Who is the Leader of the Free World Not the United States or Donald Trump

Who is the Leader of the Free World? Not the United States or Donald Trump!

“We don’t need anybody… We’re the strongest nation in the world. We have the strongest military by far in the world. We don’t need them.” 

Donald Trump, March 16th when European leaders initially declined to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz

Donald Trump has the lowest approval polls of any president since such polls have been conducted. His own base, traditional MAGA voters, are reeling from his beginning an unwinnable foreign war plus the staggering cost increases in oil & gas, medical care, foodstuffs, housing, automobiles and, well, anything that needs to be shipped by any means. After he and Secretary of War/Defense, Pete “Little Man” Hegseth, declared a total decapitation of the Iranian military, “removal by death” of dozens of key Iranian leaders and complete victory over this middle eastern Shiite theocracy – all in accordance with Israeli plans – Iran then shut down the vital Strait of Hormuz (depriving the world of 20% of all oil and gas), pasted regional Arab nations with missile attacks that destroyed as much civilian infrastructure as military targets, capping off those efforts by launching a longer-range missile (with a range that could reach Europe) 2,500 miles to the joint US/UK base in Diego Garcia (in the Indian Ocean).

Both Iran’s clergy and top military leaders, on the one hand, and the Trump administration, on the other, each declared victory in this Iran WAR. The Trump fomenter-in-chief, Israeli PM Netanyahu, noted that from his nation’s perspective, the WAR was not even half over. Even as Iran pledged that oil tankers from friendly nations would be granted safe passage through Hormuz (despite the extensive mining?) and even as the United States encouraged European and other “allied” nations to defy the Hormuz ban, companies that insured shipping made it very clear that they would not cover any losses incurred in such efforts to pass through that strait. Iranian tankers, now blessed to sell their cargo by Trump himself (more oil in the market may help reduce oil and gas prices), are still making their global deliveries.

Meanwhile, according to the March 24th Wall Street Journal, “Foreign ministers from Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan gathered before dawn on Thursday [3/19] in Riyadh for talks aimed at finding a diplomatic off-ramp to the war in Iran. Egyptian intelligence officials managed to open a channel with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and put forward a proposal to halt hostilities for five days. Those discussions laid the groundwork for an abrupt reversal: On Monday [3/23], as word of the discussions in the Saudi capital made its way to the White House, Trump backtracked on his threat to strike Iran’s power plants, embracing diplomacy with Tehran instead…” Trump claimed the United States was in direct negotiations with Iran, finding a path to settle the WAR. Iran denied that they were in any such discussions with the United States.

But Trump has managed to antagonize most of our traditional allies, whether through his TACO Trump tariffs (legally challenged by our Supreme Court), our out-and-out territorial demands over lands either in allied hands but in no event remotely legally under US control, or our government’s proclivity to use bully and blackmail tactics to coerce even our allies to join forces against Iran. Saudi Arabia, Iran’s most obvious foe despite a quasi-detente, seems to be encouraging the US to keep destroying Iran’s military and governance systems. We have reneged on trade agreements, made demands with threats (especially concerning the viability of NATO), abandoned supporting a democratic Ukraine in favor of supporting Russian bogus territorial claims, while lifting our oil embargo against Russia (ostensibly to increase product in the petroleum market), but effectively funding Russia’s attacks on Ukraine.

Contrary to Mr Trump’s assertions, there are dwindling few nations who still either respect or trust us. Workarounds are everywhere, further isolating the United States. It’s gotten to the point where, since Trump was reelected following an interim Democratic presidency where his volatile personality was quite well established, even a liberal successor to Trump (assuming we have elections) cannot create pledges or treaties that some subsequent autocratic American president just might undo. And Trump loves to find blame among his simpering appointees. Hey, Pete “Jesus Christ is on Our Side” Hegseth, a Trump bus has just left the blame depot and just might be heading in your direction.

So, what does a President who has fallen in global influence, even among his cherished followers, do? He knows that his party is facing midterm elections where his blind GOP follower-cadres face loss of one or, now, both Houses of Congress? Hold your breath until you turn, perish the thought, blue? Or the political equivalent of blackmailing his Senate stooges to repeal the filibuster rule so you can force passage of the Save America (voting) Act to eliminate all that consistently disproven election fraud… but in reality to cull as many blue voters out of their right to vote, knowing that unless you get that passed, GOP control of Congress is almost certainly toast. Add telling your stooges that you won’t sign any bills until they follow your autocratic order. Throw in full funding of DHS to ensure your brutal private ICE police force gets lots of money. Continue to pledge even more tax cuts for the rich – even noting the deficit is now over $39 trillion – but demand another $200 billion to continue your very unpopular WAR in Iran, costing a tad less than a billion dollars a day?

I’m Peter Dekom, and it’s time for the American public to put its collective foot down, send a clear message to their elected representatives in Congress that Trump no longer can call the shots without severe political consequences, underscoring that resolve with a massive “No Kings” day of protests across the land.