* Because President Trump did not seek Congressional approval for his war in Iran, he has been advised to use euphemisms instead of “war.” That’s how we got to “excursion.” There are, however, no applicable euphemisms for narcissistic chaos.
* U.S. relations with Germany have been undermined, no surprise, by America’s insulting, unilateral approach to allies. And it hardly helps that gasoline in Germany has now topped 2 euros per liter, the equivalent of $9.48 per gallon.
* “Haphazard” and “not well thought out.”—That’s how John Bolton, former Trump national security advisor, has characterized U.S. actions in Iran. For Bolton, that was an understatement.
* “This is not making America great again. This is evil.”—Former GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, on Trump’s Iran war.
* “Trump has managed in just one year to destroy the American order that was, and he has weakened America’s ability to protect its interests in the world that will be. If Americans thought defending the liberal world order was too expensive, wait until they start paying for what comes next.”—Robert Kagan, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
* “I think in the world today, you need allies.”—Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
* “I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop wars.”—Prevaricator-in-Chief, Nov. 6, 2024.
* “We did Iwo Jima; we can do this.”—That was Trump senatorial lackey Lindsey Graham, as he encouraged Trump to seize Iran’s Kharg Island, its main oil-export base. Only issue with the Iwo Jima analogy is that, irrelevant to Graham or unbeknownst to President Bone Spurs, some 26,000 American marines were killed or wounded there.
* Macho militarism reminder: “You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself…Go get your own oil.” And if that were a bit too nuanced, Trump later added: “Back to the Stone Ages.” Does Marco Rubio not yet regret his Faustian bargain for 2028 GOP leverage? Or is he envisioning el jefe de Cuba?
* Speaking of “back to the Stone Ages,” it’s beyond ironic that we are the ones most intent upon Iran not having a nuclear weapon. Yet the world’s most dangerous, unhinged leader has plenty.
* While Trump continued to demean mail-in voting, calling it “corrupt as hell,” he voted by mail by casting his big, beautiful ballot as a Palm Beach County resident.
* “We’re the only country that does it that way.” That was Trump again on mail-in voting. Wrong. Dozens of countries also allow it.
* Presidential priority: “We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of day care.” Trump, on proposing a $1.5 trillion defense-spending boost and a reduction of 10% in non-defense spending.
* Trump’s advance man: VP JD Vance heightened his profile, if nothing else, by flying to Budapest and offering the Trump Administration’s support to Europe’s foremost autocrat, Hungarian PM Viktor Orban, who then lost his re-election bid. Vance also traveled to Islamabad, Pakistan to lead peace negotiations with Iran. They ended artlessly sans deal. Welcome back, JD.
* Looming legacy: Forget impeachment and the 25th Amendment; sycophantic invertebrates won’t permit it. The most likely denouement if Trump doesn’t bludgeon the constitution and run for a third term: leaving the country like one of his casinos, broken and in need of new management.