What did Donald Trump do today?
He had an emotional meltdown over Iran.Evening news yesterday was dominated by Trump's social media claims that a ceasefire had been reached between Israel and Iran. Hours went by with no confirmation, and even sporadic denials, from either country supposedly involved.
What it now appears happened was that Trump simply insisted that such a thing existed, and both Israel and Iran were scrambling to figure out how to use the confusion to their own advantage. Both sides engaged in additional attacks, enraging Trump, who continued to use his private microblogging site through the night to demand that they stop.
Early this morning, after what timestamps show could not have been more than a few hours' sleep between tweets, Trump took questions on the White House lawn from reporters. He lashed out at both countries (as well as the press for asking about it), declaring that Israel and Iran "don't know what the fuck they're doing." He leaned into the reporter who had asked the question, adding, "Do you understand that?" before storming off.
On board Air Force One, en route to the NATO summit in the Netherlands, Trump continued making inexplicable claims or demands on his blog:
In the midst of all of this emotional tweeting, Trump also made the stunning decision to lift some sanctions on Iran, to the benefit of another adversarial nation:
Under the previous nonproliferation agreement negotiated by President Obama and six other countries, Iran was able to reduce its international sanctions burden by allowing inspectors and monitors into its nuclear facilities. Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from that agreement in 2018 and reimposed sanctions—allowing Iran to build up its current stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
Neither Trump nor his handlers have yet explained why he was reducing sanctions on Iran while getting nothing for the United States in return. But it may be because Trump appears to believe, in spite of mounting evidence to the contrary, that his own attack on Iran's nuclear facilities did anything more than superficial damage.
Why does this matter?
- A president who doesn't understand that other countries will do what they think is best for themselves, and not simply whatever he wants, is too stupid or naïve to serve.
- A president who can't control his emotions in stressful situations, or when he's tired, or when someone tells him "no," is unfit for office.
- Whether a hostile nation does or doesn't have the capability to assemble a nuclear weapon is not something the President of the United States can afford to be self-deluded about.
- Even by Trump standards, this was a deeply embarrassing display for the United States.