Most of us learned long ago that the Trump Administration is rarely if ever truthful about its plans, often for a multitude of reasons. They often say they’re going to do what they can’t do, or they say they won’t do what they clearly intend to do, and so on. And what the American people have learned from being jerked around for the better part of a decade is that, when it comes to the Trump Administration, it is best to ignore everything they say and instead focus on other ways to tell truth from fiction. And this advice is perhaps most useful when we’re trying to sort out all the lies presently being told about our failures in and around Iran.
For example, just last week, Trump said that Iran is “ready to fold up” during a speech he gave in Denton, Texas. He also said we will win the war “right after the election” but left the door open to the possibility that this outcome could happen “maybe before the election.”
First, we need to understand that each of these claims is a lie. They are not opinions or possibilities; they are straight up lies. And Trump has been making these exact claims regularly for months now, and nothing has changed, so these lies are now so repetitive that our press is no longer paying much attention, often simply dismissing them as the ramblings of an aging and addled mind.
The simple truth is that we are not winning the war in Iran. The price at the pump tells us this very clearly, and anyone who still believes Iran will “fold up” anytime soon deserves to pay $7.00 per gallon for diesel.
And the lies are not going to stop. Trump will keep telling us that up is down because while he can’t stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time these days, his stamina for lying may be limitless, as even now he is able to shell out a tremendous amount of bullshit between on-camera naps.
So what is the average American to do? The president lies obsessively, his government repeats those lies, and our mainstream media is being co-opted to the extent that there are few if any truth-telling entities left. How are we supposed to figure out what’s actually happening, and how do we separate the real world from the fictional fairy tale universe Trump tells us we live in?
It’s difficult, but the best tactic I’ve seen so far comes from MSNow’s Rachel Maddow, who has a simple fix that goes like this: Ignore what they say. Watch what they do. So, in terms of the war in Iran, what is Trump doing?
Last week, Trump ordered a third carrier group into the Persian Gulf, increasing our total number of carriers in the region from two to three. He also ordered additional ground troops into the conflict, bringing our commitment to roughly 10,000 American sons, daughters, husbands, and wives. He also deployed Patriot Missile systems to defend key oil facilities in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, likely to defend against the Iranian counterattack Trump is about to provoke. Forget about what Trump is saying; this is what Trump is doing, and what he’s doing implies that an escalation is coming.
In addition, our ridiculously unqualified Secretary of Defense is also purging our military of nearly 20% of its core of senior officers, a move that even spineless Congressional republicans are pushing back on. Again, this is a moment to ignore what is said, as Hegseth will certainly offer reasons why his purge is a good thing, but if you believe him, you deserve to pay $7.00 a gallon for diesel. Instead, if we look at the move itself and ignore the spin, it becomes pretty obvious that Hegseth is removing dissent. It’s also quite possible that these same senior officers are against Trump’s plan to escalate the war in Iran, so it’s best to get them out of the way before that escalation begins.
Simply put, we have two petulant man-babies running the most powerful military machine in world history, and neither can be trusted to tell us the truth about anything at all. So we are forced to read their actions instead.
And their actions tell us that Trump’s illegal war is about to get a whole lot worse.
Brett Pransky is a writer, a teacher, a father, and a husband, but rarely in that order. He spends his days amplifying the voices of freedom and democracy as an Editor right here at The Political Voices Network, and he spends his nights trying to fix the world one clever sentence at a time.
This was my sentiments earlier in the week as well, another carrier, why? The elimination of seasoned, experienced generals and admirals, why? They have plans is why. Plans to upset everything in the world more than what's currently happening now. And, this donnie criminal regime administration has to accomplish whatever evil plans are afoot, before the swearing in of a Democratic Congress and, hopefully a Democratic Senate majority, that will definitely put a-hurtin on donnie's war agenda. donnie has been threatening to eliminate Iran on an almost daily basis, believe him. And when that man-baby donnie loses the mid-terms, and I truly believe he will, my heart goes out to the world. I mean I have real fear for the death and destruction that is to come. There is uncertainty in every aspect of life, reaching all corners of the earth, affecting everyone. An incredibly dangerous time in world history. I hope the good guys win. Brett, your Sunday essay's always make me pay attention and think. Thank you.