I think it isn't only that Trump doesn't understand the American people's views about war, but he also doesn't really care. He believes he has a "mandate" to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants.
There was a perfectly good treaty in place. Trump tore up an intelligently negotiated treaty for no other reason than it being a diplomatic achievement of Pres Obama.
Trump really can’t sell many people on the idea he was consumed with worry about Iran gaining nuclear capability, as he destroyed the previous compact.
Trump engaged in this to cover for the attention to the Epstein files. Trump didn’t care about the cost in lives, munitions&money.
In a very shallow world view, Trump acquiesced to Netanyahu&thought Americans would rally around him.
No one in the entire world, even our former allies think US should control the Straights of Hormuz.
BTW: we’ve seen this rodeo before. Both Bush presidencies. Some actions were a response to 9/11. Most an attempt to control oil.
Not sophisticated. Uninformed. Disrespectful. That’s the Trump Way(tm). During the past wars, there were plenty of naysayers and critics within the administrations. We could hear alternative viewpoints without too much trouble. There really are no critics in the Trump World. Wanna bet there will be many after Trump leaves? Not only has he ignored or disdained criticism, he also keeps critics outside his life.
One tiny addition: As the Vietnam War continued, anyone in the US who paid attention came to understand that the US was trying to prop up a corrupt, militaristic regime, one that was increasingly unpopular among its own population. That factored into the dissatisfaction and opposition. The Tet offensive hammered that home.
Since, as others have pointed out, the goal of the Iran war is (sometimes) to re-establish a situation that Trump himself had broken, and at other times for goals that are even less moral and achievable; and that it looks less and likely to work, we can expect the opposition to grow, as that understanding becomes widespread.
One can't help but think that if the orange sadist had served in Vietnam, he couldn't possibly want this war. (Note: WAS he joking when he said that the Strait of Hormuz would soon be "ours?" I don't think so.)
Maybe Trump thought that "Americans," or at least his reliable base, would be rah-rah over this war, or that they wouldn't notice how unprepared for it "we" were, or that at least it would distract them from the way Trump II has taken a sledgehammer to the economy -- but was war a big issue when Trump came down that famous escalator in 2015 and proceeded to wipe the floor with the Republican hopefuls in the "clown car"? Not that I remember.
Racism has been a big part of the Republican brand since Nixon's Southern Strategy. It enabled the Reagan administration to hoodwink its working- and middle-class supporters while its policies gutted unions and gifted the wealthy. A case could be made that Trump's full-page ad vilifying the Central Park 5 made him a contender in 1989, but his future base had been coalescing around Bernie Goetz since the end of 1984. With Trump II, will the loyal base finally realize how much it's cost them? Who knows? Watch this space.
I think it isn't only that Trump doesn't understand the American people's views about war, but he also doesn't really care. He believes he has a "mandate" to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants.
There was a perfectly good treaty in place. Trump tore up an intelligently negotiated treaty for no other reason than it being a diplomatic achievement of Pres Obama.
Trump really can’t sell many people on the idea he was consumed with worry about Iran gaining nuclear capability, as he destroyed the previous compact.
Trump engaged in this to cover for the attention to the Epstein files. Trump didn’t care about the cost in lives, munitions&money.
In a very shallow world view, Trump acquiesced to Netanyahu&thought Americans would rally around him.
No one in the entire world, even our former allies think US should control the Straights of Hormuz.
BTW: we’ve seen this rodeo before. Both Bush presidencies. Some actions were a response to 9/11. Most an attempt to control oil.
Exactly right Suki Herr
ThankYou
Perhaps this will be the final death grip on oil.
Not sophisticated. Uninformed. Disrespectful. That’s the Trump Way(tm). During the past wars, there were plenty of naysayers and critics within the administrations. We could hear alternative viewpoints without too much trouble. There really are no critics in the Trump World. Wanna bet there will be many after Trump leaves? Not only has he ignored or disdained criticism, he also keeps critics outside his life.
One tiny addition: As the Vietnam War continued, anyone in the US who paid attention came to understand that the US was trying to prop up a corrupt, militaristic regime, one that was increasingly unpopular among its own population. That factored into the dissatisfaction and opposition. The Tet offensive hammered that home.
Since, as others have pointed out, the goal of the Iran war is (sometimes) to re-establish a situation that Trump himself had broken, and at other times for goals that are even less moral and achievable; and that it looks less and likely to work, we can expect the opposition to grow, as that understanding becomes widespread.
One can't help but think that if the orange sadist had served in Vietnam, he couldn't possibly want this war. (Note: WAS he joking when he said that the Strait of Hormuz would soon be "ours?" I don't think so.)
Maybe Trump thought that "Americans," or at least his reliable base, would be rah-rah over this war, or that they wouldn't notice how unprepared for it "we" were, or that at least it would distract them from the way Trump II has taken a sledgehammer to the economy -- but was war a big issue when Trump came down that famous escalator in 2015 and proceeded to wipe the floor with the Republican hopefuls in the "clown car"? Not that I remember.
Racism has been a big part of the Republican brand since Nixon's Southern Strategy. It enabled the Reagan administration to hoodwink its working- and middle-class supporters while its policies gutted unions and gifted the wealthy. A case could be made that Trump's full-page ad vilifying the Central Park 5 made him a contender in 1989, but his future base had been coalescing around Bernie Goetz since the end of 1984. With Trump II, will the loyal base finally realize how much it's cost them? Who knows? Watch this space.