In partnership with
Walking Points >> Mar 2
In this issue, we’re looking at:
▶ The Trump administration’s haphazard war in Iran
▶ Their lazy dishonesty when pressed for accountability
▶ How their noise level (loudness) is mistaken for transparency
▶ The political case that the Trump administration doesn’t care about America
Let’s dive in.
Weekend at War
It’s been four days since the United States and Israel bombed Iran. Six servicemembers are dead. some in an incident that Pete Hegseth called a “squirter”. Three F-15s have been shot down in a friendly fire incident. The US Congress hasn’t been consulted, and they don’t seem to be part of anyone’s equation. Our allies across the globe are stressing de-escalation.
And President Trump still hasn’t taken any questions.
The President of the United States used to, at the minimum, have a level of respect for the American people. Often, that respect was backhanded - say, Bush recognizing that he needs some level of credibility when lying to Congress about WMDs - but it was there, and it was borne from the knowledge that Americans took the nation’s role as the most powerful military in human history at least a little bit seriously. We’ve been addressed by Netanyahu as he openly meddles in our politics again - remember last time? When he was trying to sabotage the Iranian Nuclear Deal in 2015? I mean, come on.
Making it up as he goes along
The only planning Trump does on foreign policy is with autocrats for his property development and crypto schemes. As such, like Ukraine/Russia (see Trump’s surprise at Putin’s belligerence) and Israel/Palestine (see Trump’s surprise at Netanyahu’s belligerence), he lacks any real knowledge of the conflict and hand nor its wider implications.
We see Vance, Hegseth and Trump all claiming that it won’t be a forever war, as if that’s anything that can be controlled by us. It can’t be, and to do so is to insult all of our intelligence.
How dare Pete Hegseth sarcastically disregard the question of whether there will be American boots on the ground? As we’re learing about our servicemembers dying for no discernible reason? There’s never been a regime change war that was won without boots on the ground. And so, we’re seeing the administration claim that, no, it’s not a regime change war.
This is the sort of stuff that comes from a military that fired all of its qualified leadership to install ignorant sycophants.
At least respect us enough to lie credibly
Because Trump doesn’t respect the American people, he isn’t even trying, and any pretense otherwise has left the building. Trump initially claimed Iran will soon have inter-continental ballistic missiles that will reach America. This is nonsense, and no experts have backed him up.
If it’s not a regime change war, it sure seems like one. A few months ago, Trump encouraged protesters, promising support that never materialized. Now, he’s telling them to overthrow the government, because there won’t be another chance like this for generations. When pressed on next steps, Lindsey Graham, one of the loudest warmongers in the Senate, said “You’ve gotta quit saying we … it’s them. It’s not my job to construct a new Iran.”
The Secretary of Defense tries to do a pull-up.
Who, Lindsey? We just decapitated their government, and it’s not clear whether it will put itself back together.
Loudness is not accessibility, which is not transparency
Through his first term, and particularly the 2024 campaign, Trump has often been given credit for taking questions. “Love him or hate him, at least he shows up” was the easy comparison against Biden and Harris’ more prepared and scripted approach.
But what, exactly, is the value of endless lying? Isn’t that the generally accepted problem? Trump floods the zone, overwhelming the people with everything, everywhere, all at once, and he escapes accountability before dinnertime.
In his second term, it’s even worse. Hegseth has banned all press who didn’t sign a loyalty pledge. Trump has replaced the traditional press pool with 20-something influencers. Whenever he gets a tough question, he insults the reporter - telling Kaitlin Collins to smile more, calling Catherine Lucey a pig, or asking where the reporter is from before calling them rude, terrible, nasty, and unthinking.
Bush’s weapons of mass destruction lies have lived on in infamy, and they pale in comparison to what we’re seeing now. It may feel like we’ve had this conversation before, but, as is the case with boiling frogs, it’s never been this bad. We have an absurdly incompetent, openly bigoted, intellectually defunct administration that values swagger over everything waging war and getting American servicemembers killed.
When this happened in 2003, our leaders were at least twice as competent, and it became one of the world’s worst catastrophes, with hundreds of thousands killed and unheard of opportunity costs for the American people.
Walking Points »
1) Hammer home the Trump administration’s immaturity and inexperience.
They renamed the department to “Department of War”. That sounds like preparation for a Forever War. In fact, it’s totally opposite from being isolationist!
They fired hundreds of qualified military leaders. They gutted the FBI and its terrorism capabilities. This administration is not qualified to navigate this situation.
2) Remind the American people that the administration doesn’t care about any of us.
His foreign policy starts and ends with him. That’s why he lies about solving eight wars, and that’s why. again, the only planning Trump does on foreign policy is with autocrats for his property development and crypto schemes. (That was a good line.)
One of the only things nearly all Americans from all generations agree on is that we don’t want to get involved in more Middle East conflicts. To get us involved in one with such carelessness and contempt is beyond the pale.
Thanks for reading - one more thing.
Walking Points is meant to spark new conversations - please consider sharing this work with a friend.
Then, talk to your friend about it. Maybe ask them to pass it along. And so on.
Until next time,
Nick
Smart starts here.
You don't have to read everything — just the right thing. 1440's daily newsletter distills the day's biggest stories from 100+ sources into one quick, 5-minute read. It's the fastest way to stay sharp, sound informed, and actually understand what's happening in the world. Join 4.5 million readers who start their day the smart way.