My weekly Comment Column in the Daily Plymouth Herald, written on the Sunday and published on voting day for the mid-term seat across the USA (3.11.26), arrogantly predicting that Trump may be down but not out. The outcome of the elections have to inspire hope and relief, even for we, the most distrustful of the System. But Trump’s first response, on Fox News, doesn’t allay all fear: “They’ll send over things that are insane and I’ll veto them. and after a couple of months of vetos they’ll and ask how do we get this stuff done…but I have the power of veto, and the power of veto is impervious.” Trmp’s a lame duck but not a dead duck. It’s not over.
A Lame Duck Trump is Dangerous
Out for a Duck? Given today’s mid-Terms, one would hope so. Trump is losing his grip. And, “if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck”, as they say.
Or is it? The Democrats are given an 83% chance to win the House and a 63% chance to win the Senate, the chance they win both sit at 61%. Even with the well documented inaccuracies of election polls, the likeliest outcome is therefore Democrats taking both chambers.
In which case Trump will indeed be rendered a lame duck for his final two years. With two notable exceptions. The first is that, in pursuit of far-right totalitarian control, he may simply not accept democracy and declare his rule as Supreme Leader from now on. The second, given the time gap between today’s vote and the inauguration of new seat-holders on 3rd January 2027, Trump will be off-the-leash (if ducks can even be leashed) to do his worst.
Either way we should expect big bangs. Trump’s reason d’être is the domination of US Capitalism and Big Tech and therefore US imperialism, globally. If he maintains control of the Houses he will surge forward with more war without opposition.
If Trump loses control of the Houses he will surge forward with more war while he still can. Given his far-Right friend and confident, Netanyahu appears to be hanging on the ropes also (mixed-sports metaphors abound), their joint approach to bombing their way to maintain power may prove decisive. They have both promised regime-change to their electorates. All the signs are the war on Iran, illegal and morally illegitimate as it is whatever your view of that country’s leadership, is about to ignite towards a crescendo.
They each need to make a timely statement of their individual power, and each have little left to lose. Dropping more bombs is the obvious choice, as it has been for every failing President across time immemorial.
So bomb Iran and keep bombing Palestine and Lebanon as a matter of routine. In the background, let tens of thousands on both sides continue to die in Ukraine through its sixth year of war with nuclear-use threatening far worse. Why not.
In all cases, the threat of use of nuclear warheads has been expressed by these protagonists through the past three years. The new generation of so-called “useable”, “Battlefield”, “low-yield”, fighter-plane-deployed nuclear bombs have cost a great deal of money and really should be used. After all, there hasn’t been a big bang in over 80 years. It’s time.
Britain will undoubtedly join-in, having serviced the B-1 Lancer bombers out of RAF Fairford this year and allowed B-52’s to operate out of USAF Lakenheath in Suffolk where Trump’s B61-12 nuclear gravity bombs are stored. The Labour Government is busy buying FA35A jets from the US, ready to carry the US B61-12s.
Just to be sure that nuclear weapons are to be part of future wars, the UK is panting at Trump’s feet to chuck billions at the Aldermaston nuclear facilities to build the new Astraea A21 warhead, funded in last week’s Budget to a tune of £13BN, to be carried by the new Dreadnought class nuclear submarines at £1.5BN each to be services at Plymouth Devonport at a refurbishment cost of £7.2BN.
Can they get away with “dropping the bomb”? What retaliation might we see, and from where? The old ideas of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) are out of the window with this new nuclear generation. Strategies and tactics are devised, not to deter nuclear use but to allow if not assure it.
Maybe that’s what Trump mean’s when he says ”…a whole civilisation will die…” and he will “obliterate” Iran and bomb it “back into the Stone Age…”. Tomorrow?
On our side, plans are laid for major protests across the West on 20-22nd November. Working class young people are raging against the full-spectrum of threats to their future: poverty, war and climate chaos. Their parents, as trade unionists and socialists, are to go on general strike in support. The only way we can stop exploitation and war is to act with our collective power, on our streets and in every workplace. No to War!
