Trump’s violent threats cannot hide the truth: he is a humiliated tyrant

Under Trump, the United States seeks increasingly weak victims in order to mask its own fragility.

Advertising Policy

Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews on May 22, 2026.

(Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

Donald Trump is a bad peacemaker for many reasons, but one of them is that he doesn’t even remember the enemy he’s fighting. For example, during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, a reporter asked Trump whether the United States would accept a proposal to allow Iran and Oman to jointly administer the Strait of Hormuz. The president replied: “Oman will behave like everyone else, otherwise we will have to blow them up. They understand that. Everything will be fine.”

Trump’s opposition to any settlement allowing Iran to partially control the strait is understandable, but his threatening words against Oman are puzzling. After all, this Gulf state has been a US ally for decades, and the US maintains a strong military presence in the country. One of the supposed reasons for the current US war in the Middle East is to protect Oman and other Gulf allies against Iran.

Oman is not the only ally Trump seeks to intimidate, nor the only country bearing the brunt of Trump’s bloodthirsty rhetoric. The president attempted to force Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan to join the Abraham Accords by saying membership “should be mandatory.” And, as CNN notes, “Oman is at least the 15th country he has either threatened to attack, left open the possibility of attacking, or actually attacked during his two terms as president.” » Although some of these countries are long-time enemies of the United States, such as Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, and North Korea, many are nominally allies of the United States (or, at the very least, not hostile to it): Canada, Colombia, Greenland/Denmark, Mexico, Panama, and Oman.

Trump is in fact using the war against Iran in the same way he exploited the Russia/Ukraine conflict: as a means of turning alliances into a protection racket by urging concessions from countries dependent on the US military. This is a mafia foreign policy that uses U.S. military dominance as an extortion tool to intimidate friend and foe alike.

Current number

While violent rhetoric, often manifesting in violent actions, is endemic under Trump’s presidency, his attacks on Oman come at a particularly dangerous time. The war against Iran has been a disaster and the only way to end it is to make substantial concessions to the Islamic Republic. And Iran joins the ranks of nations that have an effective deterrent against the United States and therefore deserve conciliation. Trump’s actions suggest that he has come to view China, Russia, and North Korea in these terms as well.

But an injured predator can become more violent, lashing out to prove that it still has the ability to dominate. This is the brutal, animal logic behind Trump’s threats against Oman and his increased aggression in the Western Hemisphere. Writing in The Guardian, columnist Owen Jones noted:

If the United States is “humiliated” by Iran, as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz put it, one would think that Trump’s appetite for conflict would be diminished. But failure does not necessarily prevent the decline of power. This can make them more dangerous. Trump and his team are surely convinced that the conquest of this Caribbean island which has challenged Washington for almost seven decades could erase the defeats and restore the aura of American military supremacy.

Jones plausibly suggests that Cuba could be the United States’ next target, since Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have been very open about their desire for regime change in the island nation. Cuba has long been in the crosshairs of the United States, and Trump has tightened the noose by brutally intensifying sanctions. Politico reported Friday: “The Pentagon has spent months positioning the troops and weapons necessary for the United States to launch a military attack on Cuba – all it needs is the final go-ahead from Donald Trump. »

Cuba is only one of several likely targets.

It is precisely because the United States finds it difficult to impose its will on its biggest rivals that Trump is eager to find smaller enemies who can serve as a punching bag. The late neoconservative pundit Michael Ledeen, who was a great admirer of Trump, said in 1992: “Every ten years or so, the United States has to pick up a little shitty country and throw it against the wall, just to show the world that we mean business.” »

Ledeen’s words can form the core of Trump’s foreign policy with just one amendment. Because the United States is now in decline on the world stage, the need to go after a “shithole little country” cannot happen once a decade, but must happen constantly.

Besides Cuba, the other countries Trump is likely to target are all in the Western Hemisphere, as the president increasingly returns to a form of 19th-century imperialism that views the region as part of the U.S. sphere of influence.

On Thursday, the New York Times reported that the Trump administration was ramping up its counterinsurgency programs in Guatemala and pushing to do the same in Honduras, under the cover of the war on drugs. The larger plan is to intimidate Mexico into falling into line. Citing “two people” familiar with the plans, the Times reports:

As Washington pushes for a U.S. presence on the ground and launching drone strikes, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has flatly rejected these demands. The White House’s broader strategy is to normalize the U.S. military presence across Latin America in order to exert influence over Mexico…

Advertising Policy

Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security, is spearheading the project. He holds bimonthly “winner” meetings to celebrate what he sees as triumphs, including boat strikes against alleged drug traffickers (a policy at odds with U.S. and international law).

Needless to say, what Miller considers “victories” are disgusting and immoral displays of brutality. As a superpower, the United States can undoubtedly intimidate neighboring countries and destroy ships on the high seas. But such policies serve no national security interest. Even in terms of a show of force, they are counterproductive, because they so clearly offset the reality that the United States continues to lose wars in the Middle East. Under Trump, the United States has become a tyrant seeking ever weaker victims in order to hide its own fragility.

Popular « swipe left below to see more authors » Swipe →

None of this can hide the broader reality that the United States is an empire in steep decline. In fact, it only makes this dark reality even more obvious.

From the illegal war against Iran to the inhumane fuel blockade against Cuba, from AI weapons to crypto corruption, we live in a time of staggering chaos, cruelty and violence.

Unlike other publications that parrot the views of authoritarians, billionaires and corporations, The Nation publishes articles that hold the powerful accountable and center communities too often denied a voice in the national media – stories like the one you just read.

Every day, our journalism weeds out lies and distortions, contextualizes developments that are reshaping politics around the world, and advances progressive ideas that fuel our movements and incite change in the halls of power.

This independent journalism is only possible with the support of our readers. If you would like more urgent coverage like this, please donate to The Nation today.

Damn Lord

Jeet Heer is national affairs correspondent for The Nation and host of the weekly Nation podcast, The Time of Monsters. He also writes the monthly column “Morbid Symptoms”. Author of In Love with Art: Francoise Mouly’s Adventures in Comics with Art Spiegelman (2013) and Sweet Lechery: Reviews, Essays and Profiles (2014), Heer has written for numerous publications, including The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, The American Prospect, The Guardian, The New Republic, and The Boston Globe.

More from The Nation

In Elijah v. US this week, our legal correspondent marvels at Trump’s enduring hold on the spirit of the Republican Party. Plus: the stupidest CEO in the video game industry.

The California gubernatorial candidate understands exactly what’s at stake, as he explains in an exclusive interview.

John Nichols

There is an unpleasant factor in Trumpism that is getting worse by the day.

Sasha Abramski

The erasure of black voices has not remained a thing of the past.

OppArt / Gia Ruiz

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos