Iranian descent and Iranian are two quite different things. I realise there is a custom in the US to identify yourself with an "old country" long after you've lost any real connection to it but the distinction is not trivial.
trump seems to have a literal red neck. Interesting - what might have caused it?
Most of the speculation I've seen is shingles, though I have seen more esoteric diagnoses. He's certainly in the right age demographic for shingles outbreak.
The larger point isn't with respect to actual, uncounted numbers, but whether these [ Iranian ] diaspora immigrants were supportive and celebrating Donald Trump's decisive actions.
They are.
Certainly. Most of the diaspora are people who fled the current regime (or their descendants), so they're likely to support any move against it. If Trump's "plan", to the extent he has one, is similar to his actions in Venezuela (remove the top guy and cut a deal leaving the remainder of the regime in power) I expect enthusiasm among the Iranian diaspora to follow a similar trajectory to enthusiasm among the Venezuelan diaspora.
Of course it would be a category error to try to extrapolate opinion from diasporan Iranians (who are not currently being bombed by the U.S. and Israel) to Iranians still living in Iran (many of whom are being bombed and probably have different range of opinions of the Iranian regime than their diasporan counterparts). That kind of over-generalization often leads to the "we will be greeted as liberators" self-deception.
@Mr E, you said 500,000 in Los Angeles alone. There are roughly 3.8-3.9 million people in LA. One-eighth of them are not of Iranian descent.
In addition to what @Crœsos said about the feelings of the Iranian diaspora, they've been here for about 45 years, they have a high rate of intermarriage with non-Iranians, and they're well integrated into US society. Of course they have feelings about what's going on in Iran, but at this point they're Americans. You emphasize that they call themselves Persians, which to me indicates a strong ethnic identification that is very different from a strong national identification.
Moment of temporary (I hope) insanity there. Of course, I meant Iranian rather than Lebanese. I have been spending a lot of time with a Lebanese friend lately.
What can this mean? His medics won't say, of course, but does he have some Fell Disease, which may (or may not) be significant? I guess it could be a reaction to his orange make-up, or to the glue with which he sticks his hair onto his head...
Hmmmmm. So Trump relieves Noem of her duties at DHS and then states that he wants a role in picking Iran's new leader. Coincidence? I tell you, we are all playing checkers while he is playing 3-dimensional Go Fish!
I've just seen a FB post from a vicar friend which is a picture of Mr Trump surrounded by Christian leaders apparently laying their hands on him in prayer, which clearly happened in front of the media. The caption is the text of Matthew 6:5-6. It's such a beautiful yet subtle Christian critique that I wanted to share it with you.
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
I've provided the quote to be polite but I'm sure, this being a Christian website, you all know it off by heart. Ahem.
Comments
Most of the speculation I've seen is shingles, though I have seen more esoteric diagnoses. He's certainly in the right age demographic for shingles outbreak.
Possibly a case of the skin cancer being attached to something malignant.
Certainly. Most of the diaspora are people who fled the current regime (or their descendants), so they're likely to support any move against it. If Trump's "plan", to the extent he has one, is similar to his actions in Venezuela (remove the top guy and cut a deal leaving the remainder of the regime in power) I expect enthusiasm among the Iranian diaspora to follow a similar trajectory to enthusiasm among the Venezuelan diaspora.
Of course it would be a category error to try to extrapolate opinion from diasporan Iranians (who are not currently being bombed by the U.S. and Israel) to Iranians still living in Iran (many of whom are being bombed and probably have different range of opinions of the Iranian regime than their diasporan counterparts). That kind of over-generalization often leads to the "we will be greeted as liberators" self-deception.
In addition to what @Crœsos said about the feelings of the Iranian diaspora, they've been here for about 45 years, they have a high rate of intermarriage with non-Iranians, and they're well integrated into US society. Of course they have feelings about what's going on in Iran, but at this point they're Americans. You emphasize that they call themselves Persians, which to me indicates a strong ethnic identification that is very different from a strong national identification.
And, just how is this unkind?
It's unkind to malignant growths.
.. with someone awful in a different way:
https://bsky.app/profile/deanobeidallah.bsky.social/post/3mgdntqkba222
Moment of temporary (I hope) insanity there. Of course, I meant Iranian rather than Lebanese. I have been spending a lot of time with a Lebanese friend lately.
Article here. I wouldn't have imagined that setting up a shelter for abused women would be considered politically "radioactive," but here we are.
That we know of.
I think Trump is some Fell Disease.
Maybe the skin cancer has developed a bad case of Trump.
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
I've provided the quote to be polite but I'm sure, this being a Christian website, you all know it off by heart. Ahem.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2026/mar/05/ben-jennings-end-times-us-war-iran-cartoon
Not, perhaps, all that far off the Truth...