The existential threat to Trump is Trump
Somewhere in my dimming memory of high school, I recall a pep rally cheer that went:
Whomp ’em up! Side ‘o the head! I said, whomp ’em up side ‘o the head!
It comes to mind this morning in the context of predictions that those needing to brace for a womping are American drivers. Donald Trump’s periodic brags about ending the war he started Feb. 28 may sway oil markets momentarily. But a reckoning is on its way (Politico):
Supply of oil — especially in Europe and Asia — is dwindling and a price shock is coming, said Dan Pickering, chief investment officer at Pickering Energy Partners.
He said that when the summer driving season begins there will be another gas price shock that “hits people in the face.”
“There’s a day of reckoning coming,” he said. “It will be painful because I can tell you that the stock market’s ignoring this.”
The rubber will hit the road, in a manner of speaking, in just a few weeks.
Another spike in prices around Memorial Day could be a fatal blow to Republican chances for holding onto the House next year, as Americans’ confidence in the economy continues to drop.
Trump on Monday was reviewing Iran’s latest peace proposal, which arrived after he canceled his top negotiators’ planned trip to Pakistan for talks. He continues to maintain that a quick resolution to the war with an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is within reach.
Uh-huh.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz isn’t buying it. He told some secondary school students on Wednesday that “there is a sense that a whole nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, particularly by these so-called Revolutionary Guards.”
No one needs it spelled out which nation Merz means, but what the hell (The New Republic):
“It is quite obvious that the Americans have absolutely no coherent strategy whatsoever,” Merz said to students in his home district of Marsberg. “And the fundamental problem with these kinds of conflicts is always the same: It is not enough to simply get yourself in—you must also figure out how to get yourself out.”
Trump had trouble getting himself out of the Hyatt ballroom on Saturday, even with lots of help.
Trump won’t be getting any help from Germany in exiting Iran:
“If I had known that this would go on for five or six weeks and keep getting worse, I would have made my point to him even more forcefully,” Merz said. Rising fuel prices as a result of the war are affecting economies all around the world, especially Germany, the leading economy in Europe, a point Merz stressed in his remarks.
“This war against Iran has a direct impact on our economic performance and must therefore be brought to an end as soon as possible,” Merz said.
Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has given it the upper hand in the conflict with the U.S., and the world is noticing that Trump hasn’t produced any results from negotiations in Pakistan. The longer this conflict drags on, the worse it reflects on the president.
Trump’s disenchanted MAGA base will begin evaporating despite the intense gravity of his black-hole-like grip. All they need do is stay home in November.