Thread by @jmsleight

I am a shameless fan of @BravoTV. Their programming is a fascinating look at how differently people operate. I see connections to foreign policy and natsec way too often. This one couldn’t go by unnoticed.

The #VanderpumpRules reunion illustrated what's happening with #Iran. 1/

Like the vast majority of negotiated agreements, this analogy is not perfect and the audience for it is quite niche [👋 hi, friends]

But hear (read) me out. 2/

Takeaway from the three-part reunion: The Group employs "maximum pressure" constantly yelling and poking at James. When James bites back, they say “See?! The Real James. Burn it with fire.”

Sound familiar? 3/

James is Iran. We were all begging him not to react to the pokes and prods from the others during the reunion, but he does. I do not condone his actions. I also do not place all the blame on him. No one looks good here. 4/

Note: I'm not saying James or anyone else is on the same level actions-wise as their counterparts. 5/

Katie is Bolton. She thinks she has the power and the cause on her side but she’s just being a hypocritical bully. She got James fired; Bolton is leading the march to war with Iran. 6/

Now, James absolutely said something horrible to Katie and good for her for standing up for herself. James should sincerely apologize and work on himself. 7/

But that doesn't mean Katie should get him fired and play as if she is the sole victim. She doesn’t have a clean sheet and context matters.

Unlike Bolton, I think Katie has the ability to see how her actions have contributed to the situation and dial it back. Routing for you. 8/

Kristen is Trump. Constantly piping up to spout nonsense whenever James talks, and no one understands why she is still on the show other than the people around her are still friends with her. 9/

Lala also has a Trump parallel. She pokes James one minute and then is all buddy-buddy on Instagram a few weeks later. Trump wants to act tough but also wants the Iranian leadership to call him and send him love notes like Kim Jong un. 10/

Note: I 🧡Lala and this one hurt to write. She is definitely no Trump but I had to go with the optics here. 11/

Stassi is Pompeo. A toned down version of Katie/Bolton but still a driver of instigating James/Iran. 12/

Jax is Tom Cotton. Jax was James once so should recognize what’s going on but he chooses to join the poking. Tom Cotton isn’t Iran but he served in Iraq and should recognize the same tactics and false pretenses are being used to push for war with Iran. Instead, he joins in. 13/

Jax also, allegedly, set up a fake Twitter account to bash James, reminding me of Cotton's letter to Iran attempting to undermine negotiations to verifiably rollback Iran's nuclear program. bit.ly/2RKLL2N


Yes, it’s different, but leave me alone. 14/

Brittany is Marco Rubio. I respect her and even find myself agreeing with her at times. James did go after her personally (unlike Iran and Rubio), but I wish she would have realized Jax's part in it and refrained from contributing to the escalation 15/

Tom Schwartz is the U.S. State Dept. He quietly tries to do what’s right but ultimately has to follow his wife Katie/Bolton, looking scared and confused as he does. 16/

Tom Sandoval is the Voice of Reason. He does not condone what James does but stands up to the others, pointing out their hypocrisy and gaslighting. The group/Trump admin came in hot, created the situation and then got mad James/Iran is reacting. 17/

Ariana is the Intel Community. When she calmly pointed out the Twitter account Jax claimed he didn’t set up was linked to his cell phone number -😂

Kinda like the IC consistently found Iran to be in compliance with the Iran Nuclear Deal when Trump decided to withdraw anyway. 18/

Andy is the Media. First he frustratingly seems to believe what the Group (Trump admin) is laying out, asking “Why are you so mad today, James?” Then he calls out Kristen. But at that point, does it matter? 19/

In the end Andy/theMedia mostly leaves it to TomSand/VoiceofReason to point out that James is being antagonized while continuing to ask James/Iran why he is being aggressive. Thanks, Andy. 20/

Also, this, which is how I assume the media’s internal dialogue is most days even if what’s happening gets clicks 21/

Lisa Vanderpump is the remaining parties of the JCPOA. She talked to James during a break in an attempt to calm him down (salvage the Iran Deal and call for restraint) 22/

In abrupt conclusion, the Trump administration created a crisis to goad the Iranians into breathing wrong so they can start a conflict. They are the bullies of #VanderpumpRules. 23/

But what the Trump administration wants is something with horrible consequences for the US and Middle East. Don’t let them succeed. Egocentric fantasies will not lead us to war. #NoWarWithIran /end.