Dem
47
GOP
53
It took 10 days, but the Iranians have finally responded to Donald Trump's "blueprint" for peace with a list of demands. And the President promptly got on his Obama-centric social media platform to announce:
I have just read the response from Iran's so-called "Representatives." I don't like it—TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP
It would seem last week's reports that the end might be near were a wee bit premature. Well, the end of the Iran War, at least. The big "the end is near" is still on the table.
Before we continue, let us address that "Obama-centric" bit. We like to link to the Truth Social postings, whenever possible, so readers can see for themselves, if they wish. But it took us forever to find the Iran pronouncement. That is because after that little bit of Trumpian diplomacy, the President (or someone working for him) went on an absolutely unhinged jag, posting dozens of angry messages/videos about Obama, Joe Biden, and Hillary Clinton. These folks have been out of office for 10 years, nearly 2 years, and more than 12 years, respectively. And yet, Trump is STILL beating the drum. It's yet another reminder that something is very wrong with him, either emotionally, or mentally, or both. His constantly shifting "policy" on Iran, if you can even call it that, should be viewed through that prism.
The Iranians' demands are as follows:
That is a "Here's what I want for Christmas, Santa" list of demands (the Iranians' Muslim-ness notwithstanding). So, it's no surprise Trump does not like it.
The problem is that Trump has backed himself into a very tenuous corner. He's clearly not willing to order a ground invasion (and if he does, there will be riots in the streets in the U.S.). His effort to impose American military might on the Strait of Hormuz, "Project Freedom," was a failure. Conventional bombing was not effective, and the United States' stockpile of "smart" missiles is now depleted. Trump has obliquely threatened, several times, to nuke Iran. However, that is not likely to be any more effective than the conventional bombing was, and would trigger outrage domestically and abroad. And every time Trump issues forth with a bunch of hot air, and doesn't follow through, it makes every subsequent blast of hot air even less effective.
Meanwhile, perhaps Trump's very biggest problem is this: Iran's leadership doesn't particularly need the war to end. They might even prefer that it not end. After all, as long as Iran has a common enemy, domestic dissent is largely stifled. Further, the people calling the shots right now are (apparently) the leaders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG). This is not only a military organization, it is a militaristic military organization. That is the kind of entity that tends to see war as a good thing, not something to be avoided or ended.
And while the Iranians can afford to cool their jets, at least for a while, the pressure on Trump is growing. First, even with all the verbal gymnastics, it's clear that the Iran War is well past the 60-day limit for warring without Congressional approval. The members don't want the blame for this mess, so they aren't likely to pass a use-of-force authorization. Will they eventually stand up and demand that Trump withdraw? They might, given the unpopularity of the war, and the fact that the price tag keeps ballooning. The preternaturally dishonest Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth looked the members right in the face and said that the war had cost $25 billion so far. The true figure appears to be almost triple that.
And then, of course, there's the gas-price problem. Not to be a broken record, but prices are up again. Yesterday, the national average was $4.50/gallon, which is up 38 cents compared to a month ago, and is up $1.37 compared to a year ago. Trump is talking about suspending the federal gas tax, and has also just released another 53 million barrels of oil from the United States' Strategic Petroleum Reserve. However, these things are both relative drops in the barrel. Nothing is going to substantially reverse the upward trend beyond the end of the war and then supply chains being unsnarled. And even then, it's probably too late for the midterms; analysts are now saying that even if the war ends in short order, oil prices won't return to pre-war levels until early-to-mid 2027.
And finally, there's the thing that Trump cares most about, namely his public image. The war is certainly doing a number on his approval ratings. Everyone reading this already knows he's approaching the Bush line (32% approval) nationally, so let's do this another way: He is now above water in just six states: Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia. That is a very short list, especially since those states have only about 5% of the U.S. population.
Trump has also become the butt of jokes, even more so than usual. For example, since TACO has gotten a little stale, there's now a veritable buffet of Mexican-food acronyms out there. A sampling:
TORTA: Trump Only Rarely Thinks Ahead
TAMALE: Trump Always Makes America Look Embarrassing
CEVICHE: Cowardly Enabler Vance Is Complicit Helper Elf
CHICKEN QUESADILLAS: Closing Hormuz Is Causing Kerfuffle; Every Negotiation Quickly Unravels; Economic Situation Awful; Donald Is Laughably Lousy American Sovereign
CORONA WITH LIME: Come On, Republicans! Obtain Nuts Already! Wallowing In Trump's Horrendous Leadership Is Manifestly Evil!
CHIMICHANGA: Criminal Hegseth Is Making It Clear He Approves Nuclear Genocidal Armageddon
All we can say is: Ouch. Well, and also: ¡Olé!
If Trump were a rational president, we might be able to hazard a guess as to how he'll play his hand. However, he is not rational (see the point about Obama above), and we do not believe for a minute that he's using some version of the Nixon "madman theory" (which didn't work, anyhow). So, we have absolutely no idea what Trump will do. (Z & A)