Applebaum: Trump does not think strategically and does not have an endgame.
He began the war without clear goals, never asked the American people, never spoke to Congress, and assumed it would be some kind of two-day operation that would end fast. 1/
Applebaum: Trump did not think through the second and third-order consequences — oil, the world economy, other Middle Eastern states.
He even seemed surprised Iran could use drones against the Gulf states. If he heard warnings, he did not absorb them. 2/
Applebaum: When an American plane went down in Iran, Trump’s fear was not for the pilot, the crew member, or the soldiers.
It was for himself and his reputation. That is why his presence unnerved people in the room making the actual rescue decisions. 3/
Applebaum: The scale of corruption and kleptocracy is something America has never seen before.
The president has a crypto company people can pay into anonymously, and it is believed large sums have gone into it as a way of bribing him. 4/
Applebaum: The SAVE Act is widely understood as a voter-suppression measure.
It is designed to reduce who can vote, and it is part of a broader effort to massage election results — which is an old Viktor Orbán-style tactic. 5X
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