C: I’ve called you together to discuss the state of the war. How would you rate it so far?
M: A disaster that will probably get worse before it gets better.
S: So far, so good.
C: Mark, why do you think it’s a disaster?
M: I’m a car dealer. For years, my company invested billions in creating electric cars because they were the wave of the future. Trump basically flushed those investments down the drain with his environmental policies. He also drove up prices with his tariffs. Now his war is making the case for EVs again. What am I supposed to do with that?
C: And you think it will get worse?
M: We haven’t felt the worst of the inflationary impacts yet. No wonder the Democrats can’t wait for November.
C: Sebastian, why do you think the war is going well so far?
S: Because, as Trump and Hegseth keep telling us, we have destroyed Iran’s military assets. We can hit them anytime and in any way we want. It’s just a matter of time before they surrender.
C: What makes you think they plan to surrender? The regime is still in control. Trump doesn’t have any leverage to make it go away. The deal it is offering on nukes sounds a lot like the Obama deal.
S: Trump won’t accept an Obama deal. The nuclear program has to go away permanently.
C: The supposedly obliterated program still exists. We don’t have the practical ability to get the enriched material out of the country without an agreement. How are we going to get that agreement?
S: Trump will figure out a way to escalate enough to get it done. I trust him.
C: If that requires an invasion and an occupation by large numbers of ground troops, are you ok with that?
S: I hope it doesn’t come to that, because it would sound like Iraq. But I trust Trump. He’ll find a better way. He always does.
C: At what point did Trump go to the American people before the war and ask them to accept much higher gas prices as the price for a war that might or might not put a permanent end to the Iranian nuclear program?
S: The American people voted to trust Trump and his instincts in 2024. Whether you like it or not, all of America is in his hands. He can do whatever he wants, and nobody can stop him. That’s what presidential elections are for.
C: Does that theory of American democracy apply if AOC is elected in 2028?
S: Of course not. Trump speaks for God, so we are bound to trust and follow him. AOC speaks for the devil. We are bound to resist her.
C: I think we’re done for now.