Donald Trump’s administration can’t seem to agree on the scope, length, or endgame of their military offensive against Iran, or even if the operations are actually a war. Amid growing international chaos over the devastating offensive, it doesn’t seem like the president fully appreciates the gravity of the situation.
Trump has continued posting about election conspiracy theories and rambling about renovating the White House as Americans have sought answers about the war, while official government accounts post supercut videos equating the war to something out of a movie or video game. When Time magazine recently asked Trump whether Americans should be worried about the possibility of retaliatory attacks in the United States, the president essentially shrugged.
“I guess,” Trump said. “We think about it all the time. We plan for it. But yeah, you know, we expect some things. Like I said, some people will die. When you go to war, some people will die.”
Inspiring stuff from the commander in chief.
Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Lord Farquaad-esque “some of you may die” attitude toward potential American casualties has been a through line since strikes began last week. Trump mused about his golden curtains during a White House event in which he discussed American casualties. Hegseth has repeatedly minimized the deaths of six American service members as the cost of warfare, and he suggested that more deaths are expected before the “war” ends. On Wednesday, he berated members of the press for reporting on the deaths, accusing them of wanting to “make the president look bad.”
“War” itself has become a term of contention. The administration has waffled about whether its military operations against Iran are quick, targeted strikes, a short-term offense, or an all-out war with no end date in sight. They have yet to provide a coherent reason as to why it was even necessary, nor have they offered consistent objectives. In a Truth Social post today, Trump wrote that “there will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”
“After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before. IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE. ‘MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!),’” Trump wrote.
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It appears the U.S. is now in the midst of another regime change, nation-shaping project, but Iran presents a much more formidable enemy ruled by a far-less cooperative regime than what Trump has encountered in Venezuela or elsewhere. The regime has already spread the conflict throughout most of the Arabian Peninsula, and now, according to the president at least, the regime or its allies may pose a direct threat to Americans at home.
From Rolling Stone US
