The Ego that Could Destroy the World
Trump's military cosplay and sophomoric bluster run the risk of creating World War III.
It’s been just shy of a week since Trump unilaterally and illegally declared war on Iran. Oh, wait, the MAGAs tell us, he didn’t declare war on Iran. He just declared war on Iran’s weapons of war, so we’re all good.
Do Trump and the MAGAs really think that Iran’s leaders and the people of Iran make such a distinction? Would it make any difference that distinction were made? Do Trump and his team really believe that the Iranians won’t feel the need to retaliate?
It’s virtually impossible to look at the bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities without assessing the role of Trump’s ego in that attack. If we turn back the clock a few weeks, we can count the number of blows to his famously fragile ego leading up to the attack:
In early June, Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian airfield dealt a serious blow to Russia’s air defenses. Ukraine continues to defend itself and its autonomy, despite Trump’s efforts to get them to cede the regions of eastern Ukraine that Russia has invaded. On the campaign trail, Trump boasted that he’d immediately end the war in Ukraine. Ukraine’s widely reported drone strikes showed the world that neither Ukraine’s forces and nor their determination had been weakened. Furthermore, they also dispelled Trump’s narrative that the peace deal that he was supposedly brokering was imminent.
Trump’s self-aggrandizing “Big Beautiful Bill” has been harshly criticized by the press, by the Democrats, and by many Republicans — some deriding it because it cuts too much, some because it cuts too little. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill will add $2.4 trillion to the federal debt.
Trump’s rancorous public breakup with his billionaire tech bro spawned mockery and negative media attention in all corners of the globe. The DOGE bros have scattered like cockroaches, some scurrying back to wherever it was they came from and some burrowing into to other parts of the government.
Trump’s tariffs have been met with scathing disdain, both domestically and around the world. His singular determination to force them upon the American people (and on the world) instantly raised prices, sent Wall Street into wild oscillations, and triggered fear and anxiety among working Americans.
Shameful and unpopular ICE raids have shaken communities around the country, culminating in massive protests in Los Angeles, the city most concentratedly targeted by ICE. Masked agents have yanked people away from their jobs. They have separated parents from their children. They have swept up non-criminal productive and beloved members of their communities. They’ve even deported U.S. citizens caught up in the sweeps.
Trump’s approval numbers have been way underwater with large numbers of Republicans disapproving of his job performance.
On June 13, Israel threw a giant monkey wrench into the ongoing efforts at diplomacy when they launched surprise attacks on Iran. Trump’s hopes for a diplomatic win were sunk. Trump likely took these attacks as a betrayal by Israel because it reminded him that he was not “top dog” in controlling what was transpiring between the two countries.
Trump’s long-coveted ego bolstering birthday celebration military parade was a dismal disappointment, as evidenced by his complete lack of joy during the event. The parade consisted of sad, squeaky tanks, yawning family and cabinet members, unsynchronized marchers, and sparse lackluster crowds.
In contrast, the “No Kings” protests that same day attracted massive, enthusiastic and upbeat throngs of people in thousands of locations around the country, with crowd estimates between 4 and 10 million people around the country and in several countries around the world. Protest crowds perhaps swelled to sizes that were larger than expected because of the widespread condemnation of Trump’s recent cruel and mismanaged ICE raids.
Can we blame his illegal attack on Iran solely on his ego? Of course not. There is a whole constellation of world events and bad advice that went into his decision. But it’s equally faulty to ignore the role that his ego played in the decision, particularly when you take into account all the blows his ego took in the weeks immediately preceding the U.S. bombing of Iran.
It’s worth remembering that the only reason Iran has been able to refine uranium in recent years is because, in 2018, Trump himself withdrew the United States from the JCPOA (commonly referred to as the “Iran nuclear deal”). As usual, Trump’s out of control ego led him to believe that he could single-handedly do better than the world’s experts who had spent years negotiating and hammering out the details of the JCPOA.
Going into the bombings, Trump ignored the advice of his DNI, believing that his own instincts were more valid than the collective advice of nine separate intelligence agencies that provided the info that Tulsi Gabbard had passed on to him — intelligence that stated that Iran’s nuclear weapons capability was not imminent.
His made-for-TV announcement of the attack was produced specifically for an audience of gullibles — the slow procession down the hallway toward the podium, the dim lighting, the grim looks on his team’s faces.
Surrounded by his most ardent sycophants, he claimed victory as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Vice President J.D. Vance looked on, even bowing deferentially to Trump as he exited. This is clearly not a team who would or could prevent Trump from indulging in his worst impulses.
The days following the bombing have been as chaotic as pretty much everything else about Trump’s time in office. Here’s a brief timeline of the past week, starting with Trump’s announcement from the White House:
Saturday evening: Trump makes an announcement that the U.S. has bombed three of Iran’s nuclear sites and has “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capability.
Sunday: Air Force General Dan “Raising” Caine slightly walks back Trump’s claim of obliteration of Iran’s nuclear capabilities, stating only that the “[i]nitial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction." (Many in the media have falsely conflated the damage to the facilities themselves with destruction of that nation’s overall nuclear capabilities.)
Monday: A number of members of Congress from both parties begin voicing their objections to the bombing on constitutional grounds, stating that it is the role of Congress to declare war.
Monday: A preliminary intelligence report states that, while it was clear that bombings had hit their targets, it was too early to tell whether the mission had actually obliterated the nuclear capability.
Tuesday: At a press availability, Trump drops the F-bomb complaining about both Israel and Iran breaking the supposed cease fire that he claims to have brokered, chiding them to behave according to his wishes.
Wednesday: A leaked Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report states that the US set back Iran’s nuclear capabilities by only a few months.
Wednesday: DNI Tulsi Gabbard, perhaps in doing additional penance for her earlier statements, makes a 180 degree turn and claims new assessment of damage indicates that Iran’s nuclear capabilities have been obliterated. CIA Director John Ratcliffe echoes her assessment later that same day.
Thursday: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claims that the U.S. attacks did not have a significant impact on Iran’s nuclear capability.
Thursday: At a Pentagon press conference, Hegseth berates and yells at a Pentagon reporter (a former colleague of his at Fox News) who had the audacity to ask whether there was certainty that the highly enriched uranium at the Fordow site had not been moved elsewhere, a question that any good journalist would ask of any Secretary of Defense after such military activity. Pete Hegseth instantly transformed from Secretary of Defense to Secretary of Defensiveness.
Throughout all of these ups and downs, Trump continues to insist that Iran’s nuclear capabilities have been “completely and totally obliterated.” If you don’t have whiplash from all of this, if you’re not exhausted by this chaos, you’re either not normal or your not paying attention.
Meanwhile, the people in Trump’s inner circle have adopted his hyperbole. His press secretary has claimed that this is the greatest military victory of any president. Cabinet members lash out at anyone who questions any aspect of the mission. His Director of National Intelligence has changed the outcome of intelligence to align with Trump’s narrative, in much the same way that Trump tried to create a new hurricane reality by drawing on a map with a Sharpie.
The cavalier attitude with which Donald Trump took this action — flouting the law, ignoring intelligence briefings, taking severe military action using completely short-sighted goals — should frighten us all. He has put U.S. embassies and military assets in the region in harm’s way. He has ignored the likelihood of further fighting in the Middle East. He has increased the likelihood of attacks on U.S. soil by lone wolves or by sleeper cells.
All of that, and his bottomless pit of an ego still isn’t satisfied. And it never will be.
