Conventional wisdom in Washington these days advises ignoring much of what the President says or writes. In the case of his prolific contributions to his own social media site, many doubt he personally creates some of the most troubling posts.
For those of us who are old school, and remember when then-candidate Jimmy Carter promised America, “I will never tell a lie,” President Trump’s often reckless, demented, posts are not okay, regardless of who wrote them. As President, Trump should be held accountable for the things said, written or done in his name. And what he posted, or authorized Natalie Harp or some other aide to post in his name, warrants revisiting Trump’s fitness for office.
At 11:18 Friday night, the following was posted on Truth Social:
1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME! Orders have already been given, and the U.S. Military is ready, willing, and able, for a one-year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran – PRAISE BE TO ALLAH! President DONALD J. TRUMP
Let’s unpack what is being said here.
It seems clear that U.S. intelligence sources have informed Trump that there was a plan to assassinate him. That, likely, is the reason that Trump, who was embarrassing himself at the NATO summit, was advised not to fly out of Turkey in the new Air Force One. Because the new plane, a “gift” from the Qataris, is so large, it is apparently too easy to shoot down. The new plane, despite 400 million dollars’ worth of modifications paid for by taxpayers, also does not have some of the countermeasures of the old Air Force One. Thus, the President had to switch planes.
The trigger for Trump’s angry outburst was not another attack on a tanker or other ship, or another attack on a U.S. military base. It was an attack on the only person or thing Trump seems to care about—himself.
The threat against Iran is massive. He promises “to completely decimate all areas of Iran.” This reckless statement tells us that, in retaliation for even an attempted assassination that failed, Trump is promising to kill 90 million innocent Iranians. The murder of 90 million people, which is what completely decimating Iran would entail, would be an atrocity worse than the acts of Hitler, Pol Pot, Stalin, Mao, and Idi Amin combined.
Trump says that he already has given the order to launch the deadly attack on Iran, which would be carried out after he was dead if the triggering event were his assassination. Such an order is reminiscent of the final days of Nazi Germany. Once Hitler accepted that the war was lost, he issued a “scorched earth” policy, meaning he wanted everything in Germany to be destroyed under the assumption that a Germany without Hitler wasn’t worth living in.
Fortunately, Trump’s 11:18 pm July 10 tweet is likely hyperbole, like so many of his other tweets. But what if it isn’t? And what if Trump was telling the truth (yes, I know, that is hard to imagine), and he has issued an order for the destruction of Iran? If Trump has issued such an order, how likely is it that Pete Hegseth would choose not to obey it? And if JD Vance were president, would he want to risk angering Trump’s base by rescinding the order?
Trump has made the United States a more dangerous place to live in while at the same time destroying the credibility of the Presidency. We have a man in the White House not in control of himself who shows increasing signs of severe mental debilitation. (Recall that while in Turkey Trump spoke about the Islamic Republic of Japan attacking U.S. aircraft carriers.)
Is it time for the 25th Amendment? I’d say yes based on what we are seeing out of Trump. But, as pundits will tell us, Republicans are not likely to act, and any unsuccessful attempt to invoke the Amendment would likely prompt Trump to redouble his efforts to steal the 2026 mid-term elections.
Now is the time for all good men (and women) to come to the aid of their country. That means registering to vote and doing all you can to spread the word: Something is rotten in D.C. and must be addressed.
The image for this column is a Truth Social post of President Trump posted at 10:43 p.m. on July 7, 2026.
