First, before I get to today’s topic, there were two State of the Union moments from Tuesday that I want to quickly discuss.
The first came when President Trump asked everyone to stand if they thought it was more important to protect U.S. citizens than illegal aliens. Democrats should have gotten on their feet, even though it was an obvious trap that Trump sprung. The Dems fell for it and looked unpatriotic. Standing for the idea was more important than opposing the man who presented it. Watch for the clip in Republican campaign ads leading up to the midterms.
The second occurred as Trump noted that he didn’t need Congress to support his tariff plans. On that point Trump got Republicans to vacate their obligation to provide checks and balances and to represent their constituents, as JD Vance, Mike Johnson, et al leapt to their feet in applause. Obviously, fealty to the president is more important today than actually legislating. Trump got what he craves and the electorate got authoritarianism. You’ll see that clip again in Democrats’ campaign ads.
Watch for both of those moments, in a campaign ad coming to your TV, over the next eight months.
Before voicing an opinion for today, let me state that I understand Iran’s history and its brutal ruling class, especially over the past four decades. That being said, now, on to today’s chaos.
Donald Trump’s approval rating sits at 36 percent, BW (before war). The Epstein files have more than two million documents that remain unreleased despite the Epstein Transparency law (signed by Mr. Trump) requiring full disclosure by last December (it’s March now). Congress is up for grabs, and we keep firing experienced Department of Justice attorneys and investigators for their audacity of being assigned to executive-branch-sensitive cases.
There’s open chatter about placing national elections under the control of the president, which would come as a big surprise to our founding fathers, who addressed that issue in the U.S. Constitution.
And now, we’re going to war. Are we distracted yet? Does the chaos over there keep people from looking over here? Can we get the public, and Epstein’s victims, to quit bellyaching about the physical and emotional abuse that went on for decades? War should do it, shouldn’t it?
During the Obama presidency, Donald Trump publicly claimed that a military attack on Iran would demonstrate Obama’s inability to “make a deal,” a limp attempt from a president to “show how tough” he is. “Don’t let Obama play the Iran card in order to start a war in order to get elected—be careful Republicans!” he warned.” He was very wary of suspicious timing… back then.
Trump trumpeted, “no new wars” through his first term and 2024 campaign, continuously promising to “stop racing to topple foreign regimes.” He promised, “I’m not going to start wars; I’m going to stop wars.” Whoops!! That was pre-Epstein.
Fast forward to now. Trump took to social media Saturday morning, “the United States military is undertaking a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked, radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests. We are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally, again, obliterated.”
I remember when we “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capability eight months ago, didn’t we? Oh yeah, it was June 21 of last year, after the U.S. bombed what was thought to be Iran’s nuclear development sites, when Trump boasted, “Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.” “Completely and totally” should not have a sequel. Yet yesterday Iran was ready to launch?
Bring on the MAGA defense. Thank you, in advance, for your feedback. I used to believe there was a line Americans would not cross. No more. Today I watched Lindsey Graham shrug off regime change like it’s always worked before. It has not. When asked whether there’s a plan to prevent an even worse regime from replacing the current one, the answer was essentially “not our job.”
Not our job? It wasn’t our job in Iraq either, until it was — for twenty years.
So, war it is. Grilling Hillary Clinton for six hours of questions about a pedophile she had never met didn’t distract us. Maybe war will.
Remember Trump’s timing wariness? Talks with Iran were underway this month. Was their nuclear capability raised this week? Or were other significant issues in play? The Epstein files issue doesn’t seem to go away, and we are now a short eight months from the midterm elections.
Despite Trump’s promise to “release all the Epstein files,” despite his signing into law an act that compels that result, the DOJ still holds millions of documents.
And with the midterms approaching, Republicans fear heavy losses in the House of Representatives, and concerns are growing in the Senate.
If this is about national security, tell us. Make your case transparently. Involve Congress. Show us the evidence. Explain the strategy and tell us what comes next. Who governs next? How long will our troops be in harm’s way? Is that too much to ask? Shouldn’t Congress be asking? Watch for the campaign ad.
The president admitted Saturday, “The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties; that often happens in war.” That seemed empathetic. Word came Sunday that at least three U.S. military members have been killed already, and five more seriously injured. Trump was right again. Let’s all get the hat.
Dear Mr. Trump, I have three grandchildren, ages 12-18, none of whom have bone spurs. Please quit distracting us. Just release the damn files.
Curt MacRae is a resident of Coldwater, MI and publishes opinion columns regularly.
To be notified by email when a column is published, or to offer feedback: rantsbymac@gmail.com
So true and so sad!