SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 8.2.2026
Six years ago the blogger thought a floundering Trump would Wag the Dog and attack Iran in his re-election year.
He didn’t.
Six years later and back in the White House Trump played the War card.
There was no presidential election he could brazenly utilize to propel him to victory.
The question will forever be, “What was he thinking?” as his presidency crumbles and the world economy tumbles.
San Francisco Chronicle – 3.1.2026
VIDEO
Wag the dog – Wikipedia The term did not gain political popularity until the 1990s, with the success of the 1993 novel Wag the Dog film of the same name . In the film, a sitting U.S. president becomes embroiled in scandal weeks before he is up for re-election, and a spin doctor arranges for a Hollywood producer to fabricate military action to save the campaign. This led to the phrase “wag the dog” becoming used to describe superfluous military actions undertaken to distract from domestic scandals.[1] It was used multiple times during U.S. president Donald Trump ‘s first term. First, in April 2017 when he conducted airstrikes against Syria during an investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections ,[3] U.S. airstrike assassination of Iran ‘s General Qasem Soleimani occurred during the first impeachment trials of Trump .[7] Top photo: Tehran aflame as Trump attacks Iran – 2.28.2026
Published by leeheidhues
I am a Green Party member, legal worker, walker, cyclist who follows politics, world events, 🌎 the literary world and 🎥 film
View all posts by leeheidhues
Published
August 2, 2026 August 2, 2026
Lee's Perspective 