As America’s economy continues to sink into convicted felon wannabe-dictator/president Donald J. Trump’s sinking job approval numbers while his unconstitutional and illegal war with Iran reaches six months with no end or resolution in sight, word comes now that he will skip the 9/11 terror attack memorial service in New York City next month because they won’t him use it as a campaign rally.
Trump’s escalating lies about any existing attempts to end the war that has increased inflation dramatically and sent gas prices to astronomical highs leaves his shrinking cult of MAGA Maggots lost in ways to support him.
In The New York Times, White House Correspondent Peter Baker writes that “The war has deteriorated over the past six months into Mr. Trump’s own version of a ‘forever war,’ with no clear goals and no end in sight.”
President Trump the other day posted a heroic image of himself backed by an aircraft carrier, warplanes and American flags. In the lower left corner was former President George W. Bush and a sign, “Mission Not Accomplished 2001-2021.” In the other corner was a sign referencing himself saying “Mission Accomplished 2026.”
Except that it is not. Mr. Trump’s war in Iran, which hit the six-month mark on Friday, is anything but accomplished. Half a year in, the conflict has deteriorated into a quagmire of the president’s own making with no clear goals, no obvious strategy and no end in sight. Mr. Trump, who came to power running against Mr. Bush’s “forever wars,” has staked his presidency on his own version.
For Mr. Trump, it may be the worst of both worlds. He finds himself stuck in a maddening purgatory between full-fledged combat and genuine peace. He is reluctant to resume an all-out bombardment despite his thunderous threats, yet has been unable so far to broker an agreement to end the war on satisfactory terms. He has no victory to take credit for, yet is paying the political price in terms of the toll on the American economy and his party’s chances in the fall elections.
This sort of in-between stasis could in theory extend for a long time, a far cry from the four-to-six-week lightning strike that Mr. Trump predicted when he ordered Operation Epic Fury at the end of February. With no breakthrough in sight, both sides are testing the other’s staying power and Mr. Trump, despite a history of impatience, has made clear that he is “not in a hurry,” as he put it earlier this week.
“There’s not a lot to speak to,” he told reporters on Thursday, disavowing interest in negotiating with Iran at this point. “We don’t want to speak to them; we’re not looking to meet or anything. The strait is open; we’re taking a lot of boats — millions and millions of barrels of oil are coming out of the strait every day.”
In fact, the Strait of Hormuz remains a volatile passage with only a fraction of its prewar shipping traffic, leaving oil markets in flux. While the war killed Iran’s supreme leader, he was replaced by his son and the brutal regime in charge six months ago remains in charge today. Iran’s nuclear program has been damaged but Tehran still refuses to give it up.
“This has been a fiasco,” said Richard N. Haass, who was director of policy planning at the State Department when Mr. Bush invaded Iraq in 2003. “That’s the harsh reality. He can declare ‘mission accomplished.’ He can try to sell the argument as he often tries to, almost to create reality. But it’s going to be a hard, hard sell. There’s nothing to point to that will suggest either that we are better off or that the war was worth it.”
On the 9/11 front, MS Now reports:
Past Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama will be at the 9/11 memorial service, not to speak or promote themselves or their parties, but to stand in silence to remember the horror and deaths and support the survivors.
Also in The Times, Maggie Haberman, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Dana Rubinstein and Sally Goldenberg report:
President Trump is not planning to attend a ceremony in Manhattan for the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, in part because he wanted to deliver a speech and the annual event has long barred remarks, according to four people with knowledge of the events.
Mr. Trump’s team had conducted advance visits at the site and had initially signaled to officials in New York and in Washington that the president intended to visit the memorial space known as ground zero, two of the people with knowledge of the events said.
The president’s interest in speaking on Sept. 11 was conveyed to memorial planners in recent weeks, three of the people with knowledge of the events said. But since 2012, politicians have been barred from speaking at the site. The National September 11 Memorial and Museum, which oversees the site, has worked rigorously to keep the venue nonpartisan and focused on the solemnity of the day.
Mr. Trump, a native New Yorker who talked often about the Sept. 11 attacks during his 2016 presidential campaign, is now expected to commemorate them at the Pentagon, two of the people with knowledge of the events said. The Pentagon also came under attack on Sept. 11, 2001.
Vice President JD Vance is expected to represent the White House in New York.
The president will go to the Pentagon after he attends a midterm political convention in Texas. Officials have discussed some kind of tribute to the terrorist attack victims during that convention, which takes place Sept. 9 and 10.
There are other considerations that led to Mr. Trump honoring the day in Washington, including that he will depart the next day for his golf course in Doonbeg, Ireland, where the Irish Open tournament will take place. Leaving from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, or from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, would snarl air and motor traffic to a much greater extent than with Mr. Trump leaving from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
Figures. A golf event on one of his resorts, this one in Ireland, is more important to him than remembering 9/11. Just another reason for voters to forget Trump and vote to strip him of power in the mid-term elections in November.
