There are moments in politics when language is no longer used to describe reality, but to overwrite it. This week, Donald Trump declared that the United States has a “very good relationship” with Iran – a statement delivered without hesitation, and seemingly without consequence.
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When Donald Trump says the United States has a “very good relationship with Iran,” it jars because it so obviously clashes with reality. This is not a relationship built on trust or cooperation, but one forged in four weeks of bombing, a powerful naval blockade, port disruptions, and the looming threat of further escalation.
Yet the statement is delivered as if none of that matters – as if confident repetition alone can transmute coercion into camaraderie. What is more troubling is not just the claim itself, but how easily it passes without serious challenge. It suggests we are getting used to a kind of political language where contradiction is no longer questioned, only absorbed.
The media bears significant responsibility for this normalisation.
Rather than rigorously interrogating the gap between Trump’s framing and the preceding violence – civilian impacts, destroyed infrastructure, and a fragile ceasefire – much of the coverage treats the remark as colourful Trumpian flair or a quirky negotiating tactic. Headlines emphasise “progress in talks” and “signals of peace,” often quoting the president at length while burying context about the blockade’s human and economic toll. Segments frame it as savvy deal-making: bombs as leverage, threats as prelude. Dissenting voices highlighting the Orwellian inversion are relegated to opinion pages or late-night panels, dismissed as partisan nitpicking.
This is how normalisation works. When outlets amplify the triumphant narrative without equal scrutiny of the underlying reality, they don’t just report the rhetoric – they launder it.
The bold assertion gains the sheen of accepted fact through repetition across screens and feeds. Viewers and readers, already fatigued by endless cycles of crisis, absorb the new framing: enmity yesterday becomes “very good relationship” today. The rubble fades into background noise; the blockade becomes a footnote. Media’s reflexive both-sides-ism and hunger for drama further dilute accountability, turning a profound shift in language into just another news cycle.
This complicity runs deeper than any single outlet. It reflects a broader ecosystem where access to power often trumps adversarial scrutiny, and where the spectacle of Trump’s confidence generates clicks more readily than uncomfortable questions about consistency or consequences. Over time, it conditions the public to expect – and tolerate – reality rewritten in real time.
The real danger lies in what comes next. When language overwrites reality so casually, and media helps smooth the transition, accountability dissolves. Wars can be recast as successful pressure campaigns before the dust settles. Alliances can be proclaimed “strong” amid fresh betrayals. And the public, lulled by polished delivery and unchallenged repetition, stops demanding proof. We become spectators to our own disorientation, wondering why the map no longer matches the terrain.
In such moments, a vigilant press is not optional – it is essential to tether politics back to something resembling truth. Without it, we risk surrendering not just language, but the shared reality democracy depends on.
Author’s Note: This piece was written in response to President Trump’s recent statement claiming the United States has a “very good relationship” with Iran, made at a time of active military pressure, including a U.S. naval blockade and ongoing tensions. Overnight developments – including Iran’s announcement that the Strait of Hormuz is open to commercial shipping for the remainder of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire – reflect the fluid nature of the situation. The core argument about political language and its normalisation remains unchanged.
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It’s not likely that the cease-fire will last.
Iranian media reports that “Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, says maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz must strictly follow routes designated by Tehran and operate under full Iranian coordination.”
“Speaking in a live televised interview on Friday, Baghaei reiterated that any continued “maritime blockade” by the United States would be met with a decisive reciprocal response.”
So it appears that the toll imposed by Iran is still in place.
The US does not like to cede control.
They can spin it as a win-win at the moment, but if total Iranian control of traffic continues, including the toll, it will clearly be a win for Iran.
This is not over until the US navy heads for home.
The President is clearly delusional. The concerning thing, as you point out David, is that no-one in the MSM seems to find it worth questioning.it has to be the fringe media who point to the declining mental state of the so-called leader of the free world. Despite the overwhelming and mounting daily evidence of his decline Republicans won’t have the guts to start the Amendment 25 process. At this time the American people are poorly served by most of their representatives many of whom are beholden to the Zionist lobby. I would be interesting to know how many of Australia’s politicians are equally compromised. Minns is clearly one. Albanese’s conversion from Palestinian activist to ardent Jewish apologist must make him suspect too.
Trump’s contradictions, untruths and irrational statements don’t worry me any more as they all confirm his inability to perform the tasks of his high office that demand the leadership of a person of high moral integrity.
Sorry Michael.
RC, if I’m being mistaken for David Tyler, then there is no need to apologise. I take it as an honour.
I don’t know about anyone else,but I can’t wait for this fuckwit to either drop dead or be forcibly dragged away.He is so obviously mentally rooted, its a joke.Given the line up of his (current) inner circle of ludicrous misfits, his imminent demise is no cause for optimism either.
The American century is on it’s deathbed,China waits patiently in the wings.
@RomeoCharlie: The number of ZIONAZI at all levels in the US government is documented by Maisel & Forman (2004) ”Jews in American politics”, ISBN 1-800-462-6420 pb, http://www.rowmanlittlefield.com
These numbers would have increased during the intervening 20+ years.
@ Mediocrates: Now, now M ….. my comment on Facebook “If his lips are moving then he is probably lying” caught a quick ”Community Concern Notice” complete with demand for a Police Mug-shot and full head Mug-reel before I could return. Naturally I am no longer on Facebook.
@ Harry Lime: So the Evil Communist Empire of Russia currently represented by Vlad the Lad Putin did not have to fire even one drone in anger to cause the complete demolition of the ”American Dream”.
Rather TACO Trumpery single-handedly abused his position as PPOTUS (Pederast Protector of the Undemocratic Sewer of Apartheid) creating instead ”The Nightmare on MainStreet America”, with tutoring by Vlad the Lad and managed in two disjunct Presidential terms to undo 250 years of Western Democratic Government.
Totally agree, Harry.
The effing orange moron is dead set on wrecking the “ceasefire” and, of course, it won’t be his fault when it all blows up in gormless face. I’m betting that the tiny demon Bibi has been busy whispering in his ear as well to help the process of keeping the war going.
https://www.news.com.au/world/middle-east/usiran-war-live-updates/live-coverage/4e74263ef2259db94675ceed54906939
Disclaimer: my newsfeed on things USA is totally anti-Trump, so I don’t have firsthand knowledge of the cesspits of US media, but having said that, there seems to be an interesting dynamic taking place in the USA media reaction to Trump.
Michael is absolutely right in that the media should not be normalizing contradictions and inverting reality. Two things though: there are a number of factors that give this a certain US uniqueness; and that it should have happened prior to Trump’s first term as President (although, had they done that successfully we’d have had Hilary Clinton – the biggest warmonger I’ve ever seen – and it would not have surprised me if the USA would’ve used nukes on Iran, or gone to war with China or the like.)
The factors that add a US flavour to this is that Trump threw out of the White house press anyone who was likely to question him, and bullies relentlessly those he left; also from what I can glean Fox News peddles a completely false reality to its listeners, and has a load of clout in the US; also billionaires who are in cahoots with Trump have taken over a lot of the mainstream news outlets.
In regard to it should’ve happened earlier, at first the media reaction was to mock Trump (think little hands) then dwell on every post and statement, this was followed by tallying up his lies. It had no effect on his base, none. His contradictions were claimed to be his genius approach to keep his opponents guessing and the like, and critics were dismissed as having TDS, Trump Derangement Syndrome.
He lost at the end of his first term because loads of US citizens came out of the woodwork to vote him out, rather than he lost any of his base. He still had his base with him when he won the second time. It’s as if they actually reveled in his utter dishonesty as it being some kind of anti-establishment act.
This term he lost some of his base, but that seemed at first to have more to do with economic hardships than his base getting sick of his looseness with the truth. However, this war has been somewhat of a game changer. It would seem that breaking his word on taking the country to war and being utterly dishonest during a war were a step too far for some of his base. It staggers me, though, how much of his base still sticks with him, he still commands quite a bit of support from what is left of his base.
What to me is an interesting dynamic, though, is that some of the far-right wing commentariat have turned on Trump, in particular, Margarie Taylor Greene, Tucker Carlson, Candice Owen and Megan Kelly, as well as Joe Rogan (I don’t know enough to say whether he is far-right or not.) Having turned on him, they are very quick to jump on him for contradicting himself, talking shit, posting AI slop, and his dishonesty. I believe their motivation is that they see the writing on the wall and want to set themselves up as leading voices of the far-right post-Trump.
But for whatever motivation it seems to have given even the woeful corporate/establishment Democrats license to really go after him. Even some Fox News hosts are having the odd go at him.
As with all things USA, Australia should not be too smug. Australian mainstream media is not much better. Take a Captain Cook at how little questioning there was of Marles constant contradicting of himself, Wong’s obfuscation and Albanese’s constant weazel words on Australia’s involvement in the US-Israel illegal war on Iran. Furthermore, over the past two years there has been consistent contradiction between words spoken and action taken on the depraved Israeli genocide of Palestinians.
@ Thommo: Interesting observations.
Thank you, Michael. Your piece identifies something that deserves to be said plainly and repeatedly: the normalisation of contradictory political language is not a side effect of the Trump era, it is one of its primary strategic tools. And right now it is operating at full pitch. While Trump proclaims a “very good relationship” with Iran, independent analysts tracking the region report a massive build-up of American naval and air assets in and around the Persian Gulf. The pattern is not unfamiliar. Reassuring language about dialogue and progress has historically served as acoustic cover for the final stages of military preparation; keeping markets calm, allies compliant, and domestic publics disengaged until the bombs are already falling. Those following Al Jazeera, Responsible Statecraft, the Quincy Institute, and Declassified Australia rather than the Pentagon’s press releases are watching something that looks less like diplomacy and more like the last quiet hours before a carpet-bombing campaign designed to soften Iran for a ground invasion. If that assessment proves correct, Trump’s “very good relationship” will rank among the more breathtaking lies told in plain sight in recent memory, and every outlet that amplified it without scrutiny will have played its designated role. The map and the terrain have never been further apart. The press, with honourable exceptions, remains the regime’s cartographer.
“This is how normalisation works. When outlets amplify the triumphant narrative without equal scrutiny of the underlying reality, they don’t just report the rhetoric – they launder it.”
Lock, stock and smoking barrel with Lawyers, Guns and Money….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2HH7J-Sx80
Innocent bystanders? No. Not when you have the likes of Tucker Carlson.