Six months ago, President Trump promised Americans that the war with Iran would last four to five weeks. Today, that conflict is still grinding on, having settled into a tense holding pattern that nobody in the White House seems eager to discuss. The administration has pivoted to an economic pressure campaign, offering few details about the "economic D-Day" Trump once vowed to unleash, while the president has instead turned his attention to picking a trade fight with Canada. The situation in the Strait of Hormuz remains precarious, with an oil tanker hit just this week, though the administration is eager to project calm. Oil is still flowing, though the numbers are disputed, with some analysts suggesting the real figure could be as low as 2 million barrels per day, far below the pre-war level of 15 million.
Gas prices have stabilized at just above $4 a gallon, but that is still painfully high for American voters, and Republicans know that every trip to the pump is a reminder of the war they promised would be over in a month. The run-up to the midterms gives Iran a unique opening to leverage Americans' reluctance to reengage, making the moment especially precarious. Republican strategists admit that gas prices in late October could be "make or break" for the GOP. Trump, however, seems more focused on his trade war with America’s closest ally, treating geopolitical crises as distractions from his need to project strength. Six months in, the war with Iran is not won, not over, and barely discussed by the president who started it. Instead, Americans are left with rising prices, empty assurances, and a commander-in-chief who would rather rename a lake than admit he miscalculated.
#Iran #Trump #foreignpolicy #midterms
#Venezuela #oil #NicholasMaduro #foreignpolicy
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