Stormy Daniels, you’re our only hope for world peace
Donald Trump’s relentless march to war against North Korea and, eventually, against Iran accelerated this week with the firing of Rex Tillerson, likely the most incompetent U.S. secretary of state in modern history.
That may appear paradoxical, but it is the essential takeaway from another mind-spinning week in the chaotic Trump presidency.
Tillerson may have had his flaws, such as abysmal management of the State department, purging it clean of expertise and experience, and obsequiously allowing Trump to replace diplomats with the military in the shaping U.S. foreign policy.
But he also had his good days. As a leading “globalist” committed to international co-operation, he was a moderating influence on the unpredictable, self-absorbed “America First” impulses of his president.
And on occasion, Tillerson could also be an astute judge of character. After all, he was the cabinet member who reportedly told colleagues that Trump was a “f---ing moron” after the president revealed at a Pentagon meeting last July that he had little understanding of key national security issues, except that he wanted “more nukes.”
But bosses don’t seem to like it when their underlings say such things, so it was only a matter of time before he got the bullet.
As for what happens now, we have Trump himself who answered that question when he announced that Mike Pompeo, the hardline, hawkish head of the CIA, will become secretary of state: “I’m really at a point where we’re getting close to having the cabinet and other things I want.”
That is another way of saying that the most dangerous stage of the Trump presidency is about to begin. Trump appears to be clearing the deck, eliminating anyone who dissents. That’s where Pompeo will be invaluable to Trump as his top foreign policy adviser.
Pompeo and Trump are close. As CIA director, Pompeo has been open to the idea of a military strike against North Korea and has called for the scrapping of the international nuclear agreement with Iran.
But these crises seem to be intersecting at a perilous time.
In early March, Trump shocked the world by agreeing to a high-stakes meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un by May. But there is no certainty the meeting will happen. However, if it does, the American expectation seems to be that North Korea may agree to give up its nuclear weapons — something, say most analysts, that is inconceivable. If these talks break down, which is likely, will an angry Trump want to launch a pre-emptive military strike against North Korea?
As for Iran, Trump has a deadline of May 12 to indicate whether the U.S. is pulling out of the nuclear agreement. Assuming this happens, it will escalate tensions and increase the threat of war in the Middle East. At this moment, there aren’t many people left who are in a position to stop Trump and his increasing appetite for war.
There is James Mattis, the secretary of defence who worked with Rex Tillerson to restrain Trump’s most wild-eyed impulses. But it is unlikely such a bond could be forged with Pompeo.
There is Robert Mueller, of course, the tenacious special counsel whose investigation into Trump’s ties with Russia appears to be getting dangerously close to the Oval Office. But if Trump becomes desperate, we shouldn’t forget that he has the power to fire Mueller.
And finally, there is adult film star Stormy Daniels who says — quite credibly, it seems — that she had an affair with Trump in 2006 just after his wife Melania gave birth to their son. She is believed to have photos and emails to prove it.
Who would have thought that the future of America’s democracy might one day hinge on whether or not a porn star gets the chance to tell her story?