Daily Herald opinion: Rage over restraint: Trump’s expletive-filled Easter post yet another troubling and dangerous message
Dignity, diplomacy and decorum have hardly been hallmarks of either President Donald Trump’s foreign dealings or his brash communication style.
Even so, his expletive-laden Sunday morning threats to Iranian leaders — fired off on Easter of all days — marked yet another low for a president whose rhetoric continues to polarize and appall.
We’ve come to expect harsh words for world leaders who don’t bend to the president’s will. And we’ve grown sadly accustomed to mornings spent catching up on his overnight social media rants — frequently mocking others and filled with the kind of language that would land children in hot water with both their parents and the principal.
More than a year into Trump’s second term, we should be shock proof by now.
Yet, Sunday’s vile message — laced with language we will not print — still made headlines as he lobbed new threats to step up strikes on Iran if leaders there don’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday. In doing so, Trump dropped an F-bomb, called Iranians “crazy (expletive),” pledged to attack power plants and bridges and said the country would be “living in Hell” if the strait isn’t opened.
He ended with a tasteless “Praise be to Allah.”
The post was offensive on every level and downright dangerous. Plus, it overshadowed the impressive rescue of an injured American airman shot down over Iran.
Trump doubled down in a press conference Monday with an even more chilling threat: “The entire country could be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night.”
His defenders might argue that his comments are meant as a calculated display of strength, a way to scare Iran’s leaders into submission. But Trump’s vow to destroy civilian infrastructure and his musings about wiping out an “entire country” need to be condemned for what they are — unapologetic threats to commit war crimes delivered with a callousness that tarnishes the office of the presidency and the reputation of the nation he claims to love.
His words paint a picture of a leader with no restraint and no regard for the position he holds. And they call into question, yet again, his fitness for office — a sentiment echoed by critics who blasted the president on Sunday.
“Happy Easter, America. As you head off to church and celebrate with friends and family, the President of the United States is ranting like an unhinged madman on social media,” Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday on X.
“He's threatening possible war crimes and alienating allies. This is who he is, but this is not who we are. Our country deserves so much better.”
It does indeed.
Americans deserve a president who puts the nation’s needs above his own baser instincts, a commander-in-chief who communicates with restraint over rage and a leader whose words — especially in times of war — command respect rather than inviting ridicule.