Food and gas; reduce those prices on the first day. Mass evictions of criminals and thugs who engage in violent crime and drive up housing prices. There will be no more “perpetual foreign wars” and “senseless laws” that prevent victory. No matter how asinine, no matter how deceptive and misleading, keep it simple and appeal to fear.
It was campaigning in the worst possible way. But it worked. The candidate who left with a car full of classified documents, who incited a riot that provoked an attack on the Capitol that forced congressmen of all persuasions to flee for safety fearing for their lives, and on Capitol grounds the gallows intended to hang VP Pence; it was all rewarded with a second term as the world’s strongest man.
Such a script would have been rejected by Hollywood as an impossibility. But this is true, proving once again that truth is rarer than fiction.
As a result of the victory, and encouraged by a humble Republican congress willing to hand over power to their president and follow his orders, Trump immediately imposed tariffs that weakened international markets for farm products and raised the cost of farm production. He has turned Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) into a masked, ID-less police force that herds people with accents and brown skins into unmarked cars and into detention centers with no access to legal counsel or notification of family members. Inadequate training for newly recruited agents and rewards for arrests resulted in many atrocities, including the killing of innocent civilians.
Whether its tax rates, deportations, ousting heads of so-called independent institutions, ignoring court orders, or investigations aimed at punishing its political enemies, are any of these illegal? Of course it’s not legal. And most of them are clearly illegal enough to warrant legal proceedings.
His plan is to “flood the area.” Neither the courts, the media, nor the citizens can keep up with all the tricks. This policy has served Trump well, so why would he change now that he has been rewarded with the pinnacle of power.
Many Trump voters insist they voted for Trump because of his promise to lower gas and food prices. However, no matter how much the voters agree with the deportation of criminals, these same voters do not agree with the brutality of ICE. “We didn’t vote for this,” the voters insisted.
Which brings us to Trump’s third broken promise, no more foreign wars.
We shouldn’t be surprised by Trump’s war against Iran, or his failure to communicate with congress, European allies, or the public. It is not in his nature to seek approval or form coalitions. Commanding the most powerful military machine in the world is enough for him to do whatever he wants. Trump does not believe, nor care, that “America first” means “America Only.”
It’s clear that Trump, with the help of his tough-talking, incompetent Secretary of Defense — still the Defense Department, not the War Department — likes to play “tough guy.”
Indeed, Trump said, the war would be short and sweet and the world would be safe. It was inevitable and predictable that American air power and rocket technology would destroy buildings and kill people. But reigning only in death and destruction does not end up winning peace, or even achieving dubious, invisible goals.
Trump’s reasons for attacking are different. Secretary of State Rubio tried to “clarify” the issue. Rubio asserts that Trump knew that after an upcoming attack on Iran by Israel, Iran would follow up by attacking American installations. Therefore, he would have to attack Iran first. It is amazing that America’s top foreign policy representative informs us that Israel dictates when we go to war.
Trump, without evidence or clear agreement of the head of Intelligence Gabbard, insists that the next attack on Iran is imminent. Yes, there is no doubt that Iran was working to develop nuclear weapons. Which brings us back to Trump’s worst, most counterproductive and dangerous move back in 2018 – the ill-advised move to abandon a deal that was given insufficient attention by a sleep-deprived media.
Under the Obama administration, with a strong, large-scale effort, the Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was the most important agreement reached between Iran and the US, the UK, France, China, Russia and Germany. Its main goal was to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon in exchange for relief from international economic sanctions. Iran was monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency; confirmed that Iran is holding up its end of the deal.
Against the advice of advisers, including Trump-appointed Defense Secretary James Mattis, Trump scrapped the deal in 2018, giving Iran an incentive to keep developing a nuclear weapon.
Trump insisted he could get a better deal. It appears he had a potential deal on the table even though negotiations were stalled. Then, without warning, Trump unleashed the military, killing the ayatollah.
It was over on day one, Trump insists. So, it’s over? It will be over when I say, “I can feel it in my bones,” Trump boasts.
But, alas! An elementary school student looking at a map might see the Strait of Hormuz and suggest that there might be trouble here.
In fact, those waters, 21 kilometers in circumference, through which 20 percent of the world’s oil travels, are blocked by cheap mines and drones, and oil tankers are an easy target. Trump, in his typical ignorance, urges them to “be brave.”
But even the powerful United States Navy is in crisis, finding it a complicated issue to move the tankers safely on a road that is really dug and vulnerable to short-range missiles. The important miners are moving on – going to Philadelphia and being laid off, thought no longer needed.
Was there a plan at all for the restricted strait? Defense Secretary Pistol Pete Hegseth insisted that, indeed, they have. Then he follows by saying twice; no problem. “The only thing preventing navigation in the strait now is Iran’s firing on ships. It’s open for transit if Iran doesn’t.”
It’s great! The defense department is led by a tough guy who can do a lot of pushups.
As oil prices rose, Trump asked, demanding that other nations, including NATO countries and even China, help open the strait. Trump has been angered by the lack of passion for the job, calling them “cowards.”
Failing to attract aid, Trump then assured the world that “We don’t need it.”
The ice is closed and Iran still has its enriched uranium hidden and inaccessible – except perhaps through the use of ground forces.
A few thousand more warships and ships are on their way. Pistol Pete Hegseth is asking congress for $200 billion for the Trump war that he says is already won. Additional human and financial costs seem inevitable.
Trump should have left the JCPOA intact as cooler heads dictated.
– John Waelti of Monroe, retired professor of economics, can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net. His column appears monthly in the Monroe Times.
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