Donald Trump, who ran on the promise of keeping the US out of international conflicts, is gearing up for war.
|
Listen To This Story
 |
Donald Trump, a self-proclaimed peace president, seems to embrace the role of warmonger. In a series of social media posts, some of which read like an advertisement for the US defense industry, he left little doubt that the US is already involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran.
“We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran,” he wrote shortly before noon on Tuesday. “Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn’t compare to American made, conceived, and manufactured ‘stuff.’ Nobody does it better than the good ol’ USA.”
While others in his administration, especially Secretary of State Marco Rubio, wanted to assure Tehran that the US was not involved in Israel’s attacks, in order to protect American lives in the region, Trump seems to enjoy being on the winning side of the conflict.
A constant during his time in the White House has always been that he relishes the power that comes with the office.
He not only enjoys the pomp and circumstance, but also the ability to issue executive orders to force sweeping changes in the country with the stroke of a pen, or being able to create chaos in the world economy by arbitrarily setting tariffs.
As Tuesday’s posts show, he clearly also likes to be the person who decides which world leaders get to live and die.
“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,” Trump wrote in a second post a few minutes later. “But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin.”
The posts make Trump sound a lot more like a bipolar warlord than a “peace president.”
It should be noted that he ran on a platform of keeping the US out of foreign wars and making the world a more peaceful place.
Now, five months in, he has maneuvered the US to the brink of a war that could have sweeping consequences and put Americans across the globe in danger… and he is dismissing the criticism of those trying to hold him to those campaign promises, like Tucker Carlson.
In a final post (for now), Trump also made clear what it would take for Iran to end the conflict.
“UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” he wrote, which probably does not sound like an appealing option to Iran’s leaders.
It should be noted that this social media spree comes on the heels of Trump causing panic in Tehran when he posted another message in the middle of the night their time that urged the residents of the city to “immediately evacuate.”
Taken together, it is apparent that Trump, contrary to his previous claims, has taken a liking to the idea of participating in and winning a war.
What is not so apparent is who will pay the price.
In his Navigating the Insanity columns, Klaus Marre provides the kind of hard-hitting, thought-provoking, and often humorous analysis you won’t find anywhere else.
