Criticism is something we can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing. ~ Aristotle
President Trump knows better than anyone what will happen in the wake of Iran's attack on a US drone. No matter what course of action he takes after Iran's shooting down of a United States military asset over international waters, he will be criticized and condemned as a threat to national security.
If Trump takes action--any action--against Iran in retaliation for this blatant act of war, he will be blasted by Democrats and their media partners as a dangerous warmonger. If he chooses to take a wait-and-see approach with no immediate response, he will be labeled an ineffective windbag, a paper tiger whose word means nothing.
So, as usual in the current political climate, the president can't win. He never gets a moment's credit for the flourishing economy, the stock market boom, the jobs explosion, the foreign affairs accomplishments with North Korea and Mexico. You'll never hear anyone mention that he foregoes his annual salary--and I don't care how rich he is. It's his paycheck that he's giving up.
When he opens up and speaks to reporters, they use anything he says against him in the most negative context possible. The House of Representatives doesn't do a lick of work except try to destroy his presidency. His really is the loneliest job in the world.
It's true, the president causes a lot of his own problems. I could do with less of the petty drama and juvenile outbursts. But there's no doubt that I feel much better about the safety of the country than I did three years ago.
President Trump has nothing to lose. The knowledge that he will be railed against holds no fear for him. He's not a politician; he's the president. His habit is to follow whatever course of action he thinks best for the United States, often in a surprising manner. You'd think Iran would've noticed that by now.
Iran, shooting down a drone? Iran, going nowhere.
