Suddenly, the “no war” president wants to attack everyone
Convicted felon and real estate fraud Donald Trump ran much of his campaign on being the rare president who didn’t start new wars
Convicted felon and real estate fraud Donald Trump ran much of his campaign on being the rare president who didn’t start new wars, but is now openly threatening half the map.
After kidnapping the President of Venezuela without the permission of Congress, the Orange Menace has issued a string of belligerent warnings aimed at Mexico, Greenland, Cuba, and Iran. Mr. Peace is suggesting military or coercive action with the casual confidence of a schoolyard bully. The man who once sold his incredible restraint as wisdom is now advertising confrontation as strength.
Since the seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by US forces at the weekend, US President Donald Trump and members of his administration have issued warnings to several other countries and territories – including Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Iran and Greenland, a self-governing territory of Denmark.
Trump said Sunday: “We are in the business of having countries around us that are viable and successful and where the oil is allowed to freely come out.”
“American dominance in the Western hemisphere will never be questioned again,” Trump said.
The contradiction here is not complicated. You cannot be the peace president while threatening everyone in sight. Doing this immediately after abducting Maduro raises real alarms for the leaders of all threatened nations. Trump isn’t just blustering; he’s sending in the US Armed Services. Trump’s desire to return to the days of the Monroe Doctrine as a diplomatic license for unbridled intervention is clearly what it is.
This was always, always on the cards. Years ago, I wrote "... consensus contempt for diplomacy, a State Department in disarray and an impulsive and emotionally-fragile leader who worships the trappings of military power. That’s not an infallible recipe for armed conflict, but the prognosis certainly doesn’t look good."
We've always known that Trump likes to feel like the big man in charge, and what says "absolute power" more than sending people out to kill and die for you, or unleashing the might of the American military on people who can't fight back? Bullying by proxy is absolutely Trump's style. I think what's held him back so far is (a) his worry about how it would look if the war didn't go according to plan and he got blamed for it, and (b) his short attention span. Throwing cruise missiles at distant targets is about his speed; he'd really hate having to be responsible for a more extended conflict.
I think someone needs to return his FIFA Peace Prize.