this post was submitted on 11 Mar 2026
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[–] marcos@lemmy.world 11 points 3 days ago (3 children)

I don't think even Trump is dumb enough to try to distract people from the Epstein files by attacking Iran.

He did it because he wanted to do it.

[–] smeg@infosec.pub 22 points 3 days ago (2 children)

He did it because it helps fund Russia's war efforts. The US lifted sanctions on countries buying Russian oil.

[–] marcos@lemmy.world 8 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Yeah, that's more likely than trying to distracting from Epstein.

[–] Alwaysnownevernotme@lemmy.world 12 points 3 days ago (1 children)

They aren't mutually exclusive.

[–] anomnom@sh.itjust.works 4 points 3 days ago

Yeah, plus it’s all part of flooding the zone. Everything distracts so nothing stays in the news.

[–] MyBrainHurts@piefed.ca 3 points 3 days ago

I'm not sure what would stop him from doing that earlier though?

It's trump, he'd just tell his base it was a step in stopping a tenth war or whatever number he's claiming nowadays, and that he's lowering American gas prices.

[–] TheCriticalMember@aussie.zone 22 points 3 days ago

After predicting Obama was going to do it to stay in office 30 times he convinced himself it was a good idea.

[–] MyBrainHurts@piefed.ca 5 points 3 days ago

I don't think it's entirely Epstein, that'd be facile. But, I do think that if trump is good at anything, it's generally PR/spin but Epstein is the one thing he hasn't been able to spin to get his base on side. And it's an issue where he, and his administration look increasingly bad (think Lutnick, the mishandled redactions, credible witness interview saying trump assaulted a 13 year old etc.)

It's also a matter of fact that trump has been acting much more erratic since the Epstein bill. Notably, carriers etc started building up in the South American theatre as the Epstein Transparency Act was being passed, with Maduro, Greenland and now Iran shortly after the initial deadlines.

Add really bad advice (oh yay, a Fox News host as secretary of defence), a cadre of yes men without the adult guardrails of the first administration and a streak of risky decisions not backfiring (e.g., striking Iran's nuclear facilities and kidnapping Maduro) and you can see the stage being set for increasingly bad decisions.

Again, I don't think it's ALL Epstein but I do think trump is desperate to keep people distracted and that he doesn't plan long term. So yeah, he's probably been wanting to strike Iran and now that his mental calculus adds "keep people from talking Epstein" to the benefits column and that may be enough.