The Stupidity of a Bully
When you abuse people and countries, they are unlikely to come running to help you
A bully says let’s keep bombing a country “just for fun.” A bully says about the prime minister of the United Kingdom, a long-time ally, “This is not Winston Churchill we’re dealing with.” A bully thinks might makes right, “bombing the hell” out of an enemy will garner admiration and declaring “we won” in the beginning of a fight will silence all doubters. A bully thinks he can treat people and countries like garbage and they will still help him out whenever he wants it.
A bully gets away with this behavior as long as his targets are scared of him, indeed see themselves as victims and easily defeated. A bully preys on weakness and is fueled by the fear and insecurity of others. A bully rarely can be reasoned with and only stops when the counterpunch hurts enough.
I wish I were talking about schoolyard bullies, the kind of undeveloped people that you hope will outgrow their immaturity, wise up and act like rational adults. But I’m talking about the bully that more than 77 million Americans, in their infinite foolishness, gave maximum power to—a deeply broken, grievance-filled man driven by victimhood and one of the most obvious bullies to ever step near the Oval Office. This is a very stupid man who imagines he can—not just bully enemies as military strategy—but abuse allies and they’ll keep coming back for more.
Consider: Poor Donald Trump got a no from the UK’s Kier Starmer about joining the initial strikes on Iran and hesitated sending aircraft carriers to the region. This very stupid man in the White House decided to make a public show of his contempt toward a historic ally who acted in the interests of his own nation.
When Starmer eventually suggested he might send ships, Trump posted on Truth Social, “That’s OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we don’t need them any longer—But we will remember. We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!”
That was then, 11 days ago. And now, as Iran has largely succeeded at stopping the flow of oil and natural gas through the Strait of Hormuz, endangering the fossil fuel-dependent global economy and the U.S. stock market, the bully has changed his tune. While still attempting to sound all-powerful, he suddenly realized that belligerence alone will not overcome a prepared adversary proving its ability in asymmetrical warfare with drones and mines.
“The Countries of the World that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help—A LOT!,” Trump posted, adding, “This should have always been a team effort, and now it will be—It will bring the World together toward Harmony, Security, and Everlasting Peace!”
Harmony, Security and Everlasting Peace. Because, sure, America’s democratic allies, who’ve been the target of his abuse throughout this year—actual adults who saw him crying over not being handed a Nobel Peace Prize, lying about how many wars he’s stopped, threatening to blow up NATO by taking over Greenland—are counting on this bully to stand up for these principles.
It was less than two months ago when Trump stood on the stage of the Davos Economic Forum in Switzerland, looked at political leaders from around the world and spewed his invective: “Without us, most of the countries don’t even work”… “Canada lives because of the United States”…Switzerland—“they’re only good because of us…“Without us, right now you'd all be speaking German and Japanese.”
A bully never thinks twice that such insults could undermine his power when conditions change and he might actually need their help. But that doesn’t mean the slights are forgotten, especially when there’s a high price to join forces. As The Guardian soberly summarized yesterday, “The international response to Trump’s call for the dispatch of warships has so far proved vague and reluctant, with countries unwilling to commit to a military response that could prove treacherous for their navies.” This is what happens—or rather, doesn’t happen—when a lawless bully pursues a reckless strategy without consultation and support from a wide range of allies.
It’s useful to recall the wise words of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, sizing up the reality of trying to do business with a bully convinced that everyone should bend to his will, no matter how foolish. “The powerful have their power,” he said in Davos without specifically mentioning Trump. “But we have something too—the capacity to stop pretending, to name reality, to build our strength at home and to act together.”
It’s my belief that we need to restore international order and the rule of law and to end Trump’s illegal, unauthorized war opposed by most Americans. That cannot come quickly enough. And our contempt for bullies, especially those in positions of power, should be strengthened by the words of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker in the context of Trump’s escalating fascism: “Bullies respond to one thing, and one thing only: a punch in the face.”
A punch in the face takes many forms, including massive public protests (No Kings on March 28), overwhelming defeat across the country in the November midterms and a Democratic-led Congress recognizing the power of the purse and its ability to impeach, prosecute, convict and remove criminals. Iran, too, understands its ability to throw a punch by blocking the strait, driving up oil and consumer prices, causing stock prices to plunge and fracturing the global economy—all of which a bully, convinced of his total power, failed to imagine. A bully may act alone, but ending this particular bully’s abuses and regaining democratic and international order requires all of us.
Please consider becoming a paid subscriber for $50 a year or just $5 a month, if you’re not already. This helps sustain and expand the independent journalism of America, America, keep nearly all the content free for everyone and give you full access to the comments sections.
You forgot one bully quality that undergirds all the rest: stupidity. This is an incurious and therefore dangerous man, who was granted the vote of the people to do right by us. I have had to reconcile myself to the fact that of that 77 million, and of those who didn't vote, they are not high information voters. They may be disengaged from the corrupt assaults on media, law, academia, grace and truth. But I've got to believe that once gas hits $6.00/gallon and food soars even higher than it is, and many won't be able to make the rent/mortgage, and an ungodly number will have lost their healthcare...then that reality will pierce their safe bubbles, awaken them to what this low man has done to this nation, and vote like the future depended on it. Because it does. Maybe one of the only positive things that might come out of this god-forsaken war is that the majority of Americans will unite to stop it, to condemn its perpetrators, to demand change for the better angels of our nature.
"All men suffer. Not all men pity themselves." - Marcus Aurelius.
Whiner in chief. Loser in chief.