Trump's politics of death extend far beyond Iran

[marmar]

Trump’s politics of death extend far beyond Iran
COVID, gun violence and Iran reveal a governing instinct based on authoritarian violence disorder

By Chauncey DeVega
Senior Writer
Published March 21, 2026 6:45AM (EDT)


(Salon) Going to war should be one of the most difficult decisions a president can make. People will die. That is the very definition of war. But instead of acting with gravitas following his choice to start a war with Iran, Donald Trump and his administration have celebrated the killing and devastation.

....(snip)....

When asked about the American casualties, Trump has shown little emotion or concern. “We expect casualties,” he said, “but in the end it’s going to be a great deal for the world.” His lack of respect extended to the dignified transfer of remains ceremony at Delaware’s Dover Air Force Base where, as the flag-draped coffins of the first six dead were carried past him, he failed to remove his cap. Worse yet, with “USA” on the brim and “45-47” on the side, it promoted his own presidency and is listed for sale in his online store. Now a political action committee linked to Trump has used a photo of him saluting the coffins in a fundraising email.

....(snip)....

While the Trump administration’s gleeful response to death and destruction in the war against Iran is obscene, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. American conservatism and the broader right have cultivated a culture of violence and death for more than a century. Trump’s embrace of cruelty as official policy, both at home and abroad, is the distillation of those values and forces.

Social scientists have repeatedly documented that Republican and conservative policies across a range of issues are correlated with higher rates of measurable harm and negative outcomes to public safety, health and well-being. As psychiatrist James Gilligan argues in his book “Why Some Politicians Are More Dangerous Than Others,” this dynamic is greatly amplified when the GOP holds the presidency.

The damage is not abstract. A 2021 Lancet report estimated that approximately 461,000 excess deaths resulted each year from the first Trump administration’s policies — and that was before the Covid-19 pandemic. Other research has found that failures by the Trump administration and Republican leaders at the state level contributed to around one million excess deaths during the pandemic. .........................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2026/03/21/trumps-politics-of-death-extend-far-beyond-iran/

[GiqueCee]

1. A perfect explanation...

... of why I think the DSM 5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, vol. 5) should be updated to include conservatism on the sociopathy spectrum. Conservatism is a political pseudo-philosophy that has more than earned a place at the dark end of that spectrum.

[SheltieLover]

2. Absolutely! And religious trauma is another.