From last night’s National Republican Congressional Committee’s fundraising dinner. (If you prefer a write-up, see The Hill, Live updates: Trump says Iran wants deal ending war ‘so badly’ at NRCC dinner.)
The fact that this little riff isn’t the main headline across all news outlets this morning is telling (I did hear one clip from it on NPR this morning, FWIW).
Why do I say this? Well, if any other president had claimed that Iran had proposed they become the Supreme Leader, and/or that Iran badly wanted a deal, it would be a massive headline (either because it was true or because it would raise profound concern about the president’s mental status). The fact that there aren’t screaming headlines on that topic means, quite plainly, that everyone knows he is making it all up.
Basically, it boils down to this: if what Trump is saying is true, this is a massive story, but no one is treating it that way.
If this is untrue (which it clearly is), this is either a sign of mental deterioration (and maybe it is) or it is just Trump doing what he has always done rhetorically, which is bullshit his way through reality as influenced by the power of positive thinking. As such, this may be the peak “Sir” story (even though he doesn’t use “sir” in this one, but he does use the voice he uses in Sir stories).
I suspect some allies and supporters will see this as some kind of negotiation tactic, or simply dismiss it as “Trump being Trump.” And, no doubt, some in his political coalition will find it necessary to publicly go along with these remarks as a sign of loyalty.
But the fact that no one actually believes what the President of the United States is saying is truly remarkable. FNC doesn’t have a word of it on their front page, for example. Instead, the main headline is a crime story, followed by a story about a Democratic member of Congress facing ethics charges and a story about trans athletes. You know, things that are way more important than Trump being asked to be the Supreme Leader of Iran.
Here’s OAN. There is a link to an Iran story, but not about Trump’s NRCC comments.
I know we passed this threshold many, many, many years ago, but it really is stunning the degree to which, in the middle of a war of choice that is already having global economic consequences and is risking serious long-term economic damage, we collectively can’t just shout that the emperor has no clothes.
