Steve Benen remains mystified by the habits of President Trump:
“We totally control the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said. “We have control over it. Nobody else, only us.” He added soon after, “We have total control over the Hormuz Strait right now. They don’t have control. We have total control. We own it.”
A day earlier, the American president similarly insisted that the Strait of Hormuz is “open now,” adding that the U.S. is “the only one that has control” over the waterway.
I am mindful that “Trump says false thing” is not a headline that generates a lot of attention, but this is qualitatively worse than the Republican’s usual nonsense. In the midst of a war, the president is (a) aware of Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz; (b) negotiating with Iran in the hopes of ending its control over the Strait of Hormuz; and (c) bragging incessantly about Iran’s lack of control over the Strait of Hormuz. [Maddowblog]
Trump’s behavior is quite the denial of reality, isn’t it? And then, as CNN reports, it goes even further:
Iran said the key waterway “cannot be seized with a tweet” after President Donald Trump claimed he would declare the strait US territory after the war.
My bold.
Now, claims that President Trump is waging a one-man propaganda war against Iran are certainly plausible, as are assertions that this is part of an effort to blunt the numerous Trump’s War criticisms, and their authors, in preparation for the mid-term elections. Less noised about, but, again, within the realm of possibility, are satisfying his need, generated by the undeniable pathological narcissism afflicting him, for acquiring public glory through conquering territory and growing the American Empire, such as it is. It might be successfully argued that the repetition is a little difficult to rationalize in this scenario.
But, to my mind, the explanation which covers the facts best was, and I apologize to long-term readers who tired of my repeated references, provided by Chad Bauman in 2020.
With diffuse roots but emerging most forcefully midway through the twentieth century in Pentecostal and charismatic circles, prosperity theology draws selectively on biblical passages (chief among them John 10:10, in which Jesus says, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly”) to insist that God desires our physical and financial prosperity. Our task, in a phrase popularized by the movement (and its detractors), is to “name it and claim it.” …
The president’s admiration for prosperity theology is well-documented. He was raised in Manhattan’s Marble Collegiate Church, which was pastored by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, whose The Power of Positive Thinking, was a key text in the prosperity movement and took the nation by storm. [Religion Dispatches]
Trump’s naming and claiming the Strait of Hormuz, quite literally. If he does it enough, God will capsize to his desires and reward him. Yep, I do think he believes that. Or is, at least, so frankly desperate enough to take a shot at it.
Do I take Trump seriously in this matter? Not at all. No one else should. But we can expect some more empty-headed chanting from our morality-free President.
