Clip from ISIS recruitment video featuring Trump and the Belgium attack

Trump invented ISIS. Sound ridiculous? Then you haven’t mastered Trump-think. Until you understand him, he can con you. So let me walk you through this.

• In 2007, Trump said Bush should “Declare victory and leave.”
• In 2008 Bush signed the agreement to get out of Iraq by Dec. 31, 2011.
• In Dec 2008, Trump said: “I’d get out of Iraq right now.”
• In Feb 2011, Trump said: “I’d get them [US troops] out real fast.”

So Trump was the visionary behind “get out now.” And as he now claims, getting out created ISIS. Yes, he wanted to get out much quicker than we did. But he can still claim credit as the ISIS mastermind, because his plan worked. ISIS is here. Get it? Now you understand Trump-think. Or maybe not. There’s method in his madness, and we will get to it shortly.

Keep Iraq’s Oil? Restart the Iraq War?

Trump’s thinking always evolves (flip-flops?). As late as Feb 2011 he was still saying “Iraq, we shouldn’t have been there, and I’d get them [US troops] out real fast.” (Politico, CNN) But soon after that he started developing a new plan that would have worked miracles. No doubt about it.

Trump: “I was saying this constantly and to whoever would listen: keep the oil, keep the oil, keep the oil, I said – don’t let someone else get it. … This proposal would have left soldiers in place to guard our assets.” Aug 15, 2016 ISIS policy speech.

Brilliant. Instead of “declare victory and leave” we could have stayed to guard all of Iraq’s oil fields and pipelines. Here’s a map of the most important ones.

Can you imagine! The US invades an Arab country to replace its Sunni dictator with Maliki, Bush’s Shi’ite-Iranian puppet, and then steals all its oil. The whole county, Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis would turn on the US, and they would have the backing of every Arab country with oil—they’re all run by dictators much like Saddam Hussein.

While discussing Iraq, Trump also said: “I am the greatest hawk who ever lived, a far greater hawk even than Bush.”

Well that plan would trump Bush’s little war. You don’t just steal the oil and take it home with you. It would take a minimum of two decades of investment, pumping and transporting. All of which would have to be guarded by American boys fighting off the entire Middle East. That really would be trading our boys’ blood for oil.

IsTrump Just Plain Crazy?

Not at all. Trump believes none of this. He doesn’t think Obama founded ISIS any more than he thinks he, himself, is the mastermind behind ISIS. He doesn’t think we would get away with taking all of Iraq’s oil. He’s actually quite smart. But this is not what he thinks about.

So what’s he thinking about? Winning the election. He’s knows nothing about foreign policy. But he knows a lot about how to manipulate the media and voters. That’s his strength. So that’s what he’s focussing on. It’s his only logical strategy.

He explains it in The Art of the Deal. “I’m the first to admit that I’m very competitive and that I’ll do nearly anything within legal bounds to win.” In a political campaign, “I’ll do nearly anything,” means “I’ll say anything.”

So he said “Obama founded ISIS” because he knows the press will lap it up. And he knows his base will love it. Some will believe it and think that he believes it, but most will just think, “Wow, I love that he really whacked Obama.” No matter if he’s right or wrong.

He said “keep the oil” because (again) that gets him press. And no one wanted to stay in Iraq, least of all Trump, so he had to come up with some twist to make staying in sound OK, when he switched from “get out right now” to “stay in for 20 years. It’s like saying he’ll make Mexico pay for the wall. He knows he couldn’t, it’s just a gimmick to entice his believers.

As Trump tells us, the media never understands him (they alway fall for his tricks). They just fact-check his fantasies or invent interpretations of what he might “actually mean.” That’s just playing his game. (Although, I agree, it’s much better to fact-check than to just repeat what he says, as they used to.)

Trump-think is inventing fables (Trump-tales) that will grab media and that work on those who want to believe they can elect a reality-show Rambo for president and be assured of a Hollywood ending.

Trump is smart and you can’t out-Trump-think Trump. But you can see through him. Sure it’s mostly fantasy and and lies. But that misses the point. It’s brilliantly tailored to keep his people loyal and win some converts.

A Top-Level Con

As NY’s Mayor Bloomberg said at the Democratic convention: “I’m a New Yorker, and New Yorkers know a con when we see one.”

So what’s wrong with electing a con to be President? First, if you vote for him, that makes you his “mark,” and means he conned you. Kind of embarrassing. Second, con’s are out for themselves, they are not out to “make America great.” That’s just the most brilliant part of his con. As Trump said, “It’s very possible that I could be the first presidential candidate to run and make money on it.”

But the Yuge problem is this. As president he would still be a con. He’s not hiding any “presidential Donald Trump.” He just told us: “I don’t want to change. You have to be you. … I am who I am.” He tries to con everyone—he’s brilliant at it, but that’s all he knows.

Although his tales are fantasies they still have impact. They don’t just offend, they teach people to hate. By angering blacks, latinos and Muslims, he “justifies” the anger of his followers. This makes us all less safe.

And playing the “Ugly American” role, helps the terrorists make their point. Trump was featured in recruitment videos by Somalia’s Al-Qaeda affiliate (Jan 1) and by ISIS (March 24, watch it). Former CIA and NSA head Michael Hayden and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have both said Trump is helping ISIS. He preaches what they preach—American is at war with Islam. This activates potential terrorist and offends the allies we rely on most to fight ISIS. The “boots on the ground” fighting ISIS are all muslims—Kurds, Iraqis and Syrians.

As president he would still be Trump, the brilliant con man. His tales would not come true. They are all just part of the biggest con job ever. There would be no Hollywood ending.

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