Partway through Donald Trump’s latest White House Cabinet meeting, a reporter asked the president a relatively straightforward question related to the Strait of Hormuz and its future: “Would you accept a short-term deal that allows Iran and Oman to control the strait, and would they have to open immediately, or would you be open to that happening over a period of time?”
Trump responded that the waterway will “be open to everybody.” Pressed further on which country would control the strait, the Republican added, “It’s international waters. Nobody’s going to control it. We’re going to watch over it. We’ll watch over it but nobody’s going to control it.”
If he had stopped the answer there, the exchange would have been largely unremarkable. The president, however, decided to add one additional thought.
“Oman will behave just like everyone else, or we’ll have to blow them up,” Trump warned. Referring to officials in Oman, he added, “They understand that.”
In other words, according to the American president, he’s prepared to start bombing a longtime U.S. ally if it partners with Iran to share control of the Strait of Hormuz.
As part of the network’s on-air coverage of the Cabinet meeting, Fox News’ John Roberts noted Trump’s threat and told viewers, “Not quite sure what that was all about.”
Oddly enough, I had the same reaction.
A Politico report noted that Oman “has been a key interlocutor in behind-the-scenes negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program and more recently in the push to end the war between Tehran and Washington.” Those diplomatic efforts have been rewarded with a threat of military violence.
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It might be tempting to think administration officials would want to downplay the president’s unscripted comments, if for no other reason than to avoid exacerbating a potential international incident. But shortly after the Cabinet meeting, Trump’s State Department turned to social media to promote and amplify Trump’s threat to blow up Oman.
For those keeping score, Trump has spent his second term launching military strikes in Venezuela, Yemen, Syria, Nigeria, Somalia and Iran, as well as several dozen attacks against civilian boats in international waters. His preparations for possible military intervention in Cuba have also been unsubtle.
Now, evidently, the Republican has put related threats toward Oman on the table.
A CNN analysis added, “Oman is at least the 15th country that he has either threatened to attack, left open the possibility of attacking, or actually attacked during his two terms as president.”
Given that Trump ran on a platform of foreign policy restraint, the fact that this list keeps growing is plainly indefensible.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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