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In over his head.
From the very beginning, when the megalomaniac real-estate-developer-turned-media-star announced his entry into national politics, people worried that this self-described smartest-person-on-the-planet didn’t have the intellect, no less the background nor the disposition to handle the job when the rubber hit the road. And now we know the answer. In over his head.
If he only had a…
First, we have the administration’s claims about reasons for the assassination of Iranian general Qassim Soleimani. George Bush the Younger seems like a saint when it comes to untruths in comparison to the current resident of the White House, but George W lied and deceived big-time in his claims about Saddam Hussein and weapons of mass destruction. He turned a lot of otherwise intelligent and trusting people into cynics, teaching them a lesson about whether to ever take a president at his word.
So when this president, the lyingest liar we have ever known, says we have intelligence that this general was plotting imminent and extensive attacks, what reason might we have to believe him for one second? And it’s not just that putting Donald Trump and intelligence in the same sentence is oxymoronic. Nor is it that we know the Trumpster has an up-and-down relationship with information given to him by professionals whose job is to gather intelligence. It’s just that this man cannot be trusted to tell the truth—ever!
So why create an international crisis? I can’t decide which of two explanations to believe. Trending upward is the likelihood that he simply made it up out of thin air and risked starting an all-out war to take our minds off other things (more to be said on that later). But another explanation that tugs at my sleeve, one that seems almost equally probable, is that Trump saw it hinted at on Fox and Friends or heard about these “imminent attacks” on one of those far right, bizarro conspiracy sites.
Then we have the timing of the attack. Why now? Pretty obviously, we are all talking about the possibility of war, about US citizens and troops in harm’s way, about the whole Middle East going up in flames. Guess what we are not talking about?
And when we allow ourselves to refocus on the coming impeachment trial and high crimes and misdemeanors, I predict with complete certainty that his Trumpness will remind us that we ought to be rallying around our valiant President at this time of international tension. He will question the loyalty of anyone who threatens the security of our great country by undermining the power of the president at this moment when those who were patriotic would put “petty differences” aside.
By the way, this is the same person who several years ago accused Barack Obama of being willing to manufacture a war with Iran to save his Presidency. Should we be surprised that he’s had this little strategy in his back pocket for a while, and pulled out of his bag of tricks now even though his predecessor never did.
Oh, and one other simple explanation. Could it be that this less than fully sane individual is simply displacing his anger onto middle eastern generals when he’d really rather send a drone to the home of Nancy Pelosi (or Shifty Schiff or Crooked Hillary).
Finally, how certain can we be that this President and the sycophants around him have anything resembling a global or long-term strategy in all this? Does he have the slightest comprehension of how much more complex the consequences are of this kind of action compared to a “big” commercial deal. Can he imagine the far-reaching ripple effects of his actions for multiple world economies, regional instability, or the threat of nuclear war.
Bullying, as easy as it seems for local opponents, has its limitations at this scale, and playing chicken with other world leaders who are almost as mad and unpredictable puts us in grave peril. Given that he’s failed big-time at so many of his real estate power plays, you’d think he’d have learned some limits, gained some humility, or recognized the need to exercise caution. No, not this guy. That would require an anatomical advantage located somewhere above the shoulders.
Oh yes, as a footnote, one last thing makes this man so much worse than any of his contemporaries. Donald Trump, the great humanitarian leader, has told the world, “Don’t mess with me. If provoked, I won’t just bomb your airports, I’ll destroy your cultural sites.” Always the one to ingratiate himself with others, Trump has been kind enough not to mention that hospitals and schools are also easy targets.
We are in crisis, a crisis of one man’s making. He’s in over his head—and I’m scared.
