ICE violence, Iran war show just how little Trump cares about human lives 

Of all the malodorous developments emerging from the Trump administration — and there are many — none is more objectionable than its contempt for life, and for those it forces to make life-and-death decisions.   

Consider the team of 20- and 30-year-olds in the White House charged with turning Donald Trump’s wars into TikTok content. Last year, the bros created a classy deepfake video of the president piloting a military jet and dumping excrement on protesters. Now, the Meme Team is using footage from video games, war movies, sports and actual military strikes to turn Trump’s Iran strategy (“I’m going to bomb the s–t out of them”) into entertainment. The videos are getting millions of views. 

However, in addition to making Trump look like the warrior he never was, the videos distract us from the fact that America’s missiles and bombs are turning real people into red mist and dismembered bodies on the ground, including 1,464 civilians and at least 200 children. 

Trump, who recently wore one of his baseball caps to a “dignified arrival” ceremony, cannot imagine what the parents of slain soldiers feel, let alone the parents whose sons and daughters are at risk every day of coming home in flag-draped caskets. Rather than another weekend at Mar-a-Lago, he could acquire some empathy by volunteering for a stint at a hospital ward treating the soldiers wounded in Iran so far. The Red Cross welcomes volunteers. 

A president’s respect for life is also reflected in their respect for human rights and dignity. Yet........

© The Hill