Trump’s ‘blow ‘em up’ threat to Oman means he’s now attacked or threatened 1 out of every 13 countries
As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump gleefully portrayed his opponents as trigger-happy interventionists who would bog the United States down in any foreign war up to and including World War III.
As president, Trump has compiled a staggering list of countries he has both threatened to attack and actually attacked.
Trump added a new entry to that list on Wednesday. Threatens to hit Oman If it tries to control the Strait of Hormuz along with Iran.
“Oman will act like everyone else, or we’ll have to blow them up,” Trump said at the White House Cabinet meeting.
This was particularly notable because it was phrased as if he had stepped aside — something Trump had casually dropped with little prior thought.
And this has become somewhat typical for Trump.
Oman becomes at least the 15th country that Oman has either threatened to attack, left open the possibility of attack, or actually attacked during his two-term presidency. Nearly all of these examples occurred in the first 16 months of his second term, but some spanned both terms.
It was started Strike in seven countries After attacking Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen so far during this period, it also attacked some of these countries in its first term. That doesn’t even count Attack on boats allegedly involved in drug smuggling Attacks targeted nearly 60 ships in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, killing more than 190 people.
He has also threatened or left open the possibility of attacks on seven more this period: Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Greenland (part of Denmark), Mexico, Panama and now Oman. He also threatened Mexico and North Korea during his first term.
These threats and attacks are not all the same. Some, like the attacks in Iraq, narrowly targeted terrorists rather than the ruling government. And some threats were less direct; In most cases, Trump refused to rule out the possibility.
Part of this can be explained by Trump’s embrace of the “mad man theory” of foreign policy. In other words, he likes to portray himself as unpredictable, believing it makes foreign enemies more likely to cave in to his demands.
But all this reveals a remarkably bellicose attitude from a president who has already invaded two countries this year (Iran and Venezuela) and appears to be considering a third (Cuba).
And the data shows just how militant Trump is. Here are some statistics.
1 in 13 countries
This is how many countries Trump has so far threatened or attacked: 15 out of nearly 200 countries in the world.
1 in 11 people
These countries account for 1 in every 11 people in the world. This means that 1 in 11 people on the planet are at least somewhat concerned that Trump might launch a military attack on their country.
5 countries in the Middle East
Trump has now threatened or targeted five countries in the Middle East alone. This is five out of a total of less than 20 countries in the Middle East.
4 continents
Trump’s threats and attacks cover countries in four of the world’s six most populous continents: Africa, Asia, North America and South America. He also technically threatened a European country in Denmark by talking about seizing its territory in North America.
5 potential targets of imperialism
He identified five of the 15 countries he had struck or threatened as possible additions to the United States: Canada, Cuba, Greenland, Panama (especially the Panama Canal), and Venezuela.
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