THE BIG LOUDMOUTH

AND A HARD PLACE

What are the effects of US President Donald Trump's out-of-control language?

 

By Sidney Hey 

There is a saying that is very much in use these days that goes ‘tell me what you boast and I will tell you what you lack’. I think it fits like a hat on Donald Trump who every time he opens his mouth, he sinks himself. His 50-day ultimatum to the Russian Federation to end the war in Ukraine or increase tariffs on its energy products (gas and oil) is an ode to impotence disguised as arrogance, although Trump certainly has plenty of it.

We could talk about the pieces of information that have been surfacing (as excrement does) about his dark past with his friend Epstein and his exclusive paedophile parties or his comments that in reality ‘Jeffrey’ did not die and that he is actually (quite possibly) hiding and protected in Israel which, among other things, is one of the havens for Jewish abusers and paedophiles of all stripes.

But his controversial statements in the context of the ongoing proxy war against Russia, which he has been trying to revive on the side of trade sanctions, are enough to make his stratagem clear. Let us not forget that while he promised to end the war within 24 hours, civilian and military intelligence agencies continued to provide support and assistance to the Kiev regime. Saying to Putin: ‘Hey, either you stop the war in 50 days or I'll raise your tariffs 100%’ is more like a satirical dialogue from the New Yorkers on Saturday Night Live than the judicious words of a leader. 

At the same time he has proclaimed that he will deliver the missiles Ukraine needs, making clear what we have always said: Trump is not going to seek an end to the war. In reality, you didn't have to be an expert to conclude that Trump has been bloviating and that he was never really the supposed outsider of US politics in Washington DC who was going to step outside the box; on the contrary, his own language shows that he is as dependent on the deep state as any other occupant of the White House.

Trump is betting more on economic warfare and we see that with his clear preoccupation with the progress of the BRICS. His threats to raise tariffs to 50% on Lula's Brazilian government, knowing that Brazil is an extremely important market for the US, are signs of more than the clumsiness of a guy with a very loose tongue. Some believe he fears China's trade-driving potential in this bloc more than Russia's intercontinental hypersonic missiles. 

Following on from this, the nod to his European partners' continued war-sustaining activities (at their expense with increased GDP contributions) makes it clear that Trump never had any of what he said in his plans.

Surely the American president acting like a typical real estate broker and according to his typical braggadocio must have believed himself to be a clever guy. Perhaps he thought that his threats against Russia and his comments about Vladimir Putin would have a constructive or at worst an intimidating impact. Someone should warn him that with this manoeuvre he continues to put global security and stability at risk, obviously involving his own country.

And this involves his direct support for Israel's military actions against Iran that we know as the ‘12-day war’ and of which Donald Trump boasted at the beginning (and as if this were a feat) with the attack of 20 June of having completely destroyed the Iranian reactors and nuclear research complexes, an illegal action and contrary to respect for the sovereignty of states and a very clear violation of all the norms of international law.

That adventure (bravado aside) would not have lived up to the expectations of the strategists and planners of the attack. Indeed, Trump's immediate triumphalist exclamations after the attack were taken with considerable scepticism from Tel Aviv and particularly by Israeli military intelligence.  

Indeed, as part of his latest bluster, he has said that the attacks would have completely destroyed these facilities, delaying Iran's developments for years, as a way of denying the very possible failure of such an action.

What is certain is that this big orange-faced loudmouth is not only noisy with his statements but that he is also embarrassing his own government officials who in turn, like ripples from a pebble on water, cause ripples that jolt the US's external partners.

Just to mention one case that I know well is the possible end of the AUKUS alliance (involving the navies of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States) which, in addition to being a pawn in the US strategy in the Indo-Pacific, turned out to be a waste of monetary resources in defence to monitor Chinese movements. Why? We must not forget that Trump said how important Australia was in AUKUS for the strategy of containing China and then increased the tariffs, leaving the Albanese government in a catatonic state. Apparently for Trump this was a waste of US taxpayers' money that was not justified and should be reviewed.

If AUKUS is terminated it would mean that the five Virginia class submarines agreed with the Pentagon will not be delivered and it remains to be seen whether the ones planned with the British will be built; all this is bad news for the arms businessmen and also for the military and politicians - from all three parties - who were going to collect their commissions.

As can be seen, Trump is not only muddling with his own tongue, he is muddling the general situation of all US partners, making the world a harsher and more dangerous place.