Donald Trump is now facing tough questions about his threats to bomb Iranian power plants and bridges, which are growing more and more unhinged. On Monday he seethed at a reporter who asked pointed questions about whether this would violate international law. Trump attacked the reporter’s news outlet as “failing” and ranted that his colleagues seem to want Iran to have a nuclear weapon. Meanwhile, Punchbowl News reports that Republicans may be at a “breaking point” with Trump over the war, because it has saddled them with a “political mess.” All of which raises a question: If Trump seems ready to go through with massive war crimes, will Republicans act to rein him in at that point? We talked to Columbia political scientist Elizabeth Saunders, who had a hair-raising thread on Bluesky about where we are. She explains why Trump’s lashing out at the media should be taken seriously and why she sees this moment as uniquely dangerous. She also discusses how Trump has boxed himself into a position of maximum destructiveness, what to expect from Republicans in response, and how to think about what’s next. Listen to this episode here. A transcript is here.
PODCAST
Angry Trump Erupts at Media as GOPers Quietly Start to Break over War
As Trump’s threats grow more unhinged, a political scientist explains how Trump may have boxed himself into a place of maximum destructiveness on Iran—and why the GOP must urgently rein him in.
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