It was only one day ago that Trump claimed Iran, the nation with whom we’re at not-war which we already won 38 times and who is being very nice to Trump and giving him everything he wants, asked to resume talks after Trump declared the ceasefire over. Iran says it didn’t ask to resume talks, just as it disputed pretty much every word Trump tried to put into its mouth all along. Trump’s cred was not bigly.

But now there’s another threat raised by Trump, and this time it seems like the sort of threat that may well be true given that the United States assassinated Iran’s Supreme Leader and much of its government.

It would hardly come as a surprise that Iran would want to assassinate Trump, as “pronounced in many corners of the Globe.” Indeed, this is why the Secret Service required the president to travel from the NATO summit in the unluxurious old Air Force One rather than the new, uber-luxurious, bribe from Qatar, that lacked the defensive measures, despite its wood paneling and golden fixtures, to protect Trump from attack by the decimated Iranian missiles. So what if Trump lied about the new plane being sent to an air force base so soldiers could see how glorious it was rather than admit that it was rushed into service and inadequate to the task.

But the gist of Trump’s twit, or truth as he prefers to call it, is that he has now morphed into the victim of Iran’s belligerence, the inexplicable target of the hatred of these “scum.” For those who might not grasp the significance, Trump makes it clear:

In this case, ME!

Perhaps a less manly president would cower in fear, but not The Donald. Should the scum assassinate him, Trump has a plan. “1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Japan Iran.” Trump has given orders, for a period of one year after his death, to “completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran” should he be assassinated.

There’s only one problem. If Iran assassinates Trump, he will no longer be Commander-in-Chief, or president for that matter. There will be a new president and CIC, and that person gets to tell the military what to do. Trump’s orders, if he’s in fact given them and isn’t just bloviating to show Iran how manly he is, using phrases like “locked and loaded,” dies with him.

Granted, the likelihood is that the vice president (and number 2 fan of Nixon after Roger Stone) will assume the presidency, and J.D. Vance may well follow through with Trump’s dream of retaliation. No doubt the Secretary of War Defense, Pete Hegseth, will be thrilled at the prospect of committing war crimes by destroying “all areas of Iran.”

Whether it’s 100, 1,000 or 1,000,000 missiles, retaliation seems likely to follow. Iran probably anticipates this and might well be willing to take its chances, given how effective the American military has been in bringing Iran to its knees thus far.

Who knows whether Iran has the ability to take down an American president? On the one hand, its military capacity has been substantially degraded. On the other hand, they still have a few missiles and launchers around despite Trump’s claims to the contrary. Is the threat real? Maybe. Is Trump’s threat in response real? Maybe.

Then again, if one wants to avoid being assassinated, and maybe even negotiating decent terms of surrender, it might be wise not to call the enemy “scum” for no particular reason beyond lack of self-restraint.