Trump’s war blunder is dishing him up a crushing quadruple 'whammy': report

24 June

U.S. President Donald Trump looks up as he participates in a roundtable on antifa September 22, at the White House in Washington (REUTERS)

President Donald Trump is struggling to keep even his own supporters on board with his war despite his flailing, according to a political scientist.

“The American public doesn’t like losing a war, doesn’t like backing a loser in a war, doesn’t want to throw good money after bad,” international relations professor Nicholas Grossman from the University of Illinois told The New Republic’s Greg Sargent on Wednesday. “So if there were perhaps some sort of actual threat to the United States, or there were some sort of national interest that he was achieving in the process of the war, then maybe there would be an argument for the American people to sacrifice in some manner. But there isn’t at all.”

Prior to discussing that with Sargent, Grossman explained that Trump’s claim that Iran has agreed to high-level international inspectors is suspicious, both due to Iran denying this and Trump’s own track record of unreliable statements about the conflict.

“I think it’s pretty simple, in that Trump is lying, or at minimum heavily exaggerating and bull—— ,” Grossman said.

But Trump's lies aren't getting him far with voters — including his base.

"[S]elling it to the American people as some sort of positive thing — that’s not going to work at all. People can see the economic effects, and those are likely to get worse rather than better as the effects really reverberate out. And they never supported the war in the first place," said Grossman.

"So you’re really looking at a triple whammy for Trump," said Sargent. "As you say, the public opposed the war at the outset, which is itself unusual. And then the public had a direct glimpse of the economic effects of the war when the Strait of Hormuz closed. With unusual clarity, Trump was directly tied to skyrocketing prices. And then on top of that, Trump is now asking for another $80 billion. That’s a triple whammy of sorts."

But Grossman said it's actually worse than even that.

"You can add on top of that that the American public doesn’t like losing a war, doesn’t like backing a loser in a war, doesn’t want to throw good money after bad. So if there were perhaps some sort of actual threat to the United States, or there were some sort of national interest that he was achieving in the process of the war, then maybe there would be an argument for the American people to sacrifice in some manner. But there isn’t at all."

Trump’s beleaguered base is splitting over the war. Earlier this week right-wing commentator Tucker Carslon said he was leaving the Republican Party because he believes Trump started the Iran war to help Israel rather than to pursue America’s own best interests.

“I would not support the Republican party, there's no chance I would support the Republican party,” Carlson said in a recent podcast episode. “How could I support a political party that is not loyal to the United States. I voted Republican my entire life, I have been a consistent defender for 35 years of the Republican party, but there is no defending this. I'm out.”

By contrast, this reporter spoke with a Trump supporter at a Mack Trucks facility in Lower Macungie, PA on Tuesday who lambasted Carlson for his betrayal of Trump.

“He's not a Republican anymore," said the voter. "He doesn't back Trump. I don't like him anymore."

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