cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/28102
US military leaders previously warned Trump that they were ‘not ready’ to respond to Iran’s anticipated retaliation and required additional time to prepare
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Only if the GOP/trump cared about optics which they never have
They absolutely care about optics. That’s why they’re talking about cancelling the midterms in the first place. That’s why they’re pulling ICE out of Minnesota. That’s why they’re trying to cover up the Epstein files.
They wouldn’t lie so much if the truth wasn’t dangerous. Never forget that.
We have vastly different ideas on optics, especially since they did not actually pull ice out and people that care about optics wouldn’t be floating canceling elections.
They wouldn’t be talking openly about cancelling elections, but they’d certainly be discussing it internally. And you’ll notice that the rest of the administration isn’t talking openly about it. Trump is, because he’s a raging ball of id who’s too stupid to keep his mouth shut. Important distinction there.
And remember, we’re talking about optics, which means whether or not they actually pulled ICE out of Minnesota is irrelevant. What matters is that they felt the need to say they’re pulling out. Why would they, if they didn’t care about what people think?
Don’t ever get drawn into the trap of thinking that authoritarians don’t need to care about public opinion. All governments ultimately exist by the consent of the governed. Democracy just turns that process into a formalized and largely bloodless one. There is no amount of tyranny that can keep a government in power if a sufficiently large portion of the populace doesn’t want them in power.
And Trump’s regime has not even achieved tyranny yet. They’re working on it, very hard and at a terrifying pace. But they can only get there if people let them.