Trump Cut Putin Loose. Is Netanyahu Next?

A lot of people are mistaking Trump 2.0 for Trump 1.0 and it's not going well.

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A lot of people, including certain world leaders, do not seem to understand that Donald Trump’s second time in power is radically different than his first. Putin has critically misjudged his relationship with Trump and now Benjamin Netanyahu appears to be doing exactly the same thing:

As smoke and debris swirled over the Syrian presidential palace, the chatter in the West Wing grew louder: Benjamin Netanyahu is out of control.

What they're saying: "Bibi acted like a madman. He bombs everything all the time," one White House official told Axios, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. "This could undermine what Trump is trying to do."

• A second senior U.S. official also pointed to the shelling of a church in Gaza this week, which led President Trump to call Netanyahu and demand an explanation. "The feeling is that every day there is something new. What the f***?"

• A third U.S. official said there's growing skepticism inside the Trump administration about Netanyahu — a sense that his trigger finger is too itchy and he's too disruptive. "Netanyahu is sometimes like a child who just won't behave."

I, for one, am quite pleased about this (Netanyahu angering the regime, not the bombing itself). Nothing makes me happier than bloodthirsty dictators stepping on the rake that is Donald Trump. If we have to suffer through his bullshit, we might as well get something useful out of it. What could be more useful than Trump taking down really bad people around the globe?

Mind you, he’s not lashing out for good or noble reasons. He’s doing it because they hurt his wittle fee-fees. Donald Trump is the most fragile man-baby in the fucking world. Buuuuut that’s not the worst thing when other narcissists have a fixed image of Trump in their minds as a weakling to push around.

To be fair, Trump IS a weak leader. He has no plan. He has no ideology. His only ambition is making himself rich and avenging all of his perceived slights while whining about it nonstop every fucking day all day long.

But a weak leader in control of the most powerful nation on earth is a weak leader with a very big stick. A malicious 10-year-old with a gun can still blow your goddamn head off. Trump is nothing if not malicious and he is no longer afraid.

This is the key point his good buddies in the dictator club have failed to grasp.

Trump 1.0 was afraid. He is a natural coward as all bullies are. He was overwhelmed by winning an election he expected to lose. He didn’t know what the hell he was doing. They couldn’t even turn the lights on or use the phones. THE LIGHTS!!! Fucking monkeys can turn on lights.

Trump had no idea how best to exploit and abuse his power. He didn’t know how to weaponize the government and didn’t surround himself with truly spineless sycophants willing to break every law imaginable.

This is why Trump bowed and scraped before every strongman on the planet. He wanted to BE them and was easily intimidated. They played Trump like a fiddle and he let them because he was hoping he could join the strongman club. They laughed at him, not always behind his back.

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But that was then. This is now. Trump 2.0 is convinced he doesn’t have to worry about elections anymore (as I’ve mentioned before, he really does). His regime is filled with loyalists willing to obey his commands. Most importantly, Trump no longer fears legal reprisals because he’s “immune.” He also has Christian Nationalist Russell Vought and Nazi Stephen Miller whispering in his ear that he is the King of America, with unlimited power to do anything to anyone at any time.

So…Donald Trump wants a Nobel Peace Prize and Putin won’t stop waging war? Then Putin will get a knife in the back. Trump doesn’t need him anymore and there’s nothing, absolutely nothing, Putin can do to Trump.

Trump promised to end the war in Gaza and, generally, settle things down in the Middle East. But Netanyahu won’t stop finding new targets to bomb. Well, now Bibi is getting in Trump’s way and making him look bad. Fuck that noise. Who the fuck does he think he is?!

Never mind the fact that Trump and his regime and blindingly antisemitic. Trump will no longer tolerate a world leader standing in his way. Especially one that needs him far more than he needs them. The Evangelicals think Israel is crucial to America’s future because of their insane end times mythology, but Trump doesn’t give a rat’s ass about any of that, and he really doesn’t care what they think anymore.

Did you think he was kidding? That wasn’t a promise. It was a threat and they weren’t listening. Whoops.

If Netanyahu continues to treat Trump like a fucking moron (even though he is), Trump is going to retaliate and that will be very bad for Israel. Sure, that might thrill you, personally, but I’m not going to get into that right now.

What would that retaliation look like? Obviously not an attack, duh. But Trump is certainly capable of cutting off weapons sales and financial assistance. He’s also capable of threatening other countries with sanctions if they continue to supply Israel. Israel can produce its own munitions, but enough to keep up its warmongering? Doubtful. Not without substantial trade which Trump can easily strangle if Netanyahu pisses him off enough.

Would peace be good for Israel? Yes. Would it be catastrophic for Netanyahu and his far right government? Absolutely. Just hearing the rumblings of Trump’s anger at the war criminal who refuses to stop bombing everything in sight to keep himself out of prison is music to my ears.

Just like Putin, Netanyahu cannot stop fighting because his survival depends on war. But ongoing hostilities run counter to Trump’s interests. And Trump no longer cares about what his good friends in the Bully Club want anymore. He only cares about what HE wants.

Trump threatened the Israeli courts into backing off from Netanyahu once. But that was during wartime. If Trump forces Israel to stand down? I don’t know that the courts will be so willing to continue to delay Netanyahu’s downfall. And wouldn’t that be just the worst? Boo. Hoo.

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