There is no remedy against President Donald Trump being Donald Trump. No matter the situation, he's going to Trump.
Nowhere is this truer than the cynical expediency with which he's approaching the Iranian war, stating that he is putting off the next major offensive until after the election.
The Iranians sure thank the American president for admitting that the matter is so politically unpopular that he is all but giving them a breather to prepare. There is no conceivable way that Iran won't use the time to assess weaknesses and plan some of their own responses, whatever they may be, against a United States military that has freedom in the sky and newly appreciated use of drones.
Trump also lies, and Iran surely knows that. It could be a fake. Except there is no way he would lie about something that could hurt him politically right before an election. Laughably, Iran has already announced that it is "actively" using the admission for its own purposes.
For once he is telling the truth and the whole world knows it. Of course, the truth comes only in response to his selfish political needs.
There certainly are likely legitimate reasons to put off such a bombing. It may well be that the U.S. has to move pieces around to adequately prepare. It could be that the country wants to see what Iranians do in response to a threat. It could be that we are not adequately prepared ourselves yet. Or it could be that Trump has faith in the "diplomatic talks" that he mentioned earlier this month — though that one is the least likely.
If one must warn the enemy that the timetable is being put off, then give the reason! Trump does give the reason, the worst reason, the most telling reason, by sharing with the Iranian government that this war is not at all popular and thus, to even keep going, it needs to wait until after the election.
Were that Trump's (and our) only problem. Trump then faces a Congress that, if things go well, would defund the whole thing altogether, giving Iran one big window to consider and plan around.
Another legitimate reason would be to announce that the U.S. might be preparing for another massive wave, but it first wants to see if Iran is willing to pull back itself. Iran is surely aware of Trump's political calculations and is known to fight with terrorism. Now that is a legitimate reason to warn Iran.
And defend the country, because they know excuses go out the window.
Instead, Trump tells the truth, likely because it is the truth. Otherwise, just come out and SAY that we are waiting to see if Iran pulls back! Such a statement is surely the best way to get what we want, no terrorism here. But he manages to find the most atrocious act of political recklessness. Trump chooses to announce the war's precarious political position to the world. It is like he's telling them, "I have got to prevent even more seats being lost, and then I know I'm going to have trouble with the new Congress; I have one window, and I'm using it."
Iran? "Thanks, really good to know."
So that's the story... No. It is not. This kind of decision-making is not remotely fair to our troops. How would you feel if you were about to put your life even more on the line, but your Commander in Chief wants to tell you that he can't afford to leave Iran confused by not announcing the launch, or use it as a warning to Iran, all because it hurts him politically, so he's chosen to make the situation more dangerous for you?
Now that is the story. It really doesn't require much more analysis than that, which is awful. He makes it so simple that the Iranians understand the situation better than Hegseth.
Sigh. He is going to Trump. Even at war.
Jason Miciak is a Raw Story columnist, former editor at Occupy Democrats, author, attorney, consultant, and single-parent girldad. Please follow on Bluesky, and he can be reached at jasonmiciak@gmail.com