Almost from the day Donald Trump entered the political arena, the legacy media have been committed to depicting him as a trigger-happy warmonger who’d rather shoot first and ask questions later.
They just did it again, offering another example of how the big, fat outlets remain the undisputed kings of misinformation.
Their default move is to make sure the facts never get in the way of a Democratic talking point.
If that means they have to occasionally sing in tune with America’s enemies, so be it.
Their deceptions have been front and center in the latest twist in the long-running dispute between Washington and the mad mullahs of Iran.
Sometimes it’s hard to find a major difference between how the American media and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei describe Trump.
To both, the president is always the problem.
If they had been right this time, we’d now be hearing Trump give the command for “bombs away” over Tehran.
Instead, there he was on the White House lawn Friday afternoon, pointedly thanking the mullahs for not following through on their vow to execute hundreds of political prisoners rounded up in the protests.
“Iran canceled the hanging of over 800 people,” Trump said, adding that he “greatly respected” the move.
To those with an honest and open mind, the week’s roller coaster ride illustrated how Trump’s fondness for talking about America’s military might is often purposeful sword-rattling.
The bluster, this time and often, serves as an invitation to negotiations or is so persuasive that he gets most of what he wants without having to fire a shot.
‘I convinced myself’
As the week began, the scenes in Iran looked like a five-alarm fire.
With the mullahs slaughtering their own citizens for the crime of protesting a collapsing economy, the calls for America to stop it grew louder, and Trump was game.
He gave every indication that our military was locked, loaded and ready to go.
In a bristling Tuesday post on Truth Social, he sounded prepared to take action with his promise to the brave demonstrators that “help is on its way.”
“KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!.”
He urged those in the streets, adding, “Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price.”
Within 24 hours, he pulled back and explained the move by saying “very important sources” told him Iran had stopped killing protesters and was not moving forward with mass executions.
It’s not clear where he got that information, but so far it has been largely accurate.
Additionally, reports surfaced that Trump was hearing warnings from our regional allies, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Turkey, that hitting Iran could ignite a much bigger war because of counterattacks by Iran and its heavily armed terror allies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.
Some warnings raised the possibility of an Iranian civil war that could unleash a flood of refugees.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also asked Trump to postpone any attack so Israel would have more time to prepare for the likelihood that it would be a target of Iranian retaliation.
On Friday, Trump rebuffed the chatter that pressure from foreign leaders led him to pull back.
“Nobody convinced me. I convinced myself,” he told reporters.
He also added that the regime’s canceling of executions “had a big impact” on his decision.
Options open
The Wall Street Journal added two other factors.
First, military advisers told the president the US must beef up its resources in the region to carry out a significant attack and also protect our troops and allies.
The second reason was that Trump was told that a military attack probably would not topple the Islamic regime but would result in stepped-up brutality against demonstrators.
The upshot is that Trump’s decision to hold off on a military strike was clearly the right and prudent call, at least for now.
And he has preserved the right to move at the best time and under the most favorable circumstances.
Meanwhile, it is now clear the demonstrators, though heroically bold and determined, did not have nearly enough supporters to overthrow the government.
A key marker is that no part of the military or the Basij, a brutal paramilitary group, broke ranks or refused orders to shoot to kill, including even civilians who were not protesting.
And while the death toll is said to be more than 3,000, the government successfully shut down the internet, meaning only scattered bits and pieces of the bloody repression were seen outside the country.
The sense that the moment had passed was reflected in a Saturday speech by the ayatollah, where he declared victory and vowed his government would “break the back of the seditionists.”
He offered harsh criticism of Trump and blamed him for the casualties.
He also said in social media posts that “We find the US president guilty due to the casualties, damages and slander he inflicted upon the Iranian nation.”
Khamenei didn’t mention Venezuela, but it is no doubt on his mind.
His nation’s alliance with Nicolás Maduro suffered a big blow when the US snatched the dictator in a brilliant raid and flew him to New York to face broad criminal charges.
‘Respect, not fear’
For his part, Trump quickly responded to the ayatollah’s criticism by telling Politico in a Saturday interview that Khamenei’s 37-year reign had to end.
“It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,” the president said, marking the first time he has been that specific.
Trump added that “What he is guilty of is the complete destruction of the country and the use of violence at levels never seen before.
“In order to keep the country functioning — even though that function is a very low level — the leadership should focus on running his country properly, like I do with the United States, and not killing people by the thousands in order to keep control,” the president said.
“Leadership is about respect, not fear and death,” Trump added.
The back and forth seemed to mark the end of this round. There are no reports of protests in major cities, and street life and shopping are said to have returned to normal in Tehran.
That doesn’t mean the ayatollah and his robed thugs will adopt a kinder, gentler approach to governing.
According to NPR, one of his minions gave a fiery address Saturday that described the protesters as the “butlers” of Netanyahu and “Trump’s soldiers.”
The cleric declared that Netanyahu and Trump should get ready for “hard revenge from the system.”
Perhaps, but Trump is a persistent man.
He spared the Supreme Leader this time but when he decides the moment and circumstances are right, the ayatollah will get his just desserts.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
