What did Donald Trump do today?

He invited a collection of dictatorships to the first meeting of his "Board of Peace."

The Trump administration announced today that it would hold a meeting of his so-called "Board of Peace," a sort of sham version of the United Nations that Trump is trying to use to bolster his image as a diplomat and dealmaker. Virtually all of the current members are one form or another of authoritarian state. The meeting will supposedly take place February 19th in the building housing what is left of the United States Institute for Peace, an independent nonprofit agency whose headquarters Trump unlawfully seized shortly after returning to office.

The announcement of the meeting came on the same day that Italy announced it would not be joining, like essentially all of the United States' actual diplomatic and military allies. The official reason cited by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani is that Italy's constitution forbids the country from joining any organization in which it would not be in a "condition of equality with other states." The charter of Trump's board rests all its authority in him specifically, by name, independent of whether he holds the office of the presidency.

Of course, Trump's board isn't going to exert any influence on world events anyway, so Italy isn't losing anything by not joining—and neither are virtually any of the United States' actual allies. But it will save its dignity, and the $1 billion fee Trump is trying to charge for admission.

Why does this matter? 

• It's bad if dictatorships can buy the personal favor of the President of the United States. 

• Donald Trump may be the only person in the world who cannot see the contempt that the countries willing to join his "Board of Peace" have for him. 

• A competent president would want to form diplomatic relationships with prosperous democracies rather than monarchies, dictatorships, and military juntas.