Can President Trump ever speak like a…well, president? Hasn’t he ever heard the expression, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”? “Not Nearly Long enough” was his only response when asked if the USS Abraham Lincoln, one of America’s two aircraft carriers currently engaged in the war with Iran, had been deployed too long (260+ days and counting). Just like Trump’s humiliating exploits surrounding the Reflecting Pool, the situation on the USS Abraham Lincoln is a perfect metaphor for his disastrous war with Iran—an incompetent, disorganized, humiliating quagmire, aka one more “forever war” the country can’t afford and never wanted.
The problem isn’t Trump’s unrealistic fantasy of defeating the Iranian regime and declaring victory, or that he doesn’t care about the American people, including his own MAGA voters. This humble spirit is convinced that one of his administration’s imperatives—what matters above all else to him and the billionaire oligarchs who feed his grift machine—is for the majority of Americans to learn their lowly place and be content living in the disproportionately large bottom half of Trump’s “K-shaped” economy. If corrupt oligarchies are to maintain their power, the majority of the people must be kept powerless and downtrodden, in a state of perpetual desperation. In other words, our country’s growing inequality isn’t a problem, but rather the regime’s overarching goal. In short, the odds don’t favor that Trump will address the “affordability” problem anytime soon, especially when it’s so much easier to label his opponents as communists and just move on to the next grift.
The president doesn’t show the least bit of concern or empathy for the 5,000+ sailors and marines aboard the Abraham Lincoln; to his way of thinking, they cannot possibly sacrifice enough on behalf of “King Trump.” Whatever the cost, the US Military should remain in the region for as long as it takes to subdue the Iranian regime and achieve HIS objectives—whatever those are on any given day. The president’s mood veers between the nuclear program and the Strait of Hormuz, but we don’t seem any closer to shutting down Iran’s nuclear ambitions or keeping the Strait open—and certainly not to bringing America’s troops home. Despite what you think, Mr. President, it’s already been way, way too long.
“Not nearly Long enough” is Another Example of Trump’s “Let Them Eat Cake” Attitude.
It’s clear that Trump, a Vietnam draft dodger who claimed to have bone spurs in his heels, couldn’t care less if the Abraham Lincoln’s crew, having been at sea since February, is enduring terrible conditions, including inadequate food and hygiene supplies, as well as many toilets, showers and laundry facilities out of commission. In his mind, American service members only exist to further his megalomania, his insatiable ambition to be viewed as a great, all-powerful leader in the history books. (Afterall, did Alexander the Great have to worry about getting his soldiers soap and toothpaste?) It doesn’t even cross Trump’s narcissistic mind that his comments sound callous and uncaring; what’s important is that he never looks weak, that he never has to acknowledge the fact that he’s a loser. And never mind, of course, that in order to relieve the Abraham Lincoln, another aircraft carrier, the USS George Washington, will have to be redeployed from the eastern Pacific, where it’s sorely needed to help deter China’s growing aggression against Taiwan.
And while the Abraham Lincoln’s crew members suffer, Secretary of “War” Pete Hegseth is worried about the military’s testosterone levels and focusing on his latest recruiting video. Presumably, however, the news about conditions on the Lincoln won’t inspire very many young Americans to rush out and join the military.