As the administration tries to deflect questions surrounding its crumbling rationale for killing a top Iranian general, the real reason for Donald Trump’s march to war with Iran has always been clear.
Trump is simply obsessed with being seen as tougher than Barack Obama, so everything he says and does is an attempt to achieve that goal.
As Jonathan Capehart of The Washington Post told MSNBC’s Joy Reid on Saturday, it is Trump’s insecurity about Obama that has pushed America dangerously close to another military conflict in the Middle East.
“We’re in this whole mess, one, because Trump blew up Soleimani, but he junked the nuclear deal,” Capehart said. “When he does this … what he’s doing also is magnifying his insecurities.”
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Video:
.@CapehartJ explains how Trump’s reckless Iran policy can be traced back to his insecurities about Barack Obama. #ctl #p2 #amjoy pic.twitter.com/v6NI4qSHgt
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) January 11, 2020
Capehart explained how Trump’s Iran policies tie directly to his insecurities about Barack Obama:
So now we see him blaming once again President Obama for the Iran nuclear deal which we’re in this whole mess, one, because Trump blew up Soleimani. But he junked the nuclear deal. The Iranians say, okay, we’re going to fire up our weapons system because you’ve walked away from it, you’ve killed the equivalent of our CIA Director, Defense Secretary. And then Trump circles around and says, well, because they’re doing this, we’re going to go and do these things against them. President Trump, to Tara Dowdell’s point, he’s the master of projection. And when he does this, when he projects onto other people what he would do himself, what he’s doing also is magnifying his insecurities. I think three years into this presidency, almost five years into him coming down that escalator and into our lives in a major way, we are now hip to the fact that everything that comes out of his mouth, everything that comes through on his Twitter feed is projection. But it’s also, hey, world here are my insecurities right out there for you to see and ponder.
Trump’s dangerous obsession with Barack Obama
Donald Trump doesn’t know the first thing about foreign policy. Just a few years ago, in fact, he didn’t even know who Soleimani was, despite his new claims that the lranian leader should have been taken out long ago.
Every decision he makes, whether it’s in international or domestic affairs, is driven by his desire to undo the record of Barack Obama.
Ultimately, Donald Trump will never achieve his goal of being seen as tougher and smarter than Barack Obama, but this dangerous obsession has made America and the world less safe.
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
