US President Donald Trump, who has left no stone unturned in lowering the bar for rectitude, both personal and institutional, has done it again. On Sunday, an angry Trump put out an expletive-laden post on Truth Social, warning Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz in the most coarse and abusive language ever used at this high level of global governance: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F**kin’ Strait, you crazy b******s, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”
What does this recourse to profanity on the global stage reveal about Trump? It reveals a US President closeted with unctuous aides, who is frustrated and ranting, since the war against Iran, codenamed Operation “Epic Fury”, is not unspooling as per the script he had envisioned, that is, a Venezuela 2.0.
This pattern of lashing out at senior officials who speak the truth and conduct themselves with professional integrity was evidenced earlier in April when Trump compelled the US Army Chief of Staff General Randy George to retire immediately.
The Pentagon gave no detailed public explanation, but sources described it as a “leadership change” and added that the freshly minted Secretary of War, Peter Hegseth, wanted someone who would more fully implement the Trump-Hegseth vision for the Army.
The Washington grapevine has it that the long-festering trigger was Hegseth’s push to block promotions of four Army officers (two African-American men and two women) from a list of candidates for one-star general. General George, to his credit, demurred, citing the strong service records of the four officers and refused to show any negative bias based on race or gender in his promotion recommendation.
Hegseth, a former major in the US Army National Guard and a TV anchor, does not command much respect from the top brass of the US military. However, in keeping with the highest traditions of a democracy, the military accepts and internalises its subordinate (but not subservient) role in the lattice of governance and always defers to the elected civilian leadership.
This military professionalism was on display in late September, when Hegseth and Trump addressed the top brass in an unusual and unprecedented meeting summoned on short notice. Hegseth set the stage for the President, the Commander-in-Chief, and emphasised the need to return to a warrior ethos, ending woke policies in the military and setting new standards for personnel.
Trump announced spending plans (a $1 trillion-plus defence budget in 2026), expanding the Navy and “reawakening the warrior spirit”. One of the most jarring aspects of the Trump ramble was the repeated criticism of his predecessor, Joe Biden, and describing the previous administration as a “horror show” run by “incompetent people”. The most deplorable aspect was to mock Biden personally and accuse Uncle Joe of lacking respect for the military.
This diatribe was not just counterfactual but also damaging to the carefully established civil-military relationship in the world’s oldest democracy, with the world’s most powerful military. The 800-plus personnel in uniform heard their President in respectful silence – even when he was flailing and making inopportune political references – without the slightest grimace or a sign of endorsement.
The US military owes its allegiance to the Constitution and the flag, and not to any individual president, and the civil-military relationship has been turbulent in the last 250 years of American history. Many US Presidents have “sacked” top generals, and the list includes Abraham Lincoln, Harry Truman, down to Barack Obama and now Donald Trump.
Insubordination and incompetence have been cited, but rarely has there been a mowing of the grass for political reasons, as has been the case in the second Trump presidency. Reports indicate that over 20 top generals and admirals have been fired or sidelined by the Trump team as of early April 2026.
The most critical question that arises in the context of Epic Fury is whether President Trump, with his deeply ingrained impulsive petulance and penchant to raise the ante to the very brink, with all his interlocutors to force a “good deal” for himself, will lurch into escalation mode and invoke the nuclear threat to intimidate Iran?
General Mark Milley, who served as Army Chief of Staff and later Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Trump 1.0, described the President to author Bob Woodward as: “He is the most dangerous person ever. I had suspicions when I talked to you about his mental decline and so forth, but now I realise he’s a total fascist. He is now the most dangerous person to this country.”
As per US law, Trump can unilaterally order a nuclear attack on Iran or any other target since the President has sole authority to order the use of nuclear weapons. This has been the case since the Truman administration and remains unchanged in 2026. No approval is required from Congress or concurrence from the Secretary of War or the Joint Chiefs.
It is frightening that a US president who is described as “dangerous” and whose mental health is declining can order a nuclear strike. The US military will have no option but to execute such an order, unless more prudent professional advice is given and accepted.
Parsing the last line of the Trump post makes for ominous conjecture: “Open the F**kin’ Strait, you crazy b******s, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH!”
What will Wednesday bring to the world? Epic HELL?
The writer is director, Society for Policy Studies, New Delhi
The US military owes its allegiance to the Constitution and the flag, and not to any individual president, and the civil-military relationship has been turbulent in the last 250 years of American history. (File Photo) 
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