Despite the inarguable possible redline within the Epstein documents, along with the unforgivable cover-up, nothing moves the American public to turn away from a president faster than a threat to the economy, especially an easily avoidable and personal threat, and the Trump administration seems to appreciate this maxim better than most as officials engage in “freak-the-fck-out” sessions over the jump in gasoline prices that has accompanied Trump’s Iranian war action. That the Trumpers understand just how demanding the American public can be is readily apparent in a new article from The Globe and Mail detailing “panic” and shouting matches in the White House about what to do, not about how to quickly end an ill-considered war, but ways to wrestle gas prices back down amidst that war, prices that have already jumped 10%.
They should be arguing and deeply concerned. After all, the American public has plenty of experience regarding expectations that parallel Middle-Eastern wars and gas prices. And yes, one absolutely should wonder how Trump officials started this endeavor without having given this more thought beforehand, which seems to be part of the problem, sending them into an even greater panic:
Donald Trump‘s chief of staff Susie Wiles is demanding action to bring gas prices down as the war with Iran sends oil skyrocketing, sources have revealed.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright and other top officials, including a council led by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, ‘are getting screamed at to find some good news’, industry executives said.
Right. What makes it much worse is that Susie Wiles is no fool, perhaps the single most competent Trump appointment in his two terms, and thus we’re left to wonder how it is that this war came about without serious discussion about the inevitability before we launched 100 sorties decapitating the regime. (The Iranian regime, to clarify, not ours.)
Meanwhile, Trump is attacking the problem like any other problem arising in his reign, a deft combination of disinterest and lies:
Trump swatted away concerns, telling reporters ‘if we have a little high oil prices’ that was acceptable because ‘as soon as this ends, those prices are going to drop, lower than even before.’
Huh. That might well be true in an actual war over something Americans actually care about, but not a desperate and offensive attempt to distract from the Epstein files, from which Americans suspect something utterly devastating drives all this in the first place.
Well, good. Let them scream at each other. Perhaps they’ll quickly come to some profound realization, something like “Wow, this didn’t work quite the way we drew it up.” The sooner the better.
Because never in our lifetimes has an administration prepared less or looked out of its league more than this group in this action, a war for which they still haven’t articulated even the most basic explanation as to “Why?”” never mind one accepted by the American public. That we all know it is merely an attempt to distract from possible child rape makes every death, whether American or Iranian civilian, that much more intolerable to a “Century-defining” degree.
The only worse news might be that Trump officials weren’t screaming, safely ensconced in their bunker, safe from salvos, Iranian bombs, that is – not the bombs that lay in the real battlefield, those Epstein files, the ones that simply won’t go away. So long as we don’t forget the real road to war.
Jason Miciak is past Associate Editor of Occupy Democrats and Executive Editor of Political Flare. He can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter or follow on Bluesky. Also seeking beta readers for a novel to be released this fall.Â
Their incompetence now on full view. Winning an election by whipping up hysteria on gas prices rising and then starting a war guarranteed to increase gas prices seems more than a little ill-advised. And then you remember the reason for the war is to distract attention from the continuing Epstein scandal and the lack of foresight on their part appears almost comical.
Or is it all so stupid? Remember that this regime have sacked anyone with knowledge of how to cope with Iranian countermeasures, or actual expertise in Iran in general, including knowledge of their well provided for security intelligence services. Now would be a ‘good’ time for Iran to launch a 9/11 style attack, there’s no-one to stop them.
Dimwit Donny knows that Bush went from most unpopular ever President to most popular President ever when he became perceived as ‘President Of A Country Under Attack’, and maybe he thinks he can repeat the trick?
Would even the current MAGA party be so craven?
What does their past behavior suggest?