He’s considering firing some of his most loyal sycophants, his Secretary of War is at war with the US military – and Trump keeps boasting about committing war crimes in Iran
Donald Trump’s administration is in meltdown. Again.
He’s considering firing some of his most loyal sycophants, his Secretary of War is at war with the US military – and Trump keeps boasting about committing war crimes in Iran.
There’s also increasing evidence that Trump is planning to put boots on the ground in the Middle East this weekend.
Things are moving fast – here’s all the most unhinged moments from Donald Trump’s escalating meltdown.
1. It all started with him sacking Pam Bondi
On Wednesday, before Trump was supposed to go in front of the cameras to deliver an address to the nation with an update on the Iran War, he had a chat with Attorney General Pam Bondi – reportedly in the back of the Beast on his way back to the White House from the Supreme Court.
Bondi, who has been a loyal sycophant but a pretty terrible AG, is ultimately the reason (some of) the Epstein Files are in the public domain – and the cause of many of Trump’s most existential nightmares. Trump had promised to release the files if he returned to office, and early last year she arranged a stunt with a bunch of MAGA influencers who were handed big binders marked “THE EPSTEIN FILES”. Unfortunately, when the influencers started to read them, they noticed most if not all of the files included were already in the public domain.
Bondi hastily insisted these were just volume one, and that she had, among other things, a “client list” sitting on her desk waiting for review. As it turned out, there was no such list – but the gaffe sparked growing demands for all of the files to be released – not just to YouTubers, but to the public. This has, of course, resulted in confirmation that Trump’s name comes up in hundreds of emails and documents related to the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Being named in the files is not an indication of guilt or knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. But nor is it, as the White House repeatedly claimed, “exoneration”.
Meanwhile, Trump had publicly (though possibly accidentally – it’s thought he posted what was intended to be a DM on main) ordered Bondi to use the Justice Department go after his mortal enemies – notably FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James – both of whom were involved in legitimate bids to prosecute Trump for crimes he committed during his first term.
Both prosecutions promptly fell apart in spectacular and humiliating fashion.
Then there was the subpoena hanging over her head. The House Oversight committee, which is investigating the Justice Department’s handing of Epstein and the Epstein Files, has summoned Bondi to give evidence under oath later this month.
We don’t know which of the above led to Trump on Wednesday telling Bondi her time was up, but it was probably all of them.
She reportedly begged to be allowed to stay on until the Summer. Trump said no. He announced last night that she would be “transitioning” to a job in the private sector – to be replaced at least for now by her former Deputy Todd Blanche.
Blanche, you’ll remember, is the one who paid a tremendously unorthodox visit to Epstein conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell in prison. Interviewed by Blanche, Maxwell was curiously keen to note that she’d never seen Trump do anything bad. Days later she was moved to a cushier prison camp – something unprecedented for someone serving a 20 year sentence for child trafficking.
2. Then Pete Hegseth sacked the most senior Army general in the middle of a war
As we were all reeling from Bondi getting beached, it became clear that Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of War, is still at war with the US Military.
It was revealed that he had asked four-star general Randy George, the Army Chief of Staff, to retire early. In the middle of a war.
The Chief of Staff is the most senior uniformed officer in the Army.
The Pentagon confirmed George, who was expected to serve a four year term until 2027, “will be retiring from his position as the 41st chief of staff of the army effective immediately.”
The spokesman added: “We are grateful for his service, but it was time for a leadership change in the army.”
General David Hodne, who led the Army’s Transformation and Training Command, and Major General William Green, who headed the Army’s Chaplain Corps, were also reportedly fired last night.
3. What does it all mean?
We can only speculate on the reasons for this unprecedented purge at the top of the Army. But here are some facts that may have played a role.
- The Chief of Staff would be ultimately responsible for any infantry ‘boots on the ground’ in Iran.
- Thousands of Army soldiers, notably the 82nd Airborne Division, have been deployed to the Middle East and are expected to arrive about now.
- If the mission requires any “non standard” operations, such as, say, the rapid evacuation of nuclear sites, the viability of that would have to be signed off by the Chief of Transition and Training.
- The Chief of Chaplains is the senior Army advisor on the ethical and spiritual impact of warfare, particularly on the rules of engagement.
- Trump keeps bragging about targeting civilian infrastructure in Iran. More on this later.
- Trump, historically, has always commenced and announced major military operations over the weekend while the markets are closed.
- Today is Friday.
If one were to speculate , it seems to be a reasonable supposition that Hegseth gave an order on Thursday and that one or more of the generals took issue with it. This theory is given further weight by Hegseth replacing the chief of staff with General Christopher LaNeve – a loyalist who was hand-picked and fast-tracked to the deputy role after serving as Hegseth’s senior military assistant. A Pentagon spokemsan last night said LaNeve was “completely trusted by Secretary Hegseth to carry out the vision of this administration without fault.”
4. Then rumours started swirling of a wider – and more brutal – reshuffle
As the dust settled from Bondi’s ouster and the sackings at the top of the Army. This is unsurprising for reasons we’ve covered already. Trump’s poll ratings are a dumpster fire. He’s the most unpopular President of all time, and his already terrible approval rating has taken an even more humiliating nosedive since the start of the war.
So the talk of the town is that he’s about to clear house – taking down some or all of the people he blames for his woes. “He’s very angry and he’s going to be moving people,” a source told Politico last night.
5. Here are all the people he’s said to be considering firing – and why
Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence – He’s reportedly mad at her for failing to condemn Joe Kent, the former counter terror officer who very publicly tore Trump’s rationale for war in Iran to pieces last month.
Howard Lutnick, Commerce Secretary – Trump’s toadiest flunky, but his big shot at bathing in the warm glow of the President’s approval was the Tariff strategy, which he was heavily involved in. The Supreme Court ruling last month means those days are over.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Secretary of Labour – Job numbers have been tanking, even after Trump seized control of the stats bureau in order to rig them.
Kash Patel, Director of the FBI – I mean, pick one. Using government private jets to watch his country singer girlfriend perform. Being described in a report by a national alliance of serving and retired FBI agents as “in over his head” and leading a “chronically under-performing agency”. The botched social media posts following the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Arriving in Utah following the murder, but refusing to leave his jet without an FBI raid jacket, forcing agents to stop work to find a medium-sized jacket for him to wear, only to deliver a female agent’s jacket to him with missing velcro patches – prompting an “expletive-laden tirade”. There is no shortage of reasons to fire Kash Patel.
6. Trump keeps bragging about committing war crimes
Trump keeps posting on Truth Social bragging about targeting civilian infrastructure in the Iran conflict. Most recently he posted: “Our Military, the greatest and most powerful (by far!) anywhere in the World, hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran. Bridges next, then Electric Power Plants! New Regime leadership knows what has to be done, and has to be done, FAST!”
Deliberately targeting bridges and power plants would be a pretty clear definition of a war crime.
7. And this former staffer thinks we should take him seriously
Writing in the I Paper today, former Trump Homeland Security chief Miles Taylor said he is not surprised by Trump boasting about committing war crimes, because he’s heard it before.
“He’s got an almost obsessive attraction to the idea of maiming civilians,” he wrote. “I know. I’ve personally heard him propose the most inhumane acts.”
He said Trump’s fixation of the “caravan” of migrants making its way to the US from Central America in 2018-19 had prompted him to suggest using the threat of “physical harm and death” to deter them.
Trump’s suggestions, he claimed, included:
- Painting the border wall black to make it get boiling hot in the sun and burn the hands of anyone who touched it.
- Installing “flesh-piercing spikes” at the top fo the wall.
- Deploying a 2,000 mile moat on the southern border and filling it with deadly snakes and reptiles. Which sounds insane until you remember he built a migrant detention camp in the Florida swamp, named it Alligator Alcatraz, and boasted that instead of chasing down escapees they would just let the crocs eat them.
- Shooting refugees, either fatally or just in the legs.