On Sunday, President Trump unleashed another nuclear tweet, this time aimed at the Iranian mullahs. Responding to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s statement that a war between the U.S. and Iran would be the “mother of all wars,” Trump punched his CAPSLOCK and tweeted:
This has prompted widespread consternation. Is Trump actually threatening nuclear war?
It’s as though everyone forgot when Trump threatened North Korea with “fire and fury” — a threat that ended with Trump traveling to South Korea, treating Kim Jung Un like an old friend, and then declaring that he had successfully denuclearized the country.
Trump’s threats, in other words, aren’t particularly credible. Instead of abiding by the old Teddy Roosevelt dictum, “Speak softly and carry a big stick,” it’s “Tweet loudly and then get together for some face time.” The Iranians should be frightened of the Trump administration’s bold stand against the Iran nuclear deal, and the newly-formed de facto alliance between the Saudis, Egyptians, Jordanians and Israelis against their aggression. But Trump’s tweet isn’t anything to lose sleep over.