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| Mary Trump and her best-selling family memoir (Politico) |
How many ways has the war in Iran been a disaster for Donald Trump? One, he has been reduced to using his failing social-media site to sell weight-loss drugs. Two, after poking Iran hard enough and long enough to turn it from an afterthought into a genuine menace in the Middle East, Trump now is trying desperately to wriggle out of a war he started. He is so desperate, in fact, that he is threatening to commit war crimes against Iran if it does not reach a deal to end the war on U.S. terms. That is the assessment of Mary L. Trump, Donald's niece. As a licensed psychologist and best-selling author, Mary probably knows how Donald's brain works better than anyone on the planet.
Trying to think along with Donald Trump cannot be a pleasant task. But Mary, in an effort to warn the public about a clear and present danger, has been willing to take it on -- and a review of "Too Much and Never Enough," her best-selling family memoir, can be read at this link. Lord knows, Mary probably could write a new book just on the cow pies Donald has stepped in over the past 8-10 days while trying to extricate himself from a war that never should have started -- and likely wouldn't have if he had even two or three competent people on his staff. Alas, Donald thought he needed loyalists instead of qualified people around him, so now he is left to flail about, trying not to drown in the kind of political doo-doo created by cratering approval ratings.
At this point, Donald Trump might not care what happens to the United States, as long as he doesn't wind up wearing an orange jumpsuit in the post-Republican era that hopefully awaits us. It's hardly a comforting thought that an American president might not care if the U.S. sinks or swims. But to borrow a metaphor from his beloved world of golf, that is par for the course for Donald J. Trump; he's a malignant narcissist, and that's how such a personality disorder presents itself.
Thankfully, Mary Trump knows far more than her uncle about matters of the mind and of government, as quickly becomes apparent in "The Daily Wrap Up" post yesterday at "The Good in Us," her Substack page. Mary writes:
This weekend, after Donald’s fake ceasefire was threatened by Iranians firing on an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, he went on his failing social media site, where he is now also trying to sell weight loss drugs. But mostly, he was interested in threatening more war crimes.
He wrote, “Iran decided to fire bullets yesterday in the Strait of Hormuz, a total violation of our ceasefire. My representatives are going to Islamabad Pakistan. Iran recently announced that they were closing the strait, which is strange because our blockade has already closed it.” To which I must say, as myself, you cannot close something that was already closed.
But let me continue with Donald’s very well considered, measured, and sane social media post.
They are the ones that, with the closed passage, lose $500 million a day. The United States loses nothing. In fact, many ships are headed right now to the US.
Here is more of what he had to say:
Iran, always wanting to be the tough guy. We are offering a very fair and reasonable deal, and in the spirit of being reasonable and fair, I hope they take it.
And then he continued with this:
I hope they take it because if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single power plant and every single bridge in Iran. No more Mr. Nice guy. If they don’t take the deal, it will be my honor to do what has to be done, which should have been done to Iran by other presidents for the last 47 years. It is time for the Iran killing machine to end.
Donald uses the phrase "No more Mr. Nice guy" -- and in addition to being an apparent tribute to another golf aficionado, rock star Alice Cooper -- it also raises this question: When has Donald Trump ever been a nice guy? (Trivia Time: Has Donald Trump ever played golf with Alice Cooper? The Answer: Yes, and Coop says both he and the prez have been known to cheat at golf.)Then Donald refers to American presidents playing political softball with Iran, raising this question: Are we supposed to believe Donald Trump actually has studied presidential history? While we ponder that question, let's return to Substack for more insights from Mary Trump, who writes:
I think it is important to make the subtext clear, because we know what he is saying. He is threatening to commit war crimes if his demands are not met.
The reason he has to make those demands is because he, single-handedly, has rehabilitated Iran as a factor in the Middle East. Iran is now more powerful than it was before the war and probably than it has been in decades.
Well done, Donald.
The only way he can get himself out of the corner he has painted himself into is to blow the whole country up. Remember the threats of genocide?
Donald has hinted at peace talks this week as the end of a ceasefire draws near. But the process has been so filled with chaos and mixed messages, no one on either side seems to know who might, and who might not, appear. That brings us to Donald's curious "Board of Peace" and his tanking approval ratings. Mary tackles both subjects -- and more:
According to Iran state media, they have not yet decided if they will send a delegation to Pakistan to negotiate with Donald’s representatives. And here is the thing. Why would they?
What they are doing is working. Their propaganda campaign against Donald in particular, and the American government in general, is working. It is driving Donald crazy. It is getting under his skin.
And despite Donald’s protestations to the contrary, by controlling the Strait of Hormuz and starting to impose a toll on every ship allowed through, Iran is getting richer and American taxpayers are suffering.
Last I checked, gasoline is still roughly $3.50 a gallon more expensive than it was before Donald’s illegal and unconstitutional war of choice.
Turns out that, speaking of the American taxpayer, we are going to be providing Donald with $10 billion more for his completely corrupt and inconsequential Board of Peace.
Here is what Donald had to say this weekend:
The Board of Peace is showing how a better future can be built, starting right here in this room. I want to let you know that the United States is going to make a contribution of $10 billion to the Board of Peace. Thank you.
One, with whose authorization? And two, for what?
Mary seems to be catching a whiff of Donald-style corruption. My nose has picked up the same scent. Mary writes:
Have you noticed that none of the countries on the so called Board of Peace, of which Donald is the chair in perpetuity, is doing anything to help resolve the problems in the Middle East.
Let us check in on Donald’s polling.
Here is what Steve Kornacki has to say:
Donald Trump’s standing with the public now is an approval rating in our poll of just 37 percent. The last time this poll reported out a couple of months ago, it was 39 percent. The big change from then to now, of course, is the launch of the war in Iran and everything that has continued to happen there. So down to 37 percent approval for Trump. Mention Iran and look at this. A big driver of that clearly is how the war is going. Only a third of adults approve of Trump’s handling of the war in Iran. There is a quarter, I should say, one quarter of Republicans say they disapprove. Those who call themselves Republicans. That might be something to keep an eye on. This continues to be a problem for the president -- inflation, the cost of living.
On top of that, somebody in Donald’s administration just told a journalist that gas is most likely going to be above $3 a gallon for the foreseeable future, maybe into 2027, which, by the way, is probably overly optimistic.
So Donald’s polling numbers are in free fall across the board. He is underwater in every single category.
In Mary's estimation, a large segment of the American public -- with a helping hand from the "liberal media" -- is quick to prop up Donald Trump, even when he least deserves it. Here is how Mary puts it:
We have to act like [Donald's polling numbers are OK], because Americans have very short-term memories. What we need to worry about is what happens if a deal is made in Iran that the American media pretends is some kind of win for Donald.
Because let us be real. No matter what happens, this has been an epic disaster of his making. But if it can be spun differently, it will be spun differently.
One reason for such misplaced optimism is because, let us say for the sake of argument, the Strait opens tomorrow and 100 percent of pre-war traffic is allowed through. Do you know how many weeks it is going to take for us to catch up? Do you know how many weeks, if not months, it is going to take for prices to come down?
As is often the case, oil and gas prices go up quickly, but it takes a very long time to bring them down. So this should be an issue at least through the midterms. Thankfully, this is a bad issue for the Republicans and, of course, for Donald.
But let us not get complacent, because there is a chance that Donald might be able to come to some deal with Iran that is not completely disastrous for the United States, even though it will still be bad for us and good for Iran.
Republicans have griped for so long about a liberal bias in the mainstream media that many Americans have come to believe it. Mary Trump is not one of those believers:
It is the American media’s knee-jerk reaction to turn anything into Donald’s benefit. So we have to worry that the media is going to spin any kind of deal in a way that makes him look good. And because American voters have very short-term memories, they may just think that everything is fine.
In a way, of course, that they did not when Biden was in office.
Why?
Because the American media’s default position is to support Republicans and make them look better than they are, or at least less bad than they are. So we are going to keep an eye on these polls, because they are epically bad for Donald, and they are in free fall. He is underwater across the board. So my advice?
Let us keep it that way.
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