this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2026
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politics

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Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, repeatedly warned Trump that Iran would likely disrupt the Strait of Hormuz in response to a U.S. attack, according to a new report in the Wall Street Journal.

Trump, 79, told his administration that he thought Iran would capitulate to the U.S. before it closed the Strait, adding that even if the Strait was threatened, the U.S. military could handle it.

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[–] blattrules@lemmy.world 30 points 4 days ago (3 children)

How does anyone still listen to him? Every decision he’s ever made has not come from a place of intelligence, reason or foresight, but just what he feels at that moment.

[–] SkyNTP@lemmy.ml 15 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

A combination of: the people in positions of power stand to benefit personally for decisions that are bad for everyone else, and a failure of the people to hold him to account (which is itself caused by a mix of apathy, ignorance, and hatred).

It's only surprising if you have taken the competence and stability demonstrated over the last 70 years for granted.

[–] quick_snail@feddit.nl 5 points 3 days ago (2 children)

He's made a looot of $$$ from his decisions.

He is winning, unfortunately.

[–] blattrules@lemmy.world 6 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I think when you’re born with that much money, you don’t tend to lose it easily. His father insulated him from his stupid decisions. Now he’s got a cult of personality behind him and is way further insulated from his stupidity. He’s failed upwards his whole life because he’s privileged.

[–] quick_snail@feddit.nl 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I mean, he was just a millionaire real estate developer. He successfully infiltrated the US executive branch and used it strategically to become a billionaire.

[–] blattrules@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago

He was given $500 million from his dad. When you have that much money, you point at stuff you want to happen and people you pay make it happen. He’s been a grifter his whole life and takes advantage of people even more stupid than he is. The only difference now is that it seems there’s more of those stupid people in his orbit that he can feed off of.

[–] TheReturnOfPEB@reddthat.com 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

You might need to renegotiate how to define winning to fully encapsulate what Trump is doing.

Trump, and all other Boomers, seemed to have figured out that they are going to die. And they, like the baby pharaohs that they have become, want their slaves and animals and civilization to die with them so that no one can enjoy the life the pharaohs have to leave behind.

Trump is trying the greatest Pyrrhic victory of all time. Which no matter what is still a loss.

[–] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 6 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (2 children)

There are a whole lot of dumbasses out there would rather have a complete idiot in power rather than someone that makes them feel stupid, or, in other words, is clearly smarter, more educated, and more capable than they are.

It's an infuriating trait and I don't understand it at all.

I could do a better job than this idiot, and I am self-aware and smart enough to realize I have no business being anywhere near that kind of job. I happen to want people far smarter, more experienced, more education, and more wisdom than myself in there. I don't feel smaller by having someone better than me in there.

This is about the only job I can think of where there are certain types of idiots that cast about for non-experts for that role. You don't people agitating to have "outsiders" in their sportsball team. You don't see them calling for things like "term limits" on sports, either. Same for a whole host of occupations. People don't put out ads for positions at companies seeking someone with zero experience, but who makes them feel good about their own capabilities in comparison.

But, for a role that We, The People hire for, we have this incredibly bizarre and stupid selection criteria - dumb things that include "wanting to have a beer with them", or "running the country like a business". Things like intelligence, capability, education, wisdom, and experience don't seem to really matter for this hiring process.

[–] Soup@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

The funny thing is that that actually makes you very good for the job, or at least it’s major part of it. A leader of anything from a company to a small work team needs to be the kind of person who can assemble teams of experts and give them the resources they need to succeed.

[–] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Which part? The part about wanting to surround yourself with people smarter than yourself?

[–] blattrules@lemmy.world 0 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I could do a better job than this idiot, and I am self-aware and smart enough to realize I have no business being anywhere near that kind of job. I happen to want people far smarter, more experienced, more education, and more wisdom than myself in there. I don't feel smaller by having someone better than me in there.

You got my vote!

[–] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago

Ha ha! No way I'd ever win even a low-level office; I'm not much for the small talk, I am a terrible speaker, and not great at pressing of the flesh and so on.

Also, I really have no business doing such work - I'm not very great at time management, my people management skills are subpar, and my in-person/on the spot memory is trash. I have no background in law or politics, either.