3 weeks ago
We are witnessing what happens to a personification who is consumed pinch nan request to dominate, but cannot.
Iran is improbable to springiness in. It tin withstand nan economical unit of a blockade amended than Donald Trump tin withstand nan governmental unit that comes pinch rising state prices (now astir $4.50 a gallon, connected average), soon followed by rising nutrient prices.
His looming nonaccomplishment successful Iran is not conscionable a superior geopolitical conclusion for nan United States; it’s a individual situation for Trump.
Those rising prices coupled pinch an progressively unpopular warfare person accrued nan likelihood that Democrats will return backmost power of nan House and moreover perchance nan Senate successful nan upcoming midterms.
Here again, it’s not conscionable a governmental conclusion for nan Republican statement but a individual situation for Trump.
His ego cannot judge a humiliating loss, arsenic we saw aft nan 2020 election. His request to bully, predominate and summation submission is truthful hardwired wrong his insecure caput that nan defeats he’s now facing – to Iran and to Democrats – are already mounting disconnected explosions.
He’s posting much wildly than ever – attacking, insulting, ridiculing, threatening.
On Sunday, Trump posted that Democrats had “RIGGED nan 2020 Presidential Election. GET TOUGH REPUBLICANS – THEY’RE COMING, AND THEY’RE COMING FAST! They’re nary bully for our Country, they almost destroyed it, and we don’t want to fto that hap again!” He demanded that Republicans “approve each of nan basal Safeguards we request for Elections to protect nan American Public during nan upcoming Midterms”.
More of his posts are bizarre AI-generated paeans to himself, his godlike powers, his wished-for physique and his self-image of omnipotence. On Friday night, he posted an AI-generated image of himself, JD Vance, Marco Rubio and Doug Burgum, each shirtless and pinch young physiques, opinionated successful nan reflecting excavation successful beforehand of nan Lincoln Memorial, on pinch an unidentifiable female successful a bikini.
Minutes later he posted an image of nan House number leader, Hakeem Jeffries, holding a shot bat, pinch a caption calling Jeffries “low IQ”, “a THUG” and “a threat to our Country”. On Tuesday, he posted AI-generated images of Joe Biden connected 1 knee pinch nan caption “COWARDS KNEEL”, Barack Obama pinch nan caption “TRAITORS BOW” and himself pinch his fist raised and nan caption “LEADERS LEAD”.
His rima – ne'er successful power – is now successful diarrheic mode. He’s moreover backmost to attacking nan pope, accusing him of “endangering a batch of Catholics and a batch of people”, adding, “but I conjecture if it’s up to nan pope, he thinks it’s conscionable good for Iran to person a atomic weapon”.
His thin-skinned vindictiveness is beyond thing we’ve seen before, which is saying a lot. Last week, aft nan German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said nan US was “being humiliated by nan Iranian leadership”, Trump many times attacked and bullied Merz. The defense section past said it was pulling 5,000 troops retired of Germany, and Trump said he was expanding tariffs connected European cars and trucks to 25% (from 15%).
He’s becoming ever much obsessed pinch monuments to himself – his ballroom, his arch, his alleged “garden of heroes”, his Trump-embossed passports, his image connected 24k golden commemorative coins, and his sanction plastered aliases etched each complete Washington. His plans for self-monuments are becoming larger by nan day, much grotesque, much grandiose and much expensive. Senate Republicans conscionable projected $1bn much for Trump’s ballroom, which, recall, was expected to “cost taxpayers nothing”.
He has moreover directed nan treasury to denote that his ain signature – yes, nan aforesaid 1 that appears successful a book of day greetings for Jeffrey Epstein – will switch nan treasurer’s connected each caller US insubstantial currency. This will beryllium nan first clip successful US history that a sitting president’s sanction will look connected circulating rate money.
His thirst for vengeance is exploding, too. Last week nan Department of Justice launched different criminal lawsuit against erstwhile FBI head James Comey (whose earlier indictment was quashed by nan courts) for posting a image of seashells pronunciation retired “86 47” connected Instagram a twelvemonth ago. Trump is besides insisting that nan justness section restart its criminal investigation of Jerome Powell and double-down against nan erstwhile associated chiefs of unit chair Mark Milley and others he considers “enemies”.
Facing nan 2 monumental failures of Iran and power complete Congress, Trump is fanatically seeking different ways to asseverate dominance. On Tuesday, his acquisition section announced a civilian authorities investigation into Smith College complete enrolling transgender students.
On Thursday, Trump demanded that Hakeem Jeffries beryllium charged pinch “INCITING VIOLENCE”, linking nan attempted shooting astatine nan White House correspondents’ meal pinch Jeffries’s telephone for a “maximum warfare” redistricting run successful consequence to Republican efforts to gerrymander their states.
Regardless of what happens successful Iran, he’ll declare victory. That will beryllium difficult to do convincingly erstwhile state prices stay much than $4 a gallon, but he’ll undoubtedly try.
What if Democrats triumph power of 1 aliases some chambers of Congress successful nan midterms and he claims they mislaid aliases cheated? The federation hardly survived nan past clip Trump’s vulnerable ego faced a awesome loss.
We’ll besides person to header pinch Trump arsenic a lame-duck president who tin nary longer predominate and summation submission arsenic he did before. Will he effort to stay president beyond his 2nd word to debar this?
The man is unwell. Seriously unwell. Lame-duck presidents slice away, but injured dictators tin beryllium dangerous.
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Robert Reich, a erstwhile US caput of labor, is simply a professor of nationalist argumentation emeritus astatine nan University of California, Berkeley. He is simply a Guardian US columnist and his newsletter is astatine robertreich.substack.com. His caller book, Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America, is out now successful nan US and in nan UK
