by CJ Waldron
The war in Iran is becoming a major headache for the Trump administration. After tearing up the agreement that was crafted by several countries during the Obama administration, he repeatedly threatened Iran during his first time in office.
Why did he never carry through with his threats and why is he doing this now?
The answer: He needed a distraction. He needed to distract from the call to release the Epstein files. He needed some misdirection to hide the blatant corruption of his second administration.
So, he went to his tried and true method; create a crisis and then claim to solve it. The problem is, he never expected such fierce resistance from Iran. He thought a war that lasted only 4 to 6 weeks would be enough to keep Epstein off the front page long enough for the short attention span public to move on.
It worked when he declared a border cris, allowing roaming bands of masked individuals to detain, and sometimes murder, those who were suspected of being in the country illegally.
But it didn’t stop there. American citizens, who protested these highly suspect actions were attacked; first with non-lethal projectiles and tear gas, and then shot in broad daylight with the justification of self defense, even though no such danger was present.
And the investigations into these incidents is non-existent.
Now, as the war drags on, wiping out a campaign promise of no endless wars, the administration is trying to alter history. First, he avoided being forced to justify his actions as required by the War Powers Act. He declared that a ceasefire effectively restarted the clock, giving him another 60 days before he would once again be required to give a reason for attacking Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, where 20 percent of the world’s oil comes through, is closed while Trump claims to blockade the Iranian blockade. And as it drags on, Americans are expected to get used to $4 a gallon gasoline.
Meanwhile, spineless Republicans in Congress continue to allow this to continue.
The midterms are also in jeopardy as Trump and his cronies seek to limit Americans right to vote. Using baseless accusations of voter fraud, they are seeking to impose further restrictions on this right by declaring mail in ballots to be illegal, even though Trump regularly does this himself. Mid-decade redistricting aimed at giving Republicans an advantage have also muddied the already murky waters of the upcoming elections.
Were Democrats able to retake both the House and the Senate, the gravy train would be ground to a halt. That’s why he is doing everything to cast the results of the midterms in doubt. He wants another January 6th uprising to prevent Democrats from gaining control of Congress.
We are at a crucial tipping point in our history. Should Trump succeed in negating the will of American citizens, there will be no stopping him. He will once again rally the MAGA faithful and refuse to allow rightfully elected officials from assuming office.
We need to be sure this doesn’t happen. There needs to be such an overwhelming victory in November so the results cannot be ignored.
CJ Waldron, host of a Substack newsletter with his name, has been a contributing writer to this news and commentary website for many years. He is co-author of Hijacked Nation: Donald Trump’s Attack on America’s Greatness with Bob Gatty, Lean to the Left founder and publisher. Chris is a retired college English professor and is based in Myrtle Beach, SC.