America can rest easier tonight. The president is on the job.
Not necessarily the job involving Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, American sailors, oil shipments, or national security.
Donald Trump is picking trees.
According to Maggie Haberman, seventeen days into the Iran war, Trump was visited at the White House and seemed far more interested in his beautification projects than in the war itself. Instead of maps of the Middle East, he reportedly showed off photographs of maple trees and explained that he was choosing trees for the White House.
He also wanted everyone to know he was good at it.
Finally, a presidential accomplishment nobody can fact-check until October.
Imagine the Situation Room:
“Mr. President, Iran still controls the Strait of Hormuz.”
“Red maple?”
“Sir?”
“Beautiful tree. Tremendous tree.”
“Mr. President, commercial shipping through the strait has nearly collapsed.”
“Sugar maple?”
“Sir, this could disrupt the global oil supply.”
“Sugar maples make syrup. Very important industry.”
Somewhere, a four-star general quietly updates his résumé.
Before the war, roughly 140 ships a day normally passed through the Strait of Hormuz. On one recent Sunday, just three made the trip.
Three.
But don’t panic.
The maples are coming along beautifully.
Maybe Trump has finally discovered his true calling. Foreign policy is complicated. Landscaping is straightforward. Trees don’t ask follow-up questions, demand congressional approval, or wonder why gasoline costs more.
You can see the appeal.
The Pentagon may need to adjust its briefing strategy.
“Mr. President, we’ve identified three possible targets.”
“Interesting.”
“They’re called Crimson King, October Glory, and Autumn Blaze.”
“Now you’ve got my attention.”
There is something almost perfect about the image because Trump has always treated the presidency like a giant property-management contract. Gold fixtures. Ballrooms. Monuments. Renovations. Branding.
Unfortunately, countries are not resorts.
Wars are not construction projects.
And the Strait of Hormuz cannot be reopened with nicer shrubbery.
So perhaps this should become the unofficial slogan of the administration:
The world may be burning, but have you seen the landscaping?
A related thought: Politics may show us ego on a grand scale, but the same little voice operates inside all of us. In my new booklet, I Am Mike’s Ego, I take a humorous, personal look at the part of the mind that worries, judges, clings, controls, and insists on being right. Understanding that voice may be one small place where building a better world begins.
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The manipulation here is appalling. There is a growing movement against data centers as more people realize that they are a ecological disaster, that they are being forced onto communities as secretly as possible with no chance to become informed, and they should be banned from any part of the West dependent on the Colorado River.
Remember during Trump’s first term, the staff used pictures for him to get a better understanding.
I specifically remember Trump redrawing the map of Alabama. His lack of intelligence makes using pictures a better method of attempting to teach😊 a small portion may get through.