Conversation
-
The Jimmy Carter Talk Has Started
source
Back in March, I pointed to how obsessed Trump was — in an interview done in the wake of his invasion of Venezuela — with avoiding the humiliation Iran imposed on Jimmy Carter.
Donald Trump has a pathological need to avoid being seen as he sees Jimmy Carter, a loser, someone who keeps leeching power over the course of an extended crisis.
And yet, as he keeps doing things that make that far more likely, just making shit up, everyone makes the obvious comparison with Carter’s failures.
I think a lot of the commentary has not considered that Trump has caused himself a resounding blow to his own self-image, and every time they make the comparison with 1979, that wound is renewed. At a very personal level, he will be seeking ways to not look like a loser. Which could make his decisions still more irrational.
Over and over, Trump described how, as the Venezuela operation was ongoing, he kept worrying about ending up like Jimmy Carter.
David E. Sanger
Did you watch either by video —
President Trump
I did. I was, I saw it.
David E. Sanger
What — what did that feel like? You were down at Mar-a-Lago?
President Trump
It’s like watching a movie, except you’re — it’s a little bit, you know — look, you don’t know if —
Katie Rogers
Are you worried when this is happening, while you’re watching? Or what is going through your mind?
President Trump
Yeah, I’m worried that it ends up being Jimmy Carter disaster that destroyed his entire administration.
When Sanger asked Trump if he had “studied” prior occupations, he instead wanted to talk again about Jimmy Carter — and Karoline Leavitt immediately tried to distract from with the Bunker-Ballroom.
David E. Sanger
Did you study some other occupations? Japan, Iraq, others?
President Trump
Yes, yes. I studied, I studied —
David E. Sanger
And what — what lesson did you draw from that, that we should know —
President Trump
That it’s highly risky.
David E. Sanger
— for Venezuela?
President Trump
That’s what I do.
David E. Sanger
OK, so —
President Trump
I looked at — I looked at some of the attacks. I studied the Carter attack. It was a disaster. I would have never done it that way.
David E. Sanger
You were talking about the attack. I was asking about the occupations that followed —
President Trump
You know, they had — they had a — they had a sandstorm. Did you know that? And they decided to go forward. We would go back, and let’s hit it three days later. They wanted to go forward, and they said, keep going. Helicopters don’t work well in the sand.
Karoline Leavitt
Sir, do you want to show them the renovations?
Trump didn’t take the right lessons from his study.
President Donald Trump is staring down two stark liabilities that threaten to damage his Republican Party in the midterms and to ruin his second term-legacy.
Somehow he’s maneuvered himself into a more vulnerable spot regarding Iran than any president since Jimmy Carter. As in the 1979-80 hostage crisis, the Islamic Republic is exerting political pressure that it can dial up on the US leader ahead of a national election. A week ago, Trump’s team predicted a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was imminent. But Tehran, now dictating terms to the US global superpower, has imposed tough new conditions.
At the same time, Trump faces a separate but related problem at home. The war’s impact on energy prices is further souring voter perceptions of the economy. He’s entered the doom loop in which presidents and officials scan data for silver linings but voters see only indifference to their plights. Twists like Friday’s bad jobs report are untimely for the GOP with November fast approaching.
Trump has served up his own greatest fear.
The post The Jimmy Carter Talk Has Started appeared first on emptywheel.