Trump’s threats are now just saber-rattling with a plastic knife

The presidency’s power and mystique has surrounded every president, especially when the U.S. started to become a superpower. Building off President Theodore Roosevelt’s proverb of “speaking softly and carrying a big stick,” presidents over the decades have learned that the office commands respect. Speaking to our enemies, antagonists and wayward allies carried a considerable amount of gravity.

Unfortunately, President Trump has turned the power of the presidency into a joke. Trump has always been a blowhard — not just in real life, but also on reality TV, talk shows and Twitter. People flocked to him because he said the things everyone wanted politicians to say. In an age where politicians overanalyze every word in every speech, he was an off-the-cuff guy who would tell it like it is. And when people didn’t listen, he threatened them.

Coming into his second term, Trump ratcheted up the tough talk. He had the House, Senate and Supreme Court to back him up. He had carte blanche to carry out his very specific ideals on how to change the country, the presidency and his bank account. At first, it seemed to work. Trump would make demands and threats against, say, NATO, whose nations boosted their spending and its secretary general called him “daddy.” Businesses rolled back DEI programs, universities made settlements to be left alone by the administration, and television networks changed their programming because of his threats.

Lately, however, it seems that people are tired of being bullied. Trump’s threats are now as empty as a drained reflecting pool. Everyone from enemies, allies, political opponents, businesses and ordinary citizens have learned to tune him out or write him off as a wacko.

Take Iran. Trump and his administration are now praying that their new approach, Operation Economic Outcast will get Iran to fold. It turns out that the constant threats of bombings, destruction and death by Trump to the Iranians didn’t make them rush to the negotiating table. Instead, they chose to wait us out. We are now the ones panicking because of oil prices, economic fallout, and a dwindling supply of interceptors.

Canada went elbows up after Trump decided to initiate another pointless trade war. They are laughing at him up north and are ready to handle any fallout from our now fractured friendship. How badly did Trump’s threats of tariffs fail? He is now trying to convince us that changing the name of a lake will actually accomplish something.

One of the reasons Trump had success in his first term was that his threats and bluster were restrained by sensible people in his administration. They realized that someone who never thought about the fallout of his words should in fact rein it in from time to time. The effect was when Trump did threaten people, he came across as a no-nonsense president who wasn’t scared of offending people. Hence why his base loved him so much.

But as we all know, the Trump administration is now full of yes-men, sycophants, and overly zealous personal assistants who can’t or won’t stand up to the president when he goes off the rails. In fact, some have learned to echo his threats and stances even if it makes them look incompetent or foolish. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is a very accomplished businessman. But his tough talk on Iran and the sanctions didn’t make anyone shake in their boots.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has long parroted Trump’s vision of the military, ranting about lethality and being harsh on troops that didn’t fit their vision. Of course, Hegseth should have focused on logistics instead of lethality. If he had, the Iran war might be going better.

Presidents have always relied on the projection of power to talk tough. President Ronald Reagan famously told the Soviets to “tear down this wall” and people loved him for it. He was tough but restrained. He didn’t threaten the Soviets with annihilation if they didn’t. He did not have to. George W. Bush didn’t fly off the rails after the attacks on 9/11. He kept his messaging stern and focused and told us what we needed to expect. Even when he made the mistake of invading Iraq, he restrained himself lest it make him and this country look worse.

But now, we don’t have restraint. We have a president who cannot handle his emotions and has beefed with everyone from Pope Leo to Minnesota kindergarteners . And we have learned for better or worse to just ignore him. What is worse is our enemies are now learning to ignore him as well.

Joslin Joseph is a recipient of the Military Reporters and Editors award for Best Commentary-Opinion. A graduate of Harvard and Ohio State, he is a Marine veteran who served in Iraq.