Apr.02

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Dem 47

   

GOP 53

Trump Addresses Nation, Says Nothing

In an unbelievably short (for him) 19-minute speech yesterday, Donald Trump addressed the nation about the war in Iran. He didn't make any news or say anything that he hadn't already said. There are takeaway pieces at NYT, AP, Reuters, The Hill, and Fox News. Here are our notes.

• Why?: The thing Trump had to do is explain why we are at war with Iran. He didn't. People will put up with hardships during a war if they believe the war is justified. Trump keeps shifting the reason for this war. He still hasn't given a clear and coherent answer. So the speech failed to do the most important thing it needed to do: Explain why we are at war with Iran.
  
  
• The End: Not only did he not explain why the war started, but he barely addressed how it will end except saying that will be soon. But he didn't even explain what the exit strategy is. Will it keep going on until Iran surrenders, which is not going to happen? Will it keep going until some unknown goal is achieved? Most likely it will keep going until the U.S. has exhausted its entire stockpile of munitions, something that Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will surely celebrate.
  
  
• Miniwar: He compared the length of this war with WWII, the Korean War, and Vietnam. The point is that this one is so short it barely matters. That is not likely to comfort the families of the 13 dead soldiers or the people paying a lot more for gas now.
  
  
• Nukes: One of the many reasons he has previously asserted for going to war is to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons. But he essentially conceded that there is no way the U.S. can get rid of Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium, so at best Iran's march to a nuclear weapon has been delayed by a couple of years.
  
  
• Hormuz: He said that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is not his problem. It is other people's problem and they have to solve it. Of course, the reality is that if world oil prices shoot up to $150/barrel or more, U.S. prices will, too. Also, the U.S. imports a lot of fertilizer from the Gulf, and its price will go up, raising U.S. food prices.
  
  
• Gas prices: He lamented gas prices going up, but that was Iran's fault, not his. Besides, they will go down soon. Actually, if the war goes on a few more weeks, oil production in much of the Middle East will have to stop because there is no place to store product anymore. Restarting production after hostilities cease will take weeks at best and months at worst. Gas prices are not coming down any time soon. The average hit $4.06 yesterday.
  
  
• Obama: Dumping on Barack Hussein Obama is a standard part of every Trump speech. He made up a story that Obama withdrew $1.7 billion in cold hard green cash from banks in Virginia, Maryland and D.C., put it in an airplane, and flew the actual cash to Iran. Will even hardened Fox viewers swallow this?
  
  
• NATO: Some people were expecting Trump to use the opportunity to withdraw from NATO. He didn't do it or even mention it. All bark, no bite, as usual. Maybe some of his staff told him that withdrawing from a treaty would require the Senate to go along with it. Or maybe someone told him that withdrawal would send gas prices even higher.
  
  
• America is great: The main takeaway is that America is great under Trump and don't you forget it.
  

Trump seemed old, tired, and bored the whole time. He also appeared to have trouble reading the teleprompter at times. It is doubtful the speech will have much effect, although oil spiked to $106/barrel after the speech and stock market futures tanked.

Democrats certainly were not impressed. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) tweeted: "Has there ever been a more rambling, disjointed, and pathetic presidential war speech? Donald Trump's actions in Iran will be considered one of the greatest policy blunders in the history of our country, failing to articulate objectives, alienating allies, and ignoring the kitchen table problems Americans are facing." Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut argued that "anyone watching that speech has no idea whether Trump is escalating or deescalating the war with Iran."

Republicans who are scared of their shadow cheered Trump on. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told Sean Hannity: "He defined the end state, he set the objectives early on, we're inside the 10-yard line and he's telling Iran how this movie ends." Of course, none of that is even vaguely true and Graham knows it, but Fox viewers don't care. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Hannity that Trump laid out his case clearly. He knows better than that. Is Pompeo trying to get a gig on Fox?

Not even all Republicans were enthusiastic. Marjorie Taylor Green tweeted:

I wanted so much for President Trump to put America First.
That's what I believed he would do.
All I heard from his speech tonight was WAR WAR WAR.
Nothing to lower the cost of living for Americans.
Nothing to reduce our near $40 trillion in debt.
Nothing to save Social Security, which goes bankrupt in just a few years.
Nothing to lower the cost of insurance.
Nothing to address jobs for Americans.
Nothing about education for our children.
Nothing about our children's future.
Nothing for America's future.
I'm so beyond done.
I pray for our military and their families.
I pray for innocent people all over the world.
I pray for peace and prosperity for all.

So basically, Shakespeare predicted this speech 400 years ago: "It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." (V)