"A conspiratorial and propagandist pamphlet" – opinion on Georgian Dream’s PM Kobakhidze’s letter to Trump
Opinion on Georgian Dream PM’s letter to Trump
International relations expert Sergi Kapanadze responded to Georgian Dream’s PM Irakli Kobakhidze’s letter to U.S. President Donald Trump.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze addressed U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance in an open letter, emphasizing the absence of high-level communication between the governments of Georgia and the United States.
The letter also questioned why U.S. sanctions remain in place against Georgian government officials who, according to Kobakhidze, “effectively suppressed a ‘planned and USAID-funded attempt at revolution’ and resisted ‘violence from the Biden administration.’”
Kobakhidze further claimed that recent political developments in Georgia have led many to view Trump’s promises to defeat the “deep state” as nothing more than a rebranding effort.
Sergi Kapanadze:
“Much will be written about Kobakhidze’s desperate attempt, but let’s take a closer look at the content of his letter.
Kobakhidze claims that the United States has ignored Georgia’s attempts to restore partnership. However, the U.S. has already responded by passing the ‘MEGOBARI Act.’ Kobakhidze knows full well what needs to be done to change U.S. and EU attitudes toward Georgia.
He also emphasizes Georgia’s participation in U.S.-led peacekeeping missions. This is true, but it is not his achievement. In fact, the Georgian Dream party has consistently opposed such missions, often dismissing them as meaningless.
Kobakhidze also refuses to acknowledge the substantial financial support the United States provided to the Saakashvili administration between 2008 and 2011. These funds were crucial in stabilizing Georgia’s economy after the global financial crisis and the war with Russia.
Another striking claim in the letter is that “Saakashvili started the war against Russia.” No comment needed. This line alone borders on state treason. If Saakashvili started the war, it implies that Georgia itself initiated the conflict. Any international law freshman would understand this basic principle – a leader’s actions equate the actions of the state.
Kobakhidze also dismisses financial support from the Soros Foundation as not “real”. However, he himself was once a Soros scholarship recipient. I know this because we traveled together on Soros grants and developed educational programs at Tbilisi State University. We even took photos together. Back then, he had no problem with Soros funding.
He further claims that Georgia is a ‘regional leader in international standards.’ In reality, according to V-Dem, by 2025, Georgia will slide into electoral autocracy. The 2024 Freedom House report lists Georgia as a ‘semi-consolidated authoritarian regime,’ while the Economist’s Democracy Index ranks it as one of the fastest-declining democracies globally.
Kobakhidze asks why the U.S. engages with authoritarian states but not with Georgia. Did they read this sentence before publishing?
‘We openly spoke about the deep state years before you.’ No, Georgian Dream was talking about an imaginary ‘global war party,’ not the deep state. They only picked up this term after hearing Trump use it, which is easy to verify.
Kobakhidze also claims, “we were against USAID and NED.” Yes, but only because they feared democracy in Georgia, as these institutions strengthen civil society and independent media. That’s the whole story. There is no real connection between Trump’s or Musk’s attempts to cut foreign aid spending (which, in my view, are misguided) and your own efforts to consolidate authoritarianism. You are trying to force a shallow, artificial link between the U.S. and Georgia, so desperate that you seem to think no one will notice.
‘You expressed support for Romania and Germany, why not for us?’ In these countries, U.S. officials supported free speech and criticized attempts to ban political parties. Georgian Dream, on the other hand, actively suppresses political opposition and restricts free speech. What logic is this? Why didn’t Kobakhidze remind the U.S. administration that Georgian Dream propaganda has used the possible ban on the German AfD to justify its own crackdown on opposition in Georgia?
Kobakhidze writes that the ‘MEGOBARI Act’ has undermined the trust of the Georgian people. In reality, it has only undermined Georgian Dream’s standing. The act aims to strengthen U.S.-Georgian relations, benefiting the people of Georgia while holding corrupt officials accountable. This letter is a last-ditch effort to prevent the act from advancing to the Senate – a clear sign of desperation. Perhaps he should have written it in English to avoid any misunderstandings in translation?
Kobakhidze also compared the ‘MEGOBARI Act’ to Orwellian rhetoric. Yet, much of Georgian Dream’s propaganda is itself Orwellian. Nazis are bad, but Nazis who support Georgian Dream are good. Gakharia is a patriot when he supports Dream, but a traitor when he opposes it. The David Gareji monastery is Georgian when convenient, but ignored when not. The ‘foreign agent law’ is sometimes American, sometimes French, sometimes Australian. Europe is sometimes a friend, sometimes an enemy. Biden is a foe today, Trump might be one tomorrow. This is the very essence of Orwellian doublespeak.
Finally, Kobakhidze accused Biden of ‘criminal’ behavior. It takes a special kind of political naivety to ignore the fact that U.S. administrations change every 4-8 years. Such reckless statements could harm Georgia’s long-term interests. But this does not seem to concern Georgian Dream, whose priority is a desperate bid to win Trump’s favor.
The letter expresses hope that Trump will ‘defeat the deep state.’ But who exactly is this ‘deep state’ in Kobakhidze’s view? Is it the 83% of the Republican Party, the entire U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, or the State Department? Even if you named names, this letter couldn’t have been more misguided.
The letter expresses the hope that Trump will be able to “defeat the deep state.” In that case, perhaps Georgian Dream should clarify exactly who it considers to be the “deep state,” so that the Trump administration knows where to focus its efforts. For Georgian Dream, the “deep state” seems to include 83% of the Republican Party in Congress, the entire U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, the State Department, and others. But even if you named every person you had in mind, the letter could not have been worse than it already is.
Speaking of the protesters, Kobakhidze claims they are merely “250 people trained under a USAID program.” Is he joking? :))) What does he expect people in the Trump administration to think when they read this? Does he really believe they won’t recognize this for the propaganda it is? Even if this were true, what’s so problematic about people gathering in the center of Tbilisi?
This letter completely confuses its intended audience. In one sentence, Kobakhidze pretends to be addressing Trump, but in the next, he’s clearly talking to his own supporters, whose minds, unfortunately, have been thoroughly washed. He’s just afraid that one day they might wake up.
To sum it all up, in the style of ChatGPT:
This is a conspiratorial and propagandistic pamphlet, written in a macho tone, full of hopeless bravado and fake desperation – the work of a loyal servant of a bitter oligarch who pretends to be in love with Trump, but who in reality is screaming: “Answer us, do you love us, or shall we hang you?”
