'A genocidal lunatic': Even MAGA sees Trump's madness | Opinion

By proudly announcing “a whole civilization will die tonight,” President Donald Trump appears to have moved on from his dreams of a Nobel Peace Prize and embraced historical infamy.

On the morning of April 7, the actual president of the United States of America directed these words to the people of Iran: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”

Those are the words of a tyrant. They are the words of a madman promising genocide. They are the words of a sick human being unworthy of the position he holds.

Trump's civilization-threatening words are shocking, even for him

No matter how dulled our senses have become to Trump’s unhinged behavior, those words sent shockwaves across the country and the world.

Democratic lawmakers quickly responded with horror and outrage.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts wrote on social media: “President Trump is threatening war crimes of horrific proportions against civilians. It’s deranged. This madness must stop.”

Rep. Diana DeGette of Colorado wrote: “Donald Trump is openly threatening war crimes against the entirety of Iranian civilization. 25th Amendment proceedings must begin immediately, but if the Cabinet is too cowardly, the House should begin the impeachment process now.”

Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin posted: “25th Amendment RIGHT NOW! Trump is too unhinged, dangerous, and deranged to have the nuclear codes!”

MAGA loyalists recoil at Trump's threats, calling them 'madness'

More notably, however, was the response coming from some of Trump’s formerly slavish supporters, indicating a growing crack in the MAGA base over the president’s reckless folly in Iran. 

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia shared the president’s social media post and wrote on X: “25TH AMENDMENT!!! Not a single bomb has dropped on America. We cannot kill an entire civilization. This is evil and madness.”

Joe Kent, who recently resigned as Trump’s director of the National Counterterrorism Center, posted: “If he attempts to eradicate Iranian civilization, the United States will no longer be viewed as a stabilizing force in the world, but as an agent of chaos ‒ effectively ending our status as the world’s greatest superpower.”

'He is a genocidal lunatic'

Far-right commentator and conspiracy theorist Candace Owens wrote: “The 25th amendment needs to be invoked.  He is a genocidal lunatic. Our Congress and military need to intervene. We are beyond madness.”

And even longtime Trump fluffer Piers Morgan posted: “This is a brazen pre-admission of genocide against the Iranian people, which would obviously be a war crime. Madness.”

When some of the kookiest members of a cult start saying the cult leader has taken things too far, catastrophe is not far behind.

If you aren't panicking over Trump's behavior yet, now's the time to start

Americans of every political stripe should be appalled by those words Trump posted. He’s known for bluster and bluffing, but that doesn’t matter. A world leader does not suggest the destruction of an entire civilization as a bluff.

And what if he’s serious? What if this narcissistic loon running our country plans to destroy an entire nation, civilians and all, if they don’t meet an arbitrary deadline and end a war he started?

The fact that none of us can say with certainty that Trump would never do that is reason enough to panic.

Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @rexhuppke.bsky.social and on Facebook at facebook.com/RexIsAJerk