President Donald Trump’s recent move to call the Department of Defense the “ Department of War ” is, practically speaking, an elaborate press release.
Much like his move to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” Trump can’t officially change the name without congressional action – which appears unlikely in the Senate.
But the Pentagon name change is instructive in one way: It epitomizes an increasingly militaristic Trump policy, at home and abroad.
He has campaigned for a decade on ending wars and even recently lobbied extensively for a Nobel Peace Prize. But his second term has involved increasingly threatening – and potentially risking – military confrontations.
The bellicose rhetoric has kicked into overdrive in recent days.
On Saturday morning alone came two extrem