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Donald Trump is fighting a war on two fronts.
In Iran, the downing of a US F-15 fighter jet, with the spectacular rescue of the missing second crew member, announced yesterday by the president, was fantastic news thanks to the special operations teams who risked their lives to find it. But the fact that the plane was shot down sadly undermines Trump's argument that the murderous mullahs have no ability to defend themselves. And it highlights what soldiers have always known: war is hell.
The same applies to the Iranians shooting down an A-10 attack plane, and although the pilot was quickly rescued, it shows the unpredictable nature of war.
At home, Trump has been firing top aides and targeting others for firing. The ouster of Pam Bondi and Kristi Noem, and media reports about who will be next, have fueled anxiety throughout the Cabinet. The only person who is probably safe at this point is Jared, given his status as son-in-law.
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President Donald Trump is now fighting a proverbial war on two fronts. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
There is some connective tissue between these ongoing battles. They reflect a president who breaks down security barriers, berates his allies, launches a surprise war with little explanation and turns on those he considers insufficiently loyal.
To his supporters, Trump gets results because he is not afraid to take risks that have paralyzed previous presidents fighting the world's leading terrorist state.
To his detractors, Trump is impulsive and reckless, painting himself into impossible corners by failing to adequately plan for inevitable consequences.
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By any fair measure, American and Israeli warplanes have decimated Iran's military machine with a remarkably low casualty rate.
And Iranian drones, cheap to produce, have caused some injuries to Americans at military bases in surrounding Arab countries, and have also inflicted damage on Israel, injuring numerous residents.
Asked in a phone call by NBC's Garrett Haake whether the downing of the F-15 – before the rescue – would affect his negotiations with Iran, Trump said: “No, not at all. No, it's war. We're at war, Garrett.”
Trump urged Iran to “open the damn Strait” of Hormuz in an expletive-laden Truth Social post on Sunday. (Sahar Al Attar/AFP via Getty Images)
One reason the president's prime-time speech fell short is that the public expected him to declare victory and walk away, not threaten to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Age.” And will it really all wrap up in “two or three weeks,” which is his usual refrain for some time in the future?
That the president is urging European nations to simply “take” the Strait of Hormuz – after having declared that he would not end the war without an agreement to break the Iranian blockade – shows the mixed messages that have marked this conflict.
And then, having washed his hands of anything having to do with Hormuz, Trump posted yesterday on Truth Social: “Open the damn strait, you crazy shits.”
Which is it? It depends on when you ask him. (CNN published the quote as a poster, uncensored).
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Trump is promoting the speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mohammad Ghalibaf, as someone he can do business with. But Ghalibaf has repeatedly mocked him, posting: “This brilliant war with no strategy they started has now been downgraded from 'regime change' to 'Hey! Can someone find our pilots? Please?'”
Maybe the president will lose trust in him like he did with Pam Bondi.
The now-former attorney general did a terrible job, from botching Epstein's files to refusing to interact with the pedophile's victims to insulting Democrats in a hearing where she proudly proclaimed that this was a distraction from getting the Dow Jones over 50,000 points.
Bondi unloaded on Jamie Raskin, who led the Democrats during Trump's second impeachment trial: “Don't tell me anything, you failed lawyer. You're not even a lawyer!?” (Raskin graduated from Harvard Law School and taught constitutional law at American University.)
But that only partially explains his dismissal. Bondi did everything he could to prosecute Trump's political enemies. But the charges against James Comey and Letitia James were dismissed by judges or blocked by grand juries that declined to bring charges.
It's worth dwelling on how outrageous it is that the Justice Department serves as an attack dog for those whom the president has found guilty. Not since John Mitchell went to prison for the Watergate cover-up has the department's mission been so twisted.
Bondi's likely replacement, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former Trump defense attorney (and former prosecutor), backed Bondi every step of the way to turning the Justice Department into Trump's Department of Retaliation. The president clearly wants Blanche to be even more aggressive.
Trump all but confirmed it to ABC yesterday, saying: “Everyone loves him. But Todd is doing very well. He's been with me a long time.”
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Trump's attorneys general have suffered the same fate. He ousted Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from the Russiagate investigation and then campaigned against him. Bill Barr resigned under pressure from Trump after finding widespread fraud in the 2020 election, and then the president hurled insults at him.
Noem also did a lousy job, apparently more interested in self-promotion than dealing with ICE's excesses, especially the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens, whom she called domestic terrorists. It wasn't until she falsely accused Trump of approving an expensive ad campaign in which she appeared that he had enough.
As an added indignity, we learned that Noem had potentially exposed herself to blackmail when those eye-catching photos of her cross-dressing husband surfaced.
Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was back in the spotlight last week when lewd photos of her husband surfaced. (Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images)
There are now news reports that Trump could fire Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who has been accused of an inappropriate relationship with a security employee, misappropriation of public funds and drinking in the workplace. Several senior aides have resigned and her husband is banned from the building following an allegation of sexual assault.
Trump is also weighing a pink slip for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who is often self-employed. Lutnick lied when visiting Jeffrey Epstein on his Caribbean island, years after he claimed to have cut off contact.
Trump has been asking his advisers about firing Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, but appears to have abandoned that idea for now. You don't want headlines about a large-scale cleanup.
“She's a little different in her thought process than me, but that doesn't mean someone isn't available to serve,” he told reporters the other day.
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A judge also blocked a subpoena for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, the subject of a Justice Department criminal investigation related to cost overruns for the agency's renovation of its 89-year-old headquarters.
Cabinet reshuffles are occasionally used as quick fixes. In 1979, Jimmy Carter demanded that all members resign and ended up dismissing Health Secretary Joe Califano, Treasury Secretary Michael Blumenthal, Energy Secretary James Schlesinger, Transportation Secretary Brock Adams, and Attorney General Griffin Bell. It didn't help.
For Trump, it's almost always a matter of loyalty, and for those who fall from grace, no amount of licking is enough.
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So we have the president tinkering with his political alignment and possible replacements even as he is waging war against Iran. You would think that would be put on hold while American fighter jets are shot out of the sky.
But Trump is the ultimate multitasker. He has even found time lately to complain about his planned White House ballroom and filed an emergency appeal, citing national security concerns, of a court ruling that blocked construction.
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Whether the president is dealing with Pam Bondi or Mohammad Ghalibaf, he does what he wants, when he wants. And leave the consequences for another day.
