Literally nothing is going right for Donald Trump at the moment.
Everywhere he turns — the economy, foreign policy, his harebrained war with Iran — all the so-called “president” sees is the limits of his power, and it is making him increasingly erratic, aides tell the New York Times.
“In recent weeks, he has seemed trapped, his presidency gradually consumed by a war he cannot find his way out of,” the Times reports.
“He has discovered limits on his power that he could have scarcely imagined when he began full combat operations on Feb. 28, when he set out goals for a swift end to Iran’s nuclear program and the overthrow of the country’s government. Five months later, those goals remain almost entirely unaccomplished.”
The more Trump attacks Iran, the more the Iranian regime continues to dig in and solidify its power over the Islamic Republic.
And then there’s the economic impact of the Iran quagmire: Higher prices for gasoline and groceries, all of which threaten to sink both Trump and the Republican Party with the midterm elections now just a few months away.
All of this leaves Trump feeling impotent and acting like a proverbial bull in the china shop.
“Those limits have left him deeply frustrated, his aides say, and have made him more erratic, even by Trumpian standards.”
“Not all of Mr. Trump’s frustrations, people close to the president say, are driven by the war, now so unpopular that only 29 percent of Americans polled by the Washington Post and Ipsos approved of his handling of the conflict. But much of it is. And the angst is clear as he promises to stop Iran’s nuclear program at any cost, while his allies at home want out.”
At this point, Trump has only three options when it comes to his foolhardy Iranian escapade: escalate the military campaign against Tehran, tighten sanctions, or “declare victory and go home,” which would only serve to make him look feckless, weak, and leave voters with the impression that he should have never attacked Iran in the first place.
Withdrawing from Iran, the Times notes, would “define his legacy” and “make clear that there are more constraints on his power than he believed in January, when he declared that his reach was limitless.”
Losing control is Donnie’s biggest fear. And yet, with each passing hour, he’s engaging in what can only be called political self-immolation.
It couldn’t happen to a more deserving sack of shit.
