April 7: On This Day In 2019
Trump seems to mock anyone considered an “expert.” But you’d think he’d at least listen to the noble patriots who work every day to keep us safe, right? Nah. As Politico put it, “President Donald Trump has declared on more than one occasion that he’s smarter than America’s military leaders."
OTDI 2019, Trump formally labeled the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a “terror group.” This many sound like a straightforward position. But as Politico noted, “The president’s move came despite Pentagon officials’ warnings that it could lead to retaliatory attacks against U.S. troops by Iranian-backed forces in the Middle East and threats from Iranian leaders that U.S. troops could face “consequences.”
No surprise: Immediately after the decision, Iran struck back by declaring the U.S. Central Command a terrorist organization. This further destabilized the region -- just like when Trump pulled troops out of Syria, and when he unilaterally withdrew from our allies’ Iran nuclear deal.
Since then, as the experts had warned, our relations with Iran have gotten even worse. Several Iranian-backed terrorist groups have since attacked U.S. allies overseas, and have even directly attacked American military and other interests in the region.
Further reading
NBC covers the decision and Iran’s response
Politico details the military’s resistance to the decision
Summary: Trump habitually ignores experts; relations with Iran deteriorate