The weirdest thing about Trump’s comments at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, was the random stream of consciousness. It seemed as if he was making it up as he went along and acting just to demonstrate his own power, rather than out of any coherent or strategic purpose.
“For me, I think it’s over,” he said on Wednesday, speaking about the agreement with Iran.
“I don’t want to deal with them anymore,” Trump told reporters, sitting next to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. “They’re scum. They’re sick people,” Trump added. “Far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time dealing with them.”
His remarks on Iran were accompanied by a long, incoherent rant attacking NATO. Trump said he was “very disappointed with NATO” because it had not supported his war. “We weren’t treated well because we did something in Iran,” he said. “We don’t need anybody’s help. I didn’t even want their help.”
Trump’s action came after Iran had attacked three tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, including a liquefied natural gas tanker. The U.S. Central Command responded with attacks on more than 80 targets near the strait. Iran then retaliated with 85 drone and ballistic missile strikes against Bahrain and Kuwait, both of which have U.S. military bases. The U.S. also revoked the provision in the memorandum of understanding allowing Iran to sell more oil.
Iran has not explained why it attacked the tankers, but in the past it has demanded that tankers comply with strict security protocols, including the use of approved shipping lanes. In de-escalating from past skirmishes, both sides quickly acted to restore the terms of the truce. There is no sign of that happening now.
What next? When Trump announced his support for the deal, he blurted out the real reason: the economy. “I don’t want to be a president with a depression on his resume,” he said. “I don’t want to be Herbert Hoover.”
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The deal quickly lowered the price of oil to its prewar level, and portended a reduction of economic pain. Now, however, Trump in his vanity and impulsivity seems willing to accept the pain in order to show who’s boss. After Trump’s threats, the price of oil rebounded and the stock market tanked.
Trump, always easily bored, is turning to other ways to reduce inflation and to limit the political damage. Like King Canute, who tried to command the ocean tides to recede, Trump is hoping to command the price of groceries to fall. When Walmart cut the price of beef, Trump put out a false statement claiming that it was at his request.
As for the political damage, it is much less of a problem if Trump can rig the November elections. Trump is putting all of his chips on pressuring Congress to pass his SAVE America Act, which would give the executive branch control of voter rolls for easy purging. Trump’s latest ploy is to try to do it by budget reconciliation, which has the support of House Speaker Mike Johnson. That would not be subject to Senate filibuster, but it would likely violate germaneness rules and could probably not even get a simple Senate majority.
Back in the Persian Gulf, we can expect endless on-and-off warfare, with Iran having the upper hand. Meanwhile, turning the page and seeking a winner, this morning Trump had a warm meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. At a joint press briefing, Trump said that he supported Ukraine’s attacks on Russia, and would allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot missiles.
Whatever.
