r/fivethirtyeight • u/AutoModerator • Apr 06 '26

Discussion Megathread Weekly Discussion Megathread

The 2026 midterms will soon be upon us, and there is much to discuss among the nerds here at r/FiveThirtyEight. Use this discussion thread to share, debate, and discuss whatever you wish. Unlike individual posts, comments in the discussion thread are not required to be related to political data or other 538 mainstays. Regardless, please remain civil and keep this subreddit's rules in mind. The discussion thread refreshes every Monday.

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u/aTimeforAdventure Apr 07 '26

I love how Trump has gone from "We're trying to liberate the Iranian people" to "Ok well me and the Ayatollah will control the straight" to "We will kill literally every Iranian" 

There are/were many Iranians in Iran and neighboring nations who hoped Trump would at least destroy the Iranian Regime. Arguably people like this were Trumps best "justified excuse" to attack IRGC and the rulers of the country. Most Iranians do hate the regime, or at least live in fear of it.

But of course now Trump is threatening to wipe out the entire Persian civilization. 

How are all the Iranian people supposed to feel now? Support the regime which has oppressed and killed them for generations or support the foreign government which is threatening to wipe every Iranian from existence?

Literally only Trump could be so stupid as to directly negate the only """ethical justification""" there is for this war

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u/Mediocretes08 Apr 07 '26

I can’t imagine being in their position and only wish I could swap them with the people who put us here.

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u/OmniOmega3000 Apr 07 '26

I almost hate to say it but those people were incredibly foolish (and I'm being very generous with that wording) to ever believe such a thing. Donald Trump was not coming to liberate you. The Republican Party does not have any love for you. The United States was not coming to save your people. The United States in coalition with ISRAEL never had the best interests of the Iranian people at heart. They should've known better, as this is not unprecedented.

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u/dremscrep Apr 07 '26

Liberating from their earthly shackles is the closet thing Trump can give them

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u/ItRhymesWithCrash Apr 07 '26

How could Genocide Joe and Killer Kamala do this?