PREVIEW: SUBSCRIBE TO READ IN FULL! Trump's Pathetic Kneepads Diplomacy Trump is no student of history because he's ignoring Putin at democracy's peril Katie Phang Dec 8 ∙ Preview On the morning of December 7, 1941, Imperial Japan launched a surprise military strike on an important U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, targeting the Pacific Fleet in Hawaii. In just a few hours, five of eight battleships, three destroyers, and seven other ships were sunk or severely damaged, and more than 200 aircraft were destroyed. Two Thousand Four Hundred Americans were killed and One Thousand Two Hundred were wounded, many during their attempts to fight back against the surprise attack that ultimately catapulted the U.S. into World War II. It was a deliberate, unprovoked attack meant to cripple American power and force the U.S. out of Japan’s expansionist dreams. Just one day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appeared before a joint session of Congress and declared, “[y]esterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” President Roosevelt then (properly) asked Congress to approve a war resolution that passed the Senate by a vote of 82 to 0, and the House of Representatives by a vote of 388 to 1. [Sidenote: of course Convicted Felon Donald Trump doesn’t understand how things work and has yet to get Congressional approval for his war moves against Venezuela.] But back in 1941, no one sat around debating who the enemy was. And yet today, somehow, we’re living through another era where the villain is just as obvious, just as aggressive, just as explicit about his intentions and a shocking number of Republicans and Felon Trump insist on turning a blind eye. Before Pearl Harbor, the U.S. was busy convincing itself that Japan wouldn’t dare take on the United States. Despite years of Japan invading neighbors, Americans basically treated the escalating aggression by Japan like background noise. Then the bombs fell. And suddenly, everyone got clarity shoved down their throats. Japan wasn’t “just protecting its interests;” Japan was the aggressor, the danger, the enemy. Fast-forward to 2025 and we’re watching Russian President Vladimir Putin rewrite European borders with missile strikes, cluster bombs, and force. He repeatedly invades Ukraine, kidnaps kids, assassinates dissidents, shuts down independent media, commits war crimes, and threatens retaliation when someone looks at him cross-eyed...