On Easter Sunday, Donald Trump issued a statement on social media threatening the destruction of civilian infrastructure should Iran’s leaders fail to comply with his terms. At a press conference on Monday, he amped up the threat: “The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night.” The next day, Trump turned the dial up to eleven: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” Some anxiously speculate that talk of annihilation means that the White House is seriously entertaining the use of nuclear weapons. I doubt that this is true. But talk of annihilation is wrong, even if meant as hyperbole designed to intimidate opponents.
