Week 74 - The Return
There is no plan: a shocking week of escalation and capitulation
Experts in authoritarianism advise to keep a list of things subtly changing around you, so you’ll remember.
This week started with Trump addressing the nation in a prime time speech on the Iran War, and escalated to Trump making genocidal threats against Iran as the week came to a close. Experts expressed shock that Trump was essentially threatening what amounted to war crimes, out in the open. Some of Trump’s statements and social media posts this week included: he would “bring them back to the stone ages;” “Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell;” “we’re blowing up the whole country;” and “A whole civilization will die tonight.”
Although pushback had been growing, with Trump’s overall approval continuing to fall to new lows and approval of his Iran War plummeting, it took this erratic, deranged threat that a “whole civilization will die” to finally have far-right figures and more than 70 Democrats call for him to be removed from office. Later that evening, 90 minutes before his self-imposed deadline, Trump capitulated, in what Bloomberg News dubbed another ‘TACO Tuesday’ (Trump always chickens out). Jennifer Kavanagh, the director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, summarized, “if he was going to back down, he did so in the worst way. Raising the stakes so high beforehand, he maximized the damage to his credibility & global perceptions of U.S. power. This is a clear strategic defeat for the U.S.”
Notably, while Trump was threatening genocide, Vice President JD Vance was in Budapest, supporting beleaguered Prime Minister Viktor Orban ahead of Hungary’s election, and chastising our NATO allies. While it is unclear if Trump’s Iran War is resolved (likely not), what is clear is the U.S. has hurt our world standing and lost the trust of so many of our allies.
As if this all was not chaotic enough, this week Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi, and reporting indicated there are more firings to come. Defense Department Sec. Pete Hegseth also fired generals amid a war — quite remarkable — over their supposed ‘woke’ beliefs.
Finally, one of the troubling aspects of this second regime is that Trump has surrounded himself by yes men, and sycophants. This week reporting by the NYT showed the impact: the Iran War was Trump’s decision alone. Even in his shrinking circle of loyalists, no one really stood up to him, and if they did slightly, he did not listen. We have truly entered mad king territory for all the world to see!
On Wednesday, in remarks at a private Easter luncheon at the White House, Trump said it was not possible” for the U.S. government to pay for Medicaid, Medicare, and daycare, saying, “We’re a big country. We’re fighting wars,” adding that states should raise their taxes to cover it.
Trump also read, “On Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem” as crowds welcomed him as a king, and then complained about the No Kings protests, saying, “They call me king now…I’m such a king I can’t get a ballroom approved….I could be doing a lot more if I was a king.”
On Wednesday, in his Passover message, Trump referred to God bringing the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt, describing it as “an amazing period of time,” and compared it to the U.S. under his leadership.
Later Wednesday, in prime time, Trump addressed the nation on the Iran War. Trump did not offer any new insights, nor did he define objectives or a clear path out, and claimed his undefined objectives were “nearing completion,” and again baselessly claimed there was a regime change.
Trump claimed military success and said the Strait of Hormuz was not the U.S.’s problem, saying, “We don’t need it.” While saying we would hit Iran “extremely hard over the next two to three weeks,” he added if they did not negotiate, we would “bring them back to the stone ages.”
After Trump’s speech, with no clear time-frame for ending the war, oil prices surged and stock market futures plummeted. Gas prices surged by 36% in the past month to $4.08 per gallon. Trump baselessly bragged repeatedly about the economy and stock market during his speech.
On Thursday morning, Trump posted a 150-word personal attack against singer Bruce Springsteen on Truth Social, saying he looked like “a dried up prune,” and “the guy is a total loser,” and adding “MAGA SHOULD BOYCOTT HIS OVERPRICED CONCERTS, WHICH SUCK.”
On Thursday, the UK gathered 40 countries to discuss strategies to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. did not attend the virtual discussion.
A Gallup poll found China surpassed the U.S., with approval for U.S. leadership falling from 39% in 2024 to 31% in 2025, returning to lows of Trump’s first regime, while views of China’s approval rose from 32% to 36%. Disapproval of U.S. leadership rose to a record high of 48%.
French President Emmanuel Macron called on medium-sized powers to join together as a coalition, and stand up to the U.S. and China, saying of Trump, “we don’t want to be too much exposed to the unpredictability of the U.S.,” and criticizing Trump’s approach to reopening the strait.
Politico reported that the FBI informed Congress on March 4 of a “major incident,” meaning “likely to result in demonstrable harm” to U.S. national security, saying a China-linked cyber intrusion had successfully compromised swathes of sensitive data stored at the FBI.
