Retired Army Col. Douglas Macgregor, [in an article headlined as above](https://macgregorwarrior.substack.com/p/is-president-trump-considering-the

) posted on his Substack Oct. 18, poses the question of whether or not President Trump is desperate enough to use a nuclear weapon against Iran. An informed, long time strategic analyst, Macgregor begins by surveying the terrain in which Trump finds himself: neither the Ukraine nor the Iran wars are going well; the world is in a full blown energy crisis; 1,400 U.S. stocks are down more than 70% from their 52-week highs.

Trump is already desperate enough to offer $5,000 bribes to voters to vote Republican, Macgregor notes. “This is not the typical forever war that gets a few headlines before gradually fading from view for average Americans,” Macgregor continues. “This time Trump’s reckless war has jolted prices Americans pay at the pump, pushed US refinery capacity to its limits, and directly compromised the Petrodollar, a circular financing model ensuring global oil profits are reinvested in U.S. Treasuries and other U.S.-dollar-denominated assets.”

“The damage notwithstanding, it is clear the President will not withdraw U.S. Military (USM) forces from the region because Israeli-Firsters will not permit it,” he concludes. “So what are his options? Could the president and his advisors be considering more drastic escalation? Is the specter of a nuclear strike against Iran, once viewed as a remote possibility, coming into view? Sadly, I think the answer is yes.”