"War, huh, good God, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing!" - Trump Thread #157

[Spandauer]

It ain't nothing but a heart-breaker
(War) Friend only to The Undertaker
(Edwin Starr 1970, written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong)

Unless, of course, your name ends in Trump, when it ain't nothing but an opportunity to grift, deflect and destroy.

Previous thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5496818-beware-the-ides-of-march-trump-thread-156

The thing is, Trump had some sane Republicans in his cabinet in his first term. Few survived the 4 years. Now he's got a cabinet with a load of non politicians and Carte Blanche from Supreme Court to do whatever the fuck he wants.

Reality check.

Just spoke to my contact in the ME who is in the O&G industry. They said that every single American they know/have worked with, totally support Trump and everything he's doing. Source says it's not based on "Drill baby, drill" and we're talking people in quite senior positions too.

Kuwait is being bombarded by drones and missiles today but it is close to Kharg island, so who knows what's really happening there.

Nothing to see here, everything is fine

Using death as a prop.

Did he ask permission to use a photograph of that soldier's coffin?

www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2026/03/14/trump-fundraising-email-uses-photo-of-march-7-dignified-transfer-of-deceased-soldier/

Israel is running critically low on interceptors, US officials say.

www.semafor.com/article/03/14/2026/israel-is-running-critically-low-on-interceptors-us-officials-say

Well Donald, remember when you insulted the Swiss president, complained about the way she spoke and then raised the tariffs on them?

Switzerland has closed its airspace to US military flights directly related to the war against Iran, Bloomberg reports.

From the article "The embedded photo of the dignified transfer, taken by White House photographer Daniel Torok, is included in the email and bracketed by icons featuring the text, “CLAIM YOUR SPOT,” which can be clicked on to donate."

A picture of POTUS saluting a casket (RIP) with CLAIM YOUR SPOT above and below it? Looks more like a Trump-style-military recruiting poster.

I'm quoting the following not lightheartedly, but in real fear of the future: "And it's 1 2 3 what are we fighting for?".

My brother (high draft number for Vietnam) and I were half joking that our respective homes would make good stops from No Cal on an Underground Railroad if the draft gets reinstated. I'd be the starting point, it'd be a day's drive to his, and then a day's from from his to the Canada border.

DPRK firing missiles into the sea of Japan. TBF, there are US/South Korea military exercises going on, so nowt unusual about the missiles. But Kim does appear to be sending a reminder.

PRC State media is reporting about Trump's " many countries sending warships" claim, without mentioning what countries.

Trump says 'many countries' will send warships to Hormuz Strait - Global Times

It does appear that Trump has no concept of sovereignty of the sea and UNCLOS. Given that he has declared another nations sea as "conquered" , and now expects other nations to enforce it. Nations who have their own sea disputes. And although the US never ratified UNCLOS, it is the US who do most of the freedom of navigation exercises to enforce it.

And now that he has unilaterally declared another nations sea as his own, he expects other countries with their own disputes to sail in to act illegally for HIM.

My head is spinning trying to figure this out.

So if the PRC or Japan send him ships, will he just declare the disputed areas they both claim to "belong" to whoever sends a few ships ? Will he just declare the South China Sea to "belong" to the PRC if they send ships ?

CNN:

"President Donald Trump said Saturday he is not prepared to reach a deal with Iran to end the war, while declining to say what terms would be acceptable to him.
“Iran wants to make a deal, and I don’t want to make it because the terms aren’t good enough yet,” Trump told NBC News during a phone interview, adding that any agreement would need to be “very solid.”
When asked what those terms might include, the president declined to provide details. “I don’t want to say that to you,” he said.
Trump also raised doubts about the status of Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, noting that he has not appeared publicly since assuming power.
“I don’t know if he’s even alive. So far, nobody’s been able to show him,” Trump said.
“I’m hearing he’s not alive, and if he is, he should do something very smart for his country, and that’s surrender,” the president added, then describing reports of Khamenei’s death as “a rumor.”
Trump declined to name a specific Iranian figure he would support as a future leader, saying only, “We have people that are living that would be great leaders for the future of the country.”
The president also addressed his decision to temporarily ease some sanctions on Russia’s oil sector as global energy prices surge.
“I want to have oil for the world. I want to have oil,” Trump said, adding that the sanctions, originally imposed after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, would “go back as soon as the crisis is over.”
Asked about potential assistance in the conflict from Ukraine, Trump said the “last person we need help from is Volodymyr Zelensky.”
The Ukrainian president previously offered to help the US repel Iranian drones, using his military’s experience fending off Russian drones. Zelensky said Tuesday that Ukraine was sending teams to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to share their knowledge."

Baffles me.

It is Trump who is phoning these news networks to give interviews. I am certain he is looking for ideas. He is hoping the networks give him a name of a potential leader, then the next interview he will be dropping the name in.

I am certain if a journalist asked him about the mothballed Iowa class battleships, it would be in his very next "Truth".

And wearing the baseball cap, no less. That Fox was desperately trying to avoid showing - guess no one on his team cares about the etiquette breech.

Muzzling the press because they refuse to repeat Trump's lies
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/14/fcc-broadcast-permits-iran-war-news

And the fact that he is literally wearing his own merch. “Go to my website, where you too can get this hat for the bargain price of $29.99.”

He’s sick.

I get the impression that Trump and his team think that he is president of the world, not just America. They really are that stupid.

"Just for fun"

An ozz friend sent me a headline from abc . au that Trump says the US might hit Kharg Island again " just for fun". I can't post a link because Australia is in the sin bin where I am, and the story does not show up on any "quality" sites here either.

It's in the guardian and several other places now too @RedTagAlan
Trump says US may strike Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub ‘just for fun’ | US-Israel war on Iran | The Guardian
https://share.google/ygcn8iqTDSt6NdpdF

This would make a great thread title for the few seconds it would be allowed to stand (I transcribed it t😀o help Google

'We don't protect our own schools from guns, so why would we protect foreign schools from missiles?' explains US

Latest news from the horse's mouth in Kuwait.

eta photo not showing in post!

Here it is.

Ah yes, the Trump administration who are warriors for free speech.

Who travel to other countries to make speeches criticising their hosts for supposed lack of free speech.

The Trump administration that was co-run last year by Mr Elon "some of the things that I say will be incorrect" Musk.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/12/politics/some-of-the-things-that-i-say-will-be-incorrect-musk-backs-away-from-false-claim-of-usd50-million-for-gaza-condoms
“So, nobody’s going to bat a thousand. I mean, any – you know, we will make mistakes, but we’ll act quickly to correct any mistakes.”
This correction was not particularly quick. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s claim that President Donald Trump had thwarted $50 million in condom funding for Gaza made headlines around the world in late January. Trump kept repeating the story, and inflating the figure, even after media outlets reported it was highly unlikely to be true.

From their actions, it's been clear this administration & hangers-on believe it's OK to say untrue things, and if someone doesn't like it that person can publish the truth themselves or sue (when the untruth tellers own the communication channels and the court system is less accessible to the non-wealthy).

But dear me, turns out this administration DOESN'T believe that after all! No no.

THEY are allowed to tell untruths: intentionally or unintentionally, corrected or uncorrected.

No one else is: even if corrected.

And whether that story is true or not, it is in Iran's interest to promulgate it and it will have credence because of the botch which caused the hit on the girls' school.

I saw a bit in a feed where Trump says a US base was hit and some tanker planes hit on the ground, but next to no damage. So it appears the US are not reporting honestly.

I think this is going to be a strange one. The gulf states have strict news laws, Iran does too, nobody really trusts anything Isreal says these days, and Trump and his admin can't be trusted at all.

It's a sort of " make one owns mind up". Nobody can be really trusted. The good news can only report what they are told.

Surely this is all about helping Russia with the dropping of sanctions? They need money so Trump is freeing them up by attacking the global oil industry that we were all relying on. Oil is his main money pot so he knows how this would play out.

Truth is the first casualty of war

This war will leave the ME divided into states that feel pressured (for security or other reasons) to support the US and those that don't. This does not bode well for states with Iranian populations either.

Has this chat been following Venezuelan news?
https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2026-03-10/exclusive-chevron-shell-closing-in-on-first-big-oil-production-deals-in-venezuela-since-us-captured-maduro-sources-say

It's good to be reminded of this. Sadly.😕