Remember earlier this month we were talking about John Bolton banging on the war drum and Trump moving military forces into the Persian Gulf?  There were ominous warnings about Iran’s aggression and our bases being put on high alert in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Remember, too, how no other country saw the threat and dared to say so? Well, just as quickly as the threat appeared, it also disappeared, ending when Trump, standing in the West Wing door, said, “I hope not,” when a reporter shouted the question about going to war with Iran.

Now we know what all that was about – arms sales to Saudi Arabia.  Trump has made some backroom deal with MBS and the House of Saud to sell weapons to them, along with the UAE and Jordan.  The trick?  By declaring a another fake emergency, Trump can bypass Congress, which approves arms sales to other countries.  Since MBS had journalist Jamal Kashoggi brutally murdered (and Trump didn’t do anything about it) Congress has refused to support the Saudi attacks on Yemen or to approve arms sales to them.  So, Trump just ignored Congress, again.

This is how Trump operates.  When the invertebrates in Congress occasionally stand up, or when the courts step in, Trump just disregards the law and acts unilaterally to do what he wants.  The strength of our system of government is also its greatest weakness.  The Founders designed a system of checks and balances to keep power in check.  The problem with that system is that they never dreamed that each of the branches of government would be simultaneously corrupt; they anticipated a Trump-like president, so gave the Congress co-equal power to control or remove him/her if necessary.  If the Congress is also corrupt, the system collapses, and this is exactly what’s happening.  Trump does what he wants, lines his own pockets, destabilizes entire regions of the world, and is making the US an unstable oligarchy with widening social injustice and gaping income inequality.  When Congress does makes some lame effort to slow his corruption, His Orangeness just doubles down and does what he wants.  McConnell and company just shrug, since they’re busily packing the courts with radicals and weirdos while Trump infests the WH.

At least we now know why the fake concern over a fake threat from Iran so Trump can declare a fake emergency to funnel weapons to his fellow oligarchs who are differentiated from him only by their garb, language, and hair style.