Week 72 - Trump Lies and Contradicts About His War, as the Country Sours on Him and His Chaos

This week was one of the longest lists of broken norms so far. The country is in chaos, and Americans are increasingly unhappy. The price of gas has risen by nearly a dollar a gallon, 72% said it was a bad time to look for a job, the cost of mortgages hit a five month high, and other measures of inflation showed Americans are suffering. Airport lines were hours long, highlighting government and Trump’s dysfunction, and another deadly airlines incident showcased how staffing shortages under Trump were making travelers less safe. Trump’s overall approval, and approval on major issues, hit new lows.Despite his falling approval, and Americans hurting, and being worried and scared, Trump seemed removed from that reality. The only thing that did get his attention were rising energy costs, and their impact on his beloved stock market. He shifted this week to saying the war was already won, a regime change had happened in Iran, and that Iran was coming to the table, which they denied. In fact, there was so much contradictory information and lies coming from Trump and his regime, it was unclear to Americans what was actually happening. The NYT Editorial Board warned, “Trump is Hiding the Truth About the War in Iran,” noting his fire hose of lies since the war started. What was clear, however, was the world order continuing to go through a realignment, with the U.S. increasingly siding with authoritarianism.Mind you none of this stopped Trump from the petty things — his campaign of retribution against his perceived enemies, his attempts to memorialize himself in grandeur, his corruption and quid pro quos. Who will stop him? Not the Republican Party, which suffered another special election loss, and seems unwilling to stand for democracy or the American people. The courts do counter some of the blows to democracy, but not enough. This week is full of stories that deserve more attention, but in the fog of war have been relegated to, on to the next outrage. I once again encourage you to read them all, including the many stories on immigration, once Trump’s strongest issue and now among his weaknesses, which he attributed to bad branding.