Here was Donald Trump a couple of weeks ago when an American base was attacked by an Iranian proxy drone:
This brazen attack on the United States is yet another horrific and tragic consequence of Joe Biden’s weakness and surrender…. This attack would NEVER have happened if I was President.... This terrible day is yet more proof that we need an immediate return to PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.
Hmmm. Remember this?
President Trump approved military strikes against Iran in retaliation for downing an American surveillance drone, but pulled back from launching them on Thursday night after a day of escalating tensions.
As late as 7 p.m., military and diplomatic officials were expecting a strike.... Planes were in the air and ships were in position, but no missiles had been fired when word came to stand down, the official said.
That was our tough guy president in 2019. Trump talks a big game. In real life he's just another blowhard.
Yup, just stating the obvious..
"Speak loudly, and carry a teensy, weensy stick that you hide so nobody thinks you're trying to actually pick a fight."
yeah, tv tough guy
i wonder how many times melania has kicked his ass
None lately. They're never in the same state these days.
"That was our tough guy president in 2019. Trump talks a big game. In real life he's just another blowhard."
Actually it probably took more guts to pull the strike back than to let it go ahead.
"Actually it probably took more guts to pull the strike back"
I'd maybe believe that if Trump wasn't talking a big game about fire and fury like the world had never seen before wimping out. Yes, it takes wisdom and courage to work for peace, but that's not what Trump was doing.
+++
"Actually it probably took more guts to pull the strike back"
Trump was the one who escalated things with Iran in the first place! Iran had suspended its nuclear weapons program and was behaving itself relatively well, and then along comes sfb Trump and blows the whole thing up, blusters his way *this close* to an armed confrontation with Iran and then...backs off and slinks away. Yes, he did do the right thing and a large-scale conflict with Iran would have been cataclysmic. But the whole situation was his own damn fault to begin with.
There was also his Incredibly Resolute ™ decision to retaliate against Syria for using chemical weapons by...dropping some bombs on an airstrip mostly used by Russian forces. After giving the Russians a heads up and allowing them to move their assets.
So badass.
"... before wimping out. .."
So you disagree with his decision not to kill a bunch of people over the loss of a drone that most people have long since forgotten about?
He didn't hold back out of concern for anybody. If he could without any blowback, he'd happily nuke half the world and then would brag about it. The man is a sadistic psychopath that doesn't consider human anyone outside of his inner circle, so human loss of life is never a part of his thought process.
He wimped out because like all cowards when it came time to pull through, he got scared that things would go sideways and he'd be blamed for it. The only thing that matters for Trump when doing something is how he will personally benefit or become affected by things.
"He wimped out because like all cowards when it came time to pull through, he got scared that things would go sideways and he'd be blamed for it. "
Was it the right decision or the wrong decision? Claiming he made the right decision for the wrong reason is pretty thin.
The point of this post is not about Trump's response. It's about Trump saying "they attacked us because Biden is weak, they would never attack us if I was president".
But the truth is, they DID attack us when he was president so his bragging is idiotic and makes him look like a fool. Since we were attacked while Trump was president, does that mean Trump was weak? According to the "logic" of his recent bragging, it does. Either that or he's lying about this attack making Biden look weak. Either way, Trump looks like an idiot (again)
"... they DID attack us .."
Shooting down a drone isn't even in the same ballpark as killing three soldiers.
You're so determined to view Trump in a positive light that you keep grasping for things to distract from the point. The degree of the attack is irrelevant.
Trump said our enemies would never dare attack if he were president because he's so strong and tough that they would be afraid. But our enemies did attack (regardless of the level of damage from the attack). They weren't afraid. So clearly, Trump is bragging (and lying) to make himself look good. However, it just makes him look pathetic.
Was it Trump that called off the strike? Did Trump ever sign orders to actually approve the strike?
They did kill the one Iranian general(?) who was in charge of their proxies.
Trump is a master when it comes to taking his own weaknesses and projecting them on to his opponents. People question whether he is losing it mentally? Project that on to Biden. Trump’s wife not being seen with him? Project that onto Nikki Haley. Trump is weak? Project that on to Biden. Responsible for the insurrection? Project that on to Pelosi.
It works for him every time. His opponents feel like they need to defend themselves and the media repeats what he says.
It's not that Trump is tough or not. It's that he has no ideology or principle except one: He's the only person who matters.
What he says about Biden is just a reflexive reaction.
Biden could do a perfect hand drawing of the Mona Lisa and Trump would reflexively criticize Biden by claiming that he would have done it better and faster.
You won't dare come out with that kind of trash-talking disrespectful BS once you see the tape of him muscling-- I mean body-slamming, straight out of WWE, it was brutal-- the president of Montenegro out of his way at a NATO photo-op, taught that guy a lesson he'll never forget, straight out of a Ben Garrison hero-moment it was, just decking a major world leader of a major world power. The man doesn't know what fear is, I tell you. /s
This is the same guy who routinely tosses his tee shots out of the rough onto the fairway when other players can't see him do it (caddies see it all the time but they work for him so of course they don't count). Yep, pure raw courage.
We all know t-Rump is all blow and no go, just like those other repulsives in government.
I was sure that Trump would start a foreign war to stay in power--I was surprised he picked trying to start a civil war since it is the most perilous for him. It is actually one of his surprising traits--He really does hesitate to start foreign wars, although he will bluster about them.
He was only President for four years. Maybe he was just lucky no invasions happened.
I think in the end the reason that Trump blinked in a number of these confrontations is 1. he has a thing about being seen as a peacemaker and, esp., a "deal maker." Going to war is the ultimate concession that you failed to "make a deal" and Trump hated that. He loved acting tough. *Being* tough was a different matter; and 2., in a real military conflict, he couldn't control the outcome and would end up looking bad if things went south. He never takes responsibiliy for anything, and as sure as hell wouldn't take responsibility if some "loser" soldiers ended up dying on a mission he sent them on and embarassing *him* with their dumb dying.
That's his calculus and that's why he was so bloody unfit for office.
Good points. 2. Seems the most plausible to me but wtf do I know about the psychopath's mind? Doubt he would 'lose' if he decided to bomb Mexico's cartels.
Trump greeted his audience on Friday night talking about how it was Saturday afternoon and he could be doing something nicer than speaking.
...and they say Biden is old?
Does anyone here remember when Democrats weren't chest-pounding for more war? I do. The "new and improved," neo-con inclusive Democratic Party doesn't have much appeal to me.
"Does anyone here remember when Democrats weren't chest-pounding for more war?"
I remember when Democracts (particularly the one in the Whitehouse) took a lot of heat for ending a two-decade war in Afganistan (started by a Republican president, fwiw). I also remember (because it just happened) Republicans--specifically, the Republican candidate for president--inviting Russia to invade Europe. So, I'm not sure what you mean about Democrats "chest-pounding for more war."
I am impressed that Biden took the heat on pulling out of Afghanistan. Hooray! Not so sure that's what has defined his tenure in office; seems more like a never to be repeated miracle.
But that's not what this post was about. The gist of the post was that Trump didn't drop enough bombs on Iran. That's what I would call "chest-pounding for more war."
No, the post was about how Trump blusters like a tough guy but doesn't really follow through and then accuses his opponents of weakness.
You're missing the stupidest thing Trump said. He claimed the US would not go to the aid of any NATO ally attacked by Russia not paying the 2% of gdp for defense agreed to by NTO under Bill Clinton. Of course, every NATO ally that Russia could plausibly attack far exceeds the 2% threshold. So the threat was both completely meaningless and massively damaging to NATO,
bottom line: trump is a moral and physical coward.