matter" movement. When Trump's first presidential term was nearing its end, he converted Rufo's slogan into an executive order prohibiting schools, businesses, and government agencies from teaching critical race theory, marking the vanguard of the current war against diversity policies. In 2022, Rufo gained fame in Florida when Governor Ron DeSantis was suppressing the civil rights of the LGBTQ+ community. Rufo provided the ideological foundation for this movement, stigmatizing LGBTQ+ members as "pedophiles" and pushing DeSantis' controversial "Don't Say Gay" bill. Recently, he has focused his fire on "diversity, equity, and inclusion" (DEI) policies promoting diversity in the public sphere, calling them "misunderstood and failed attempts." He incites the closure of the Department of Education and supports Trump's actions to crack down on elite universities - which he calls "hotbeds of anti-Semitism" - and personally orchestrated Harvard President Claudine Gay's resignation over plagiarism charges. (Translated by Jiao Yu) Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7493449628944204326/ Disclaimer: The article only represents the author's personal views. Please express your attitude by clicking the "Like/Dislike" buttons below.