As the world turned and reeled after policies of a new and unstable United States under President Donald Trump, Chuukese leaders recently met in Guam—a good number of them adding up to about 60 or so, from the local, state, and national government; from the mayorship to the governor of the Chuuk states to president of the nation—to gear up for their own election on March 4, 2025. Such a meeting netted a full house at the sports complex in Dededo, Guam.

However, little attention was paid to Trump’s policies, especially ones that have to do with the status of the Compact of Free Associations and the United States Agency for International Developments in the islands.

A press release on the Facebook page of the Office of the President of the Federated States of Micronesia reported on a high caliber meeting that the Republic of Palau, FSM, and the Republic of Marshall Islands had with their U.S. counterparts. According to that press release, the ambassadors of these Micronesian nations “met with key U.S. officials to discuss recent Executive Orders issued by the new U.S. administration, the 90-day pause on some categories of foreign assistance, and other matters of mutual concern.” This is what the ambassadors came away with for their three distinct nations: “The U.S. side noted that it understood the Compact rights, took these concerns seriously, and would continue to be in touch with the FAS (Freely Associated States) embassies.”

Ocho Nicholas of Fanapanges, Chuuk, who stood outside the gym for an hour before the event kicked-off, said: “Well, with Trump disrupting and creating too much chaos in the U.S. government, and perhaps affecting us Chuukese; initially, I thought the meeting would clarify his policies and confusing rhetoric. But this turned out to be a campaign, an outreach for the election in March. I think they should also talk about the Trump confusion and chaos. What if Trump decided there shouldn’t be any Compact anymore, then what would happen to our nation, our Chuuk state—and their campaign?”

“What if Trump decided there shouldn’t be any Compact anymore, then what would happen to our nation, our Chuuk state?”

Sid Mannetti of Washington State said: “Trump’s policies certainly created confusion and unrest among the COFA citizens.” But so far, Mannetti has faced no challenging issues yet. “My FSM passport is good and I have copies of my I-94. My Washington State Drivers License is valid until 2031, so hopefully I won’t be swept up in the mass deportation. Personally, I was concerned about the way they carried out the immigration orders. Especially in Hawaii, where I thought would be a safe haven for COFA citizens. The state of Hawaii is fully aware of our people’s status.”

“Personally, I was concerned about the way they carried out the immigration orders. Especially in Hawaii, where I thought would be a safe haven for COFA citizens. The state of Hawaii is fully aware of our people’s status.”

This whole Trump fiasco is still very fluid, ever changing. One minute it was about mass deportation, the next minute it was about Gaza. And this might sound very drastic, or it might not, but at this point where Trump is concerned, anything’s game. To say that these are not normal times anymore, would be to make a gross understatement. The effects of what Trump has done is far reaching, from local to state to international— from uprooting families locally, to causing law enforcement disorders by mass firing Federal Bureau of Investigation employees, to creating confusion in the international community by obscenely desiring to take control of first the Panama Canal, then renaming the Gulf of Mexico, then on to Greenland and next Gaza…

…These are tumultuous times of biblical prophetic proportion. But along the same line, Shane Rhowuniong of Kansas City, MO., voiced his concern: “I heard that with Trump anything can happen. He could say, ‘Forget the Compact. We are trying to cut costs! And how much do you think those Freely Associated States governments are costing us?’”

“I heard that with Trump anything can happen. He could say, ‘Forget the Compact. We are trying to cut costs! And how much do you think those Freely Associated States [cost] us?'”

Originally from the outer islands of Chuuk, Rhowuniong worried about his extended families littering almost the entire nation, including Saipan and Guam. He is trying to move back to the territory to be close to his parents in the event Trump’s policies affected them negatively.

According to Roger Arnold, public information officer for the event; the FSM President Wesly Simina got up to speak to the Chuukese after the Chuuk Gov. Alexander Narruhn. Simina addressed some of Trump’s policies a little. He said according to their agreement with the U.S. — allaying fears and worries that many may have been harboring — FSMers are not illegal aliens. In the eyes of their binding legal document, the Compact of the Free Association, they are legal!

That certainly is true. But, other groups in the United States have lost their protected status also including Venezuelans and Haitians. The Trump administration revoked the extension of Temporary Protected Status granted by the Bide administration to 500,000 Haitians.  For two weeks, 177 asylum seekers from Venezuala were relocated and held in the off-shore military prison in Guantánamo. On February 20, 2025, they were loaded onto a plane bound for Honduras and then transferred to Venezuela. Different lawsuits are challenging these executive actions as racially discriminatory and unconstitutional.

In the eyes of dictator Trump, should he deem it necessary that the FSM is a waste of money, then there is a real chance of Trump throwing COFA to the Department of Government Efficiency and billionaire Elon Musk. Or like Greenland, where the U.S. also has military bases, he’ll casually trade the Pacific out to Russia and China.

Elvis Shirai of Donowas, Chuuk, residing in the Hawaiian islands, said on his Facebook page: “Ami nuku nge resap pwan audit-ini ei monien Compact ngeni ekkei COFA nations?”  [“Don’t you think they are going to audit these monies to the COFA nations?”].

He added that is why FSMers need not waste the U.S. taxpayers’ hard earned dollars they gifted us.    

“Ina oupwe era,” Shirai added, “‘Apw, pwe mi wor ena etipeu nefiner Merika me FSM.’ Sipwe chok use ei mass deportation ren chon temwaninong me attai anukun Merika. Kich chon Micronesia kich mi pwan nom non ena list ika pwe si atai annukun ei fonu Merika. Ei noku Trump ese pwan care ngeni mwo ew fonuwen non fonufan, USA come first non an agenda.”

[“You might say, ‘Nope, we have an agreement between the U.S. and FSM.’ Let’s take this mass deportation for people who illegally gain entry into U.S. and broke many U.S. laws. We are on that list, too, because we have broken the laws of the land also. This guy Trump doesn’t care about anyone or any country in the whole world. USA comes first on his agenda.”].

Last year, there was 0.07% of the total number of FSM citizens (91 of 21,5196 stateside alone), which basically got swept up in the mass deportation because they, too, committed crimes. This is the latest update by the USAFacts team, a data driven report used for U.S. congress. 

   

At the conclusion of the meeting between FAS ambassadors a few weeks ago, U.S. officials promised the Micronesian ambassadors that “it would continue to keep channels of communication open to address these or other concerns of FAS citizens.” But we’ve seen the movie play itself out before, only far too often.

Trump is a liar and a predator convicted of fraud and assault by a jury of his peers. The Colorado court, USA, had also found him an insurrectionist. He is known for going back on his own words too many times. For instance, the price of eggs that he was supposed to make came down on Day-1. Well, it still has not come down as he promised. Instead, it has gone up… the cost of living also went in the same direction!

He has also challenged the Constitution’s birthright citizenship clause, fired nuclear experts and scientists only to want to rehire them back, but they are nowhere to be found. So much walking back, so much confusion. So, again, let’s not normalize this, for they are not your normal times. 

In light of what Trump has been proposing for the Gaza strip in a different earth shattering news bit—the U.S. takeover of Gaza and the displacement of millions of people—suggest we don’t ever put FSM as a waste-of-money past Trump and his downsizing efforts. There is no telling what the fate of FAS would really be after he’s done with it.

Ruphino Robert, a Chuukese living in Oregon, said the payment for the use of our air space and water space militarily by the U.S. could go out the window, too. He was alluding to the reasonings behind the Compacts: they pay us millions of dollars, and we in turn give them free use of our air/water spaces.

“No more payment. No more agreement. The U.S. could just then come in and take it by force, if they wanted to,” he added. And that is the kind of thing Trump could do, he also said.

“The three ambassadors from the Republic of Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and Republic of the Marshalls,” stated the same press release at the Office of President of FSM, “‘The U.S. side noted that it understood the compact rights, took these concerns seriously, and would continue to be in touch with the FAS embassies.’”

According to U.S. senator Amy Klobuchar (D) MN., “(Trump and Musk) are looking for that money (to cut) anywhere they can find it.” Senator Klobuchar, as a guest on MSNBC, said , “Whether it’s on the backs of Rural America, whether it’s on backs of the veterans, or whether it’s on the backs of cancer research.”

And cancer research and U.S. defense are materializing in COFA in the central Pacific Ocean.

Trump has brought down an upwards of 60-plus lawsuits on himself from the American people—maybe even hundreds by month’s end. So, do we think Trump would bat an eye over deleting the agency that housed the COFA just to honor an agreement with the Micronesians?

“We do need to delete entire agencies,” Musk said. Elon Mush, who is in charge of DOGE, appeared on MSNPC’s Joy Reid’s political podcast, ReidOut: “We need to delete, as opposed to leaving parts of them behind. But if you remove the roots of the weeds, it does not stop the weed from ever growing back. But makes it harder. So we have to really delete entire agencies.”

DOGE is Trump’s vehicle to downsizing the U.S. government and their spending. He said this is the wish of the people that elected him into office. 

This is the wish of the American people! 

But recent report just proved that he is doing all this to cut the tax dollars for his ultra rich friends, to the tune of $300-plus dollars.

This is the wish of his oligarchy friends, coming to you in the guise of the demands of the American people.