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(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
(Jack Ohman, Tribune Content Agency)
(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)
(Mike Smith, Las Vegas Sun)
(Benjamin Slyngstad, @slyngstad_cartoons)
(Nick Anderson, Raw Story)
(Ann Telnaes, anntelnaes.substack.com)
(Morten Morland, The Times, UK)
(Michael de Adder, caglecartoons.com, Canada)
(Joel Pett, Tribune Content Agency)
(Gary Markstein, Creators.com)
(Emily Flake, @eflakeagogo)
The demented, narcissistic sociopath with the nuclear codes is getting crankier than ever and taking it out on White House staff (sad!):
President Donald Trump is reportedly yelling louder, for longer periods and acting significantly "meaner" toward his inner circle, driving a wave of recent high-profile White House departures.
According to insider reports detailed on "The Daily Beast Podcast," multiple senior officials are exiting the administration due to a toxic, increasingly hostile West Wing environment. [Ed.: very sad!]
The reporting coincides with a series of major staff exits at the White House.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced she will step down at the end of August. While she publicly cited a desire to spend time with her family, insiders indicate the intense internal pressure and Trump's sharpening temperament heavily influenced the timing.
White House Counsel David Warrington departed his post amidst the shifting operational environment.
Deputy National Security Advisor Andy Baker, a key ally of Vice President J.D. Vance, has also exited the administration.
"It's a clear sign that people see how badly this second term is going," said David Rhode, senior executive editor on national security for MS NOW on Monday, August 17.
While Trump has historically been known for an aggressive management style, sources close to the administration note a distinct shift in his behavioral patterns during his current term.
Insiders report that his pattern of blaming staff for self-inflicted political problems has left top aides completely burned out, with some describing the daily work environment as "total misery." [Ed.: very very sad!]
The White House and Trump allies have generally pushed back on these characterizations, framing staff turnover as typical for a high-pressure administration or a natural rotation ahead of the midterm elections. [snip]
Multiple former aides, including former White House lawyer Ty Cobb, have publicly stated that Trump's cognitive and behavioral shifts are "palpable," pointing to an escalation in his volatile outbursts.
Reports from the West Wing frequently detail longer, louder screaming matches directed at senior staff. Outside observers note a distinct increase in public temper tantrums, verbal reprimands of judges and lawmakers and rambling speech patterns during his second term... (our emphasis)
Well, first, it couldn't happen to more deserving fascist clowns, who worked hard to get him elected (twice!).
We should note that his Chief of Staff Natalie Harp Susie Wiles is departing soon after the November mid-term blue tsunami, doubtless to dodge the flying ketchup. We expect by the time next January rolls around, the concept of "total misery" will have to be re-defined by those remaining in the Malignant Fascist's orbit. Maybe his new Chief of Staff/ co-President Natalie will be available to empty his fecal extrusion device.
Operation Epic Fail / let's talk about it / Bone Spurs doesn't want to --
We aren’t talking enough about those Destroyed American Bases….
— Brant Reeves (@bireeves95.bsky.social) August 18, 2026 at 8:58 PM
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Trump calls concerns about the conditions on the USS Lincoln a “CNN fake news report”
— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 2:39 PM
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Netanyahu gone wild --
Israel struck an air base in northwest Syria early Tuesday, saying it aimed to prevent Turkish troops from deploying there. Turkey, which has close ties with the Syrian government and has been providing assistance to Syria's military. n.pr/4x41sVr
— NPR (@npr.org) August 19, 2026 at 9:10 AM
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Trump's insane decision punishing ally South Korea --
"Scaling back the exercise is, of course, an insane decision, which does nothing but hurt an ally, and tempt an adversary to think—correctly—that American leadership is feckless." www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
— Tom Nichols (@radiofreetom.bsky.social) August 16, 2026 at 10:28 PM
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Step aside Stephen Miller, Natalie is the new co-President / babysitter --
“She has at times ruffled feathers among White House aides by immediately following through on Trump’s directives without first checking in with the chief of staff, the communications office or the national security team.” Fantastic.
— Brian Finucane (@bcfinucane.bsky.social) August 19, 2026 at 6:44 AM
Dems, this is how politics works --
Sen. Ossoff mentions Natalie Harp, it got some social media buzz, then professional media jumped on it. Two theories of politics that are wrong: 1) Do economic policy, act above the fray, media will do the rest on its own 2) Public opinion is static, politicians’ job is to measure then follow it
— Nicholas Grossman (@nicholasgrossman.bsky.social) August 19, 2026 at 7:48 AM
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Sen. Jon Ossoff says Trump is a “draft-dodging crook president” at Georgia town hall meeting
— Jon Cooper (@joncooper-us.bsky.social) August 18, 2026 at 6:23 PM
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Making America Sick Again, measles outbreak edition --
NEW: Measles Used to Be in Our Rearview Mirror. Now Cases Are Reaching Record Highs. In other parts of the world that have let their guard down to vaccine-preventable diseases, long-forgotten scourges have roared back and killed and disabled children.
— ProPublica (@propublica.org) August 18, 2026 at 8:00 AM
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Democrats in array and winning everywhere --
Democrats in array, once again. Nice to see.
— Kevin M. Kruse (@kevinmkruse.bsky.social) August 19, 2026 at 7:31 AM
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Pennsylvania State House District 12 Special Election 27 of 27 Precincts Reported: 🔵 Brandon Dukes – 8,434 (50.2%) 🔴 Scott Timko – 8,346 (49.6%) Trump won this district by 18 points in 2024.
— VoteHub (@votehub.com) August 18, 2026 at 10:17 PM
Huckleberry Graham's sister 🎵 don't know much 'bout foreign policy (or her state) --
Darlene Graham just bumbled through one of the worst responses to a question during a political debate you'll ever see
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) August 18, 2026 at 11:05 PM
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Trump-endorsed senate candidate Darlene Graham: “There’s 50 million people in SC.” The population of SC is 5.5 million.
— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) August 18, 2026 at 9:53 PM
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The right partner at the right time --
No one wanted to be his partner, but she saw the champion no one else saw. Original post
— Massimo (mirror) (@rainmaker1973-m.bsky.social) August 19, 2026 at 2:26 AM
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Singer / songwriter Gracie Abrams' latest album "Daughter from He'll" was released last month, following tours with Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo, and last year's American Music Award for New Artist of the Year. She's a gun safety and reproductive rights activist when she's not writing, recording and touring. Today's choice is a studio version of "What If It's Right?", with Marcus Mumford, off of her album.
At the risk of over-covering the Natalie Harp story (nah!), here, from the ever-readable Amanda Marcotte, writing at Salon.com, the coda of her article on the declining Malignant Fascist's "security blanket / human binkie" Natalie Harp and her role to boost the MF's morale and ego:
"Whatever the extent of Natalie Harp’s duties, it seems undeniable that she is there to keep the temperamental president calm by distracting him from his own failures with words of praise. That he needs this is a sign of profound weakness. Stable adults do not need full-time babysitters. That Harp’s job even exists is a testament to Trump’s incredible narcissism, but it also carries more than a whiff of elder care and suspicions about medical conditions that require monitoring and placating.
The White House’s extreme response only serves to underscore how worried they are about the narrative being created — one they themselves weaponized against another aging president, Joe Biden. By flipping out at anyone who brings it up, they’re only ensuring more people are paying attention." (our emphasis)
The explosive, over-the-top reaction to Sen. Ossoff's mild dig at her constant presence hit a major nerve in Trumpworld, as Marcotte notes. The signs of the MF's physical and mental decline are simple to spot, and increase every week. While there's ample innuendo of a physical relationship between the two (even though the elderly MF is looking physically feeble), the real "service" she seems to perform for the extreme narcissist is psychological, telling him how successful and potent he is, reassuring him constantly. It's troubling that he needs the reinforcement and that she believes it herself.
Jamelle Bouie has a smart take on Natalie Harp, the smart Ossoff attack line, the White House / MAGAt "hit dog hollers" reaction, and what the lesson is for Democrats going forward (hint: don't be afraid to be aggressive and down-and-dirty). This is a good explainer video to share.
BONUS: Steve M. has a similar take and advice.
BONUS II: More Harp weirdness reported.
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(Steve Nease, politicalcartoons.com, Canada; additional context here)
(John Cole, The Philadelphia Inquirer)
(Monte Wolverton, caglecartoons.com; context here)
(Christopher Weyant, Boston Globe)
(Steve Sack, stevesack.substack.com)
(Rick McKee, caglecartoons.com)
(Nick Anderson, Raw Story)
(Chris Britt, Creators.com)
(Kevin Kallaugher, kaltoons.substack.com)
(Dave Granlund, politicalcartoons.com)
(Peter Steiner, @plsteiner)
Nobel laureate Paul Krugman explains why the sick and narcissistic Malignant Fascist's embrace of the tyrant Kim Jong Un's regime is especially repellent, but expected:
"I know that Donald Trump does something new and terrible every day, sometimes several times a day. Yet his betrayal of South Korea in favor of his 'very good relationship with Kim Jong Un' stands out even among his many betrayals.
Why? Because North Korea isn’t simply a bad government, just another murderous authoritarian regime. It is something that has become rare, even among dictatorships: a full-blown totalitarian state, in which the government controls every aspect of life and even thinking dissident thoughts is a crime. [snip]
Much of the commentary I’ve seen about Trump lashing out at South Korea has focused on the damage to U.S. foreign policy and diplomacy. How can anyone consider us a reliable ally at this point? Fair enough.
But it’s even more important to realize that Trump clearly prefers a nightmarish, totalitarian dictatorship — the worst regime on the planet — to a vibrant, successful democracy. A democracy, by the way, that more than 36,000 Americans gave their lives to defend during the Korean War.
America has a president who hates everything our nation was supposed to stand for." (our emphasis)
These are dark time in which the nominal leader of the nation is actively promoting our adversaries, while deliberately alienating our long time allies (Canada, Mexico, the UK, the European Union, South Korea, Taiwan, and on and on).
Operation Epic Quagmire: Hormuz nuz, delusions, quagmire, --
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) August 18, 2026 at 5:49 AM
He can say it however many times he wants, the fact remains that Iran is still targeting vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, and the situation won’t stabilize until the administration pulls their heads out of their ass.
— Angry (@angrystaffer.bsky.social) August 18, 2026 at 9:56 AM
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Silver lining of the media treating the U.S.-Iran MOU as a big achievement—Hormuz open! Nuclear deal soon!—is that with the 60-day deadline passing and nothing actually achieved, they’ve given themselves permission to frame the situation negatively, breaking out the word “quagmire.”
— Nicholas Grossman (@nicholasgrossman.bsky.social) August 18, 2026 at 9:39 AM
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The Malignant Fascist's constant companion --
Decent chance that she’s making her own policy decisions by control of his accounts. She may also be influencing what information does & does not get to him. I wonder if she’s in classified briefings.
— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 5:07 PM
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Is Natalie Harp writing his 4am Truth social posts too?
— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline.com) August 17, 2026 at 11:57 PM
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The reason the White House is so sensitive about Trump and his relationship with Natalie Harp is because, well . . . because it's a bit awkward
— Brandon Friedman (@brandonfriedman.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 5:45 PM
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Another poll shows the Malignant Fascist losing ground --
Enten: "Trump net approval hits a term two low, 31 points underwater ... at the beginning he was at +6 points. He's 37 points from where he was ... President Trump was unpopular going into the midterms during his first presidency, but not anywhere as unpopular as this ... he's doing 19 points worse"
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) August 18, 2026 at 10:18 AM
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The mentally unfit MF threatens to bomb Oman (where 25,000 U.S. soldiers are stationed) --
When did it become normalized for the President of the United States to threaten to "bomb the shit out of" our allies—our *allies*—without that immediately leading to a serious conversation about whether he's mentally fit to serve as president
— Seth Abramson (@sethabramson.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 9:27 PM
Advice to our broken media (which they'll never take) --
"The news media need to say plainly, in big headlines: Trump is building a dictatorship. Use the D word. Say that this is the most corrupt presidency in American history, which it obviously is. Say that the president is mentally unstable, which he obviously is." My Stop the Presses newsletter.
— Mark Jacob (@markjacob.bsky.social) August 18, 2026 at 7:16 AM
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The Make America Sick Again movement in high swing --
The share of kindergartners with exemptions from school vaccine requirements for the 2025-2026 school year rose to a record high, according to federal data. The sharp increase comes as the U.S. battles its worst measles resurgence in 35 years.
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost.com) August 17, 2026 at 6:30 PM
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Food poisoning Vaccine cancellation & rampant disease Restoring gun rights to convicted criminals
— Doc Zombie - Trauma Therapy for Americans (@doczombie.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 11:14 PM
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Important book on Silicon Valley's swing to the far right is out now --
The day has come! “The Nerd Reich” is now available at your favorite local bookstore. I’ll be on @msnowreports.bsky.social at approximately 10:30 am ET to talk about it. Tune in. And buy it! First week sales make a huge difference. If you keep reading, I keep fighting.
— Gil Durán (@gilduran.com) August 18, 2026 at 10:06 AM
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Voting today in several states. We need to stop being the MF's decoys --
Vote like your life depends on it, or the life of a friend, relative, or neighbor. Because it does. We’re the decoys now.
— Hoodlum 🇺🇸 (@nothoodlum.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 5:22 PM
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MAGAt Rep. Nancy Mace, tatted up and ready to mingle --
She’s one neck tattoo away from announcing a podcast.
— 𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕖 𝔾𝕦𝕣𝕝 (@sundaedivine.lol) August 18, 2026 at 7:49 AM
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If you haven't read about this latest Trump Crime Family get-rich-quick grift, Christopher Bates at Electoral-vote.com has a brief summary of the "World Liberty Bank":
"The griftwatch is eternal with this president. We could easily write an item about grifty behavior from him and/or his kids every single day, and not run out of things to cover. The only reason we don't is that it quickly moves into beating-a-dead-horse territory. Everyone should know he's on the take, at this point, and that the powers that might hold him accountable (outside the court system, sometimes) are not currently doing so.
"This story is sleazy enough, however, that we just could not let it pass. World Liberty Financial (WLF) is, of course, the Trump family's crypto business. However, it cannot legally issue its own stablecoins (bitcoins tied to reserves of some commodity, commonly U.S. dollars) because it is not a bank. Instead, it has to rely on a middleman and, of course, the middleman ends up with some of the profits and a lot of the power.
"The owners of WLF (including the Trumps, who hold 38% of the company in their own names) do not want to give up their profits or power. So, they have come up with a solution: World Liberty Bank. WLF applied for a charter with the Treasury Department's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and yesterday federal officials who work for Donald Trump gave preliminary approval to Donald Trump to open his own bank.
"It is not a done deal yet. There are still hoops to be jumped through, and maybe the Trumps won't be able to jump through them all. Or maybe it will take long enough that by the time final approvals roll around, the Department of Treasury will no longer be under the control of Trump, and will say "no." These are possibilities, though we are not at all confident in them.
"If the Trumps do get to run their own bank, particularly if Trump is still president (and Todd Blanche is still AG), the possibilities for grift are endless. Trump was already bandying about ideas for a third Trump-branded cryptocurrency. Imagine how many different coins they might issue, and how much they might fleece
the rubesthe base for, especially if the wolf is guarding the henhouse. Trump also has a habit of ordering his businesses to transfer funds to his personal accounts, and then having the businesses declare bankruptcy. This is what happened with his casinos and it could happen here. Perhaps most obviously, a Trump-run bank would allow for money laundering on an industrial scale. The first 50 accountholders would all be Russian oligarchs."It is clear, at this point, that Trump does not give a damn about hiding his corruption. He was more subtle during Trump v1.0, but now all bets are off. Maybe this is a variant of his usual strategy of muddying the waters with so much crap, it's hard to focus on any one bad act. Or maybe he's just gotten more desperate, since his time as president (and maybe his time on Earth) will soon run out. The Democrats are going to try hard to make this stick to the President and his Party in 2026. We do not know if they will be successful, but we do know that Trump has given them an embarrassment of (purloined) riches to work with."
We see the primary business for this "bank" would be to launder money for oligarchs and criminal organizations around the world, with the Trump Crime Family getting their beak wet at every transaction. The voiding of this charter needs to be among the first acts of a new Democratic administration (if we get there and elect a junkyard dog Democrat as President). Hoping for prison for some or all of the participants in this outrageous, unprecedented scheme may be too much to hope for, but it's sure goddamn deserving.
(Image: Alexandra Citrin-Safadi/WSJ)
Under the vindictive Malignant Fascist, his FCC has been used as a tool of coercion and censorship, threatening media outlets if they have programming that offends the MF. Now, Disney / ABC is pushing back on the FCC's threat to challenge its broadcast licenses by suing the commission. The Associated Press reports:
"Disney filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission alleging a violation of its First Amendment rights.
The suit comes after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on Friday recently defended the agency’s actions against ABC, saying broadcasters have a duty to 'operate in the public interest' and the FCC is merely trying to restore that standard.
Carr has said the country should have a 'trusted, respected news media, and we’re not there.'
ABC had accused the agency of a brazen attempt to chill its constitutionally protected free speech — and by extension, that of every media outlet in the country. The network’s July comments came in its latest filing to the agency, expressing its formal opposition to the FCC’s early review, launched in April, of eight ABC local broadcast licenses well before they expire." (our emphasis)
The "public interest" that Carr refers to is clearly meant to be the MF's interest. ABC's late night host Jimmy Kimmel has been relentless in his satirization of the buffoonish MF. The pressure tactics worked on Paramount during the merger with Trumpist David Ellison's Skydance Media, which was approved by the FCC after Stephen Colbert's CBS show was cancelled as an obvious favor to the MF.
Late last year, the MF sued the BBC for $10 billion under a bogus claim that a BBC documentary misrepresented the MF's instigation of the January 6 riot, causing him economic damage. The BBC now has the MF on the ropes by asserting its right to see the MF's business and financial records to argue whether he was damaged financially or not. Pushing back against a bully and his acolytes is better than rolling over and handing him your lunch money.
The sub-moron troll to whom 49.8 percent of voters in 2024 gave control over America's nuclear weapons is re-iterating his asinine threat to make the Strait of Hormuz a U.S. Territory this morning in an official U.S. Government statement on his failed social media platform:
What a world-historic catastrophe for our country.
The latest Reuters/ipsos poll has more bad news for Dementia Don:
President Donald Trump’s approval rating fell to the lowest level of his presidency with an overwhelming majority of Americans concerned the U.S. war with Iran will last a long time, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that concluded on Monday.
Just 33% of respondents in the four-day survey said they approved of Trump’s performance in the White House, while 64% disapproved. Trump’s approval rating, down from 35% in a poll that closed earlier this month and lower than at any point in his current term, has now tied the lowest level of his prior term reached in December 2017.
After returning to the White House last year with just under half the country approving of his presidency, Trump’s popularity this year took a hit after he ordered strikes on Iran alongside U.S. ally Israel. The ensuing conflict paralyzed a fifth of the global oil trade, triggering a surge in the price of gasoline which is weighing on U.S. households - and on Trump’s Republican allies defending congressional majorities in November midterm elections.
Trump, who campaigned on promises to keep inflation in check and avoid long-lasting wars, initially pledged the conflict with Iran would take a few weeks, and argued the war was the only way to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon that could threaten the world.
But Iran has proved resilient and has kept the oil trade through the Strait of Hormuz largely bottled up even as the conflict has cooled.
Some 80% of Americans - including 87% of Democrats and 71% of Republicans - think U.S. involvement in Iran “will go on for an extended period of time,” the Reuters/Ipsos poll found. Just 16% said the conflict would likely end in a few weeks.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll, which was conducted online, gathered responses from 1,166 U.S. adults nationwide and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points in either direction. (our emphasis)
You can fool some of the people some of the time...
We're pretty sure Dementia Don's comfort binkie, Natalie, won't be showing him this poll.
(Photo: he's got his gold doo-dads to keep him warm, too / Kevin Dietsch, Getty Images)
The Epstein-Trump Files coverup / Todd? Todd? --
Where are the documents Todd? - Katie Phang
— IslandMapleTree (@buttermaple.bsky.social) August 15, 2026 at 5:03 PM
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Operation Epic Fail / bombing allies, cozying up to tyrants --
Trump wakes up this morning threatening to bomb Oman. Welcome to another week with an unhinged madman running the country.
— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 7:26 AM
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In Trump’s war against Iran, North Korea actively sided with Iran, and Trump chooses to reward them for it. So weak!
— Joni Askola (@joniaskola.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 3:46 AM
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Trump, the "absolute crook," and the media's silence --
“What an absolute crook” — Ossoff on Trump
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) August 16, 2026 at 7:57 PM
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It’s a searing indictment of the media that the family business run by the US president had *hundreds* Of bank accounts closed by Capital One based on suspicions that they were involved in money laundering And-especially since Trump is a convicted felon-it barely registered as a story
— Adam Cohen (My Personal Views Only) (@axidentaliberal.bsky.social) August 16, 2026 at 10:46 PM
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'sup with Trump's ass? --
As a proctologist, this looks like a fecal extrusion device, although it appears he's using a fairly heavy duty model. We only prescribe these to patients who diarrhea themselves 24/7.
— Lagoogoo Doll (@matchbox30.bsky.social) August 16, 2026 at 10:03 PM
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The U.S.S. Lincoln disaster --
The USS Lincoln disaster is the latest reminder of why Pete Hegseth still has a job. He is laser-focused on flattering Trump's ego, instead of running the military. Trump's ego is why that ship has been deployed so long. My analysis as to why. www.salon.com/2026/08/17/p...
— Amanda Marcotte (@amandamarcotte.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 6:59 AM
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Republican SCOTUS: pay E. Jean Carroll, Trump! --
As expected, SCOTUS rejects Trumps' unusual attempt to seek reconsideration of the court's decision in June not to hear his challenge to E. Jean Carroll's $5 million jury verdict against him.
— Lawrence Hurley (@lawrencehurley.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 9:32 AM
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Why we can't have nice things, health insurance edition --
A reminder that we don't lack national health in this country because it would cost too much. It would actually save tons of money. We lack it because it would not enrich businesses and their executives like the current system does. bsky.app/profile/jent...
— Craig Calcaterra (@craigcalcaterra.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 8:47 AM
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Republicans' Medicaid cuts are a ticking time bomb for the US health care system. newrepublic.com/article/2142...
— Jonathan Cohn (@jonathancohn.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 8:22 AM
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Weak on ICE. Dump this out-of-touch former corporate lawyer --
ICE can’t be reformed. What voters are we courting by being weak on this issue? Do we have some massive Dem donor that owns concentration camps or something?
— Allison Gill (@muellershewrote.com) August 16, 2026 at 9:23 PM
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Winning! --
New FT poll: Is the economy going in the right or wrong direction? 64% wrong 25% right Are you better or worse off since Trump took office in Jan 2025? 53% worse 21% better 36% Approve of Trump 55% Disapprove giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
— Bill Grueskin (@bgrueskin.bsky.social) August 16, 2026 at 4:32 PM
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Taking responsibility, Japanese style --
Why a viral apology from a Japanese volleyball player reveals something profound about their culture
— Digital Brain (@yourdigitalbrain.bsky.social) August 16, 2026 at 8:27 AM
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The deranged and petty Malignant Fascist threw a hissy fit yesterday against the annual joint military exercise with South Korea, praising his tyrannical friend Kim Jong Un and instructing Whiskey Pete Hegseth to limit our involvement this year. The MF pointedly noted that South Korea had declined to join his disastrous war on Iran as a factor in his tantrum. The Atlantic's Tom Nichols writes that this is a pattern with the mentally disturbed MF, cozying up to our adversaries and kicking our long term allies and blaming them for his failures:
"America and the rest of the world are now witnessing a public exhibition of narcissistic rage. Trump embarked on a war for personal glory, and what he got instead was ongoing humiliation. He clearly finds it all unbearable.
Trump both fears and respects the autocrats who rule Russia, China, and North Korea, and so he dares not cross them. Instead, he is seeking to assuage the psychic injury of his loss in Iran—including the American public learning of the shameful conditions to which he has subjected U.S. forces—by kicking America’s allies, the nations he can punish without fear that they will kick him back.
The Iran war was not the president’s failure, you see. Others failed the president. Those disloyal South Koreans, who every few years drag him into a needless confrontation with that respectful and peace-loving young man in Pyongyang, refused to help him topple the Iranian regime. And because Trump is unable to subdue Iran, unable to replenish stocks of U.S. weapons he should never have expended in this war, unable to take care of the service personnel he has put in harm’s way, someone is going to pay. The most convenient target he could find, at least for the moment, was South Korea." (our emphasis)
As Nichols points out, when things go wrong, someone must be held responsible but never the MF. It's a foolish move and one sure to please Pyongyang, Beijing and Moscow, not to mention Teheran.
It's worth noting that we maintain nearly 30,000 armed forces in South Korea, and this petty act by the MF makes their position far less secure. And if the ignorant MF is wondering how Iran's missile production is so efficient, North Korea has been the source for missile technology, materials and technicians for decades, contributing to his failure in Iran.
(photo: The MF and his role model. Reuters)
