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Wag the Dog?

Wag the Dog?

Why did Trump choose this moment?

Amy Siskind's avatar
Amy Siskind
Jun 23, 2025
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Wag the Dog?
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As I wrote in my article last night, we need to be patient as the facts unfold. One thing I was keenly interested to learn today, was why Trump picked this moment to strike Iran. The strikes, drawing our nation into war with Iran, came 30 hours after he announced on Thursday, that he was extending the window for two weeks to allow for negotiations.

There may still be a reasonable explanation for why Trump chose this particular moment, and our media will surely be digging in the coming weeks to find more details of what occurred behind the scenes. But I was surprised today to not hear the justification for Trump’s timing. His regime has been purposefully vague.

Timing of Informing the Nation

Our country learned about the strike via a Truth Social post from Trump. I want to note the not normal nature of announcing essentially that our country had gone to war, on a social media platform in which Trump has a 52% ownership stake.

When did his announcement come? Of course, in prime time. Trump is uniquely talented in showmanship and handling the media.

The initial announcement came in the 8 o’clock hour, and Trump did his address to the nation at 10 PM ET, assuring him primetime eyeballs from all the time zones. For someone who is obsessed with a good show, he couldn’t have planned it better.

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Why Now?

Speaking of shows, exactly one week prior, Trump had a disastrous show, for which he reportedly lambasted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Last Saturday, ‘No Kings’ demonstrations drew roughly 5 million protestors, according to data analysts. Juxtapose what was possibly the largest mass protest in U.S. history, with his humiliating military parade that same day. The regime had planned for hundreds of thousands to show up, but instead a mere thousands came, and the parade was laden with scenes of empty bleachers lining along the route, and images of Trump visibly pouting.

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