Obviously, the war on Iran is sucking up most of the attention right now, but I want to flag a big event today: the primary in Texas. Both parties have tight races for their U.S. Senate nominations. The Democratic primary between Rep. Jasmine Crockett and state Rep. James Talarico has gotten pretty ugly, while the Republican primary is just bizarre. 

If polls are correct, it looks like Republican voters are about to oust incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in favor of state Attorney General Ken Paxton. Cornyn is a reliable Donald Trump supporter and a lifelong far-right ideologue. But Paxton has turned GOP heads simply because, well, he’s the bigger asshole, which matters to the base far more than actual policy ever could. Paxton would probably easier for Democrats to beat in a general election, though, so maybe the Republican desire to win at all costs will prevail.

Trump ran on the notion that he’d be a “peace president” and an “America First” isolationist. Which makes it hard to explain, then, why he’s started a war with Iran. As many have noted, he isn’t even bothering with the usual excuses, leaving that work to the usual chorus of conservative hacks. 

For the MAGA base, I think there’s a different strategy: persuading them to ignore it. Trump did release a couple of videos announcing the first attacks on Iran, but mostly, he’s avoided talking about or acknowledging that it’s even happening, preferring to talk instead about his planned ballroom or new statues. Meanwhile, Trum apologists are all over the media, downplaying the war and even insisting that it’s not actually a war at all.

I’m reminded of Trump’s approach to the COVID pandemic, which was to fling the word “hoax” around and generally suggest that the threat was being exaggerated by his opponents to undermine him. What’s chilling is that it mostly worked on his base back then. They grew so committed to COVID denialism that, even after vaccines arrived, many MAGA believers refused to take them, lest that be taken as an admission that the disease was as serious as the liberals were saying. 

I expect that that’s how Trump loyalists will continue to insist he’s a “peace president,” even as he wages an illegal war of aggression on false premises. They’ll deny it’s a war. They’ll downplay the casualties and insist that it’sjust a few limited strikes. That might work, because the MAGA base is nothing if not good at lying to themselves. But with Trump a lame duck and his approval ratings in free-fall, even his core supporters might not be as eager as they were in 2020 to back his lies for perceived electoral gain.  

Interestingly, both Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have used the word “war,” which cuts against this political strategy. But I don’t think it’s all that deep. Both of those guys are really excited about having started a war, so it slipped out. But overall, I think the P.R. gambit will be exactly this: “War? What war?”

Support the progressive journalism you trust. Become a Salon member today!

As many people have pointed out, Trump’s war in Iran isn’t only unjustified, it lacks any clear objectives. Obliterating a nuclear program that he claimed had already been destroyed? Full-on regime change? Distraction from the Epstein files? (That, I feel, is always in the mix these days.) The White House doesn’t seem to know and, if you ask what the plan is, Trump’s surrogates just yell at you. 

One assumption might be that Trump’s war-planners have a goal in mind, but are unwilling to share it with the public for whatever reason. That’s plausible, and certainly resembles the way Republicans like George W. Bush operated with adventure wars in the past. But there’s also a real chance that none of these fools actually have a plan. In fact, it’s reasonable to believe that people like Trump and Hegseth abhor making plans, because they think that’s a sign of weakness.

This is where I, once again, have to return to Umberto Eco, whose writing on fascism is so good at predicting the behavior of Trump and his goons. For the fascist, he wrote, action “must be taken before, or without, any previous reflection,” because “[t]hinking is a form of emasculation.” 

This isn’t even a new thing with the GOP. The Iraq War may have had more explicit objectives, but it’s clear in retrospect that Bush and company thought it was just pansy nonsense to worry about what might happen after Saddam Hussein was deposed. Trump just takes these underlying tendencies to their illogical conclusion, only thinking about the next hour and dismissing any and all pointy-headed questions about what happens tomorrow or next week. 

Click the speech bubble icon to leave a comment or click the heart to like this post.

Forwarded this email? Get Standing Room Only in your inbox twice a week.

You don't have to read everything — just the right thing. 1440's daily newsletter distills the day's biggest stories from 100+ sources into one quick, 5-minute read. It's the fastest way to stay sharp, sound informed, and actually understand what's happening in the world. Join 4.5 million readers who start their day the smart way.

Join for free today!