Trump’s bad week: Botched war abroad and legal setbacks at home | Editorial
The president sounded defeated as he tried to make the case for a needless war that is costing taxpayers more than $1 billion a day while spurring inflation and killing civilians and U.S. service members.
Five weeks after launching a war in Iran, Donald Trump finally explained to the American people what he has wrought. But minutes into his prime-time address, it became clear the president had no reason to start the war and no idea how to end it.
In fact, the more he rambled, the worse things got: Stocks tumbled, and oil prices surged as traders realized there was no imminent endgame.
Trump appeared tired and bored with the war as he rehashed and slurred through talking points mixed with lies, contradictions, and nonsensical logic.
At one point, Trump said, “We don’t have to be there,” and the U.S. was “there to help our allies.”
Perhaps the most inane thing he said involved the “plan” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the vital shipping route that Iran closed, sparking a jump in oil prices.
“When this conflict is over, the strait will open up naturally,” Trump said, echoing the many times he claimed the COVID-19 virus would one day magically disappear.
American allies will be left to clean up the mess, as it appears Trump will declare victory and surrender.
The U.S. has no good options, but ending the destruction is a better choice than escalating the needless war that is costing taxpayers more than $1 billion a day while driving up gas prices, spurring inflation, and killing civilians and U.S. service members.
Yet, Trump is apparently considering whether to send in ground forces to either seize the oil export hub of Kharg Island, open the Strait of Hormuz, or remove Iran’s nuclear materials.
Each of those operations is risky and will likely lead to many more deaths and a costly and prolonged occupation.
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At the same time Trump has talked about winding down the war, he has also sent 50,000 troops to the Middle East. That may seem like a large buildup, but Iran’s military consists of more than 500,000 active-duty personnel and another 350,000 trained reserves.
In short, this is a mess of Trump’s making.
His address to the nation on Wednesday made clear that Operation Epic Fury is shaping up to be more like Operation Epic Fail.
That may explain why Trump sounded so defeated as he spoke. It was only midweek, but he had already suffered a string of legal losses at home while trapped abroad.
Earlier in the day, Trump channeled mob boss intimidation by showing up at the U.S. Supreme Court argument regarding his signature effort to rewrite a century of constitutional history by ending the birthright citizenship of children born in the United States to parents who are not citizens.
Every lower court has resoundingly rejected Trump’s attempt to do away with the 14th Amendment. A majority of the justices seemed skeptical of the idea, as well.
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Chief Justice John Roberts finally placed the Constitution above Trump after Solicitor General John Sauer claimed, “We’re in a new world now where eight billion people are one plane ride away from having a child who’s a U.S. citizen.”
Roberts retorted: “It’s a new world. It’s the same Constitution.”
Sensing a big loss coming when the court likely rules in June, Trump slumped away before the oral arguments ended.
That capped a rough week for the president, who went 0-for-4 in federal courts on Tuesday.
A federal judge halted construction of Trump’s pet project: A massive $400 million ballroom on the site of the demolished East Wing that would overshadow the White House. The Republican-appointed judge ruled that Trump was a “steward” of the so-called People’s House, not the owner.
A different federal judge rejected Trump’s claim of presidential immunity regarding his actions that helped incite a deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The ruling clears the way for injured police officers to proceed with a lawsuit against Trump, while opening the door for other similar suits.
A Trump-appointed judge allowed a lawsuit to continue against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for illegally closing its Freedom of Information Act offices.
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., permanently blocked Trump’s executive order to halt funding to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcast Service, ruling it violated free speech.
Beyond the court of law, Trump is also losing in the court of public opinion. A recent CNN poll showed his approval rating sinking to new lows. Over the weekend, more than eight million people marched in the third No Kings rally held in all 50 states and several countries.
By Thursday, Trump had had enough. In need of a distraction from the war, the economy, election losses, and the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, Trump fired Pam Bondi, one of the worst attorneys general ever.
These are indeed dark times when a bad week for the president is a good week for America.