Commentary: Trump posts 'Praise be to Allah,' a roast of the pope and an image of himself as Christ. Nope, not weird at all
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Praise be to Allah.For the second time in two weeks, President Trump used that phrase in a post about the Israel-U.S.war against Iran.Crowing about the alleged destruction of Iran’s planes, ships and bases in a Truth Social post Saturday, he emphasized his greatest victory in the monthlong campaign: “Most importantly, their longtime ‘Leaders’ are no longer with us, praise be to Allah!”Making sense of anything Trump says in the heat of posting is a fool’s errand, but it’s also entirely necessary.
Sane wash his words we must, because no matter how unhinged or infantile, the world’s safety, fortunes and future are inextricably tied to America’s next move, and therefore to his next move.So what is Trump trying to communicate, or provoke, by using the Arabic word for God, as Muslims do? Let’s translate.The first and most likely explanation: “Praise be to Allah” was meant to disparage his adversaries in the Islamic Republic of Iran.They are Muslim, they refer to God as “Allah,” therefore, he will turn their phrasing against them.
Word bombs to accompany the deadly ones falling in Iran and Lebanon.All leaders deploy tough talk in times of war, but Trump’s posts read more like the feverish ramblings of mad Col.Kurtz (Marlon Brando) in “Apocalypse Now” — “You’re an errand boy sent by grocery clerks to collect a bill” — than Winston Churchill’s galvanizing call to arms against the Nazis, “We shall fight on the beaches…”Unlike the fictional Kurtz or the real Churchill, Trump has no military experience.
He avoided the Vietnam War draft with four student deferments and one medical deferment for bone spurs.An area where he is experienced? Baiting foes.
Antagonizing enemies, genuine or imagined, is a Trump specialty, be it from the Oval Office, on the campaign trail, or in the before times, as a reality TV personality.Painting Muslims as th...