Everything is a bluff: Donald Trump's pose hides the fact that the man simply fails again and again | Yitzhak Brick
A tragedy for generations: The US President has managed over the years to position himself as a political brand of "strength" - but the facts on the ground show otherwise.
US President Donald Trump has managed over the years to position himself as a political brand of "strength," "decisiveness," and a "business leader" who knows how to bend reality in favor of the United States and the free world. However, a deep, critical, and impartial look at his overall foreign and security policy presents a much bleaker picture: a sequence of ostentatious moves lacking long-term strategy, the abandonment of historical alliances, a fatal blow to global security, and leaving allies, first and foremost the State of Israel, to deal alone with the most severe existential threats.
- A tragedy for generations: The cancellation of the nuclear deal and the Iranian race without supervision. One of the defining moves of his first term was the United States' withdrawal from the nuclear deal signed with Iran under the Obama administration. Under the central slogan of "maximum pressure," Trump promised to bring the regime in Iran to total surrender or to a "much better" agreement.
But in practice, the move turned out to be a tragedy for generations. A unilateral withdrawal without international backing or an alternative strategy did not lead to the regime's collapse, but rather freed Iran from any IAEA supervisory restrictions. The Iranians began an accelerated race toward military-grade enrichment, taking advantage of the absence of the tight inspection mechanisms that were in the deal. Under the rhetoric of "strength," Trump created a vacuum in which Iran became a clear nuclear-threshold state, while the world remained exposed to an unprecedented threat without any real diplomatic tools to stop it.
US President Donald Trump at the NATO summit in Turkey, against Iran (Photo: DRM news)
- The gap between the rhetoric of "world peace" and the reality of the threshold of a world war. Trump often waves slogans about his aspiration for world peace and global economic prosperity, but the reality on the ground tells a completely opposite story. His provocative policy, along with moves without precise calculation, pushed the global economy into severe crises, undermining supply chains and international financial stability through predatory trade wars.
In the security sphere, the picture is even more dangerous. The chaotic conduct in various arenas, the creation of uncontrolled conflict zones, and the contradictory messages of sudden attacks alongside pushing for hasty deals did not bring peace, but brought the Middle East and the entire world to the threshold of large-scale regional wars, and even to the threshold of a third world war. Trump's policy was characterized by extinguishing fires by adding fuel, while creating global uncertainty that undermined the security of many nations.
- The abandonment of Israel: From long-standing friendship to a "tradeable asset." For the State of Israel, Trump's demonstrated rhetorical support often served as a convenient backdrop, while under the surface, Israel was abandoned time and time again. Despite declarations of an "unbreakable alliance," Trump's policy proved that for him, Israel is not an equal strategic ally, but a pawn in the narrow American interest.
At the most critical moments, when Israel was forced to deal alone with a deteriorating security reality, it turned out that the Trump administration prefers its internal political or business considerations over Israel's short-term and long-term security. Leaving Israel alone in complex arenas of struggle illustrates the danger inherent in blindly relying on a leader who views international relations as a mere real estate deal.
- The bear hug for Turkey and the stirring of regional alliances at Israel's expense. A striking contradiction in Trump's policy is revealed in his fawning attitude toward the regime of Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey. While Ankara has de facto signed alliances and strategic moves completely opposite to Israeli and Western interests, including opposing regional cooperation with actors like Egypt, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia in various arenas, Trump continued to give wind to Erdogan's sails.
American support for Turkey, despite its hostile policy toward Israel and despite its undermining of NATO and Middle East stability, illustrates how much Trump is willing to sacrifice traditional loyalties for the sake of personal chemistry with tyrants and authoritarian leaders, viewing them as a strategic security and economic anchor in the Middle East.
- Abandoning the war on Iran and preferring the Strait of Hormuz over Israeli security. Trump's Iranian approach suffered throughout the way from a profound inconsistency that reached the point of betraying the interests of his allies. What began as bellicose declarations about toppling the regime quickly turned into desperate attempts to reach hasty agreements at any cost.
As part of those attempts at a deal, Trump reached a situation where he completely abandoned the main goals of the war against Iran. Ignoring ballistic missiles: in the agreements and understandings placed on the table with the Iranians, their ballistic missile project, aimed directly at Israel, was completely overlooked and they were allowed to produce them as they pleased. Allowing Iran to continue and support proxies throughout the Middle East.
The nuclear danger remained without a real solution: the emerging agreements will allow Iran to maintain core infrastructure. From Trump's perspective, what drove the policy was not curbing Iranian terror or protecting Israel, but one single thing: removing Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz and ensuring the economic and energy interests of the United States first and foremost. Israel was left behind alone, surrounded by increased existential threats.
- The Peace Council and the trampling of the Israeli position. Another striking example of Trump's diplomatic aggression is expressed in the establishment of bodies like the "Peace Council" to solve crises such as the Hamas problem in the Gaza Strip and its rehabilitation, or the parallel conduct around Hezbollah in Lebanon.
These initiatives were taken time and time again without any regard for the position, security needs, or sovereignty of the State of Israel. Trump, with the "big boss" approach that imposes solutions from above, trampled on Israel's vital interests within its sovereign territory and borders, and treated it as a passive observer that must implement dictates concocted in closed rooms in Washington or in foreign capitals, without giving an account to the political echelon in Jerusalem.
Donald Trump's policy is portrayed in a critical view as a house of cards built on rhetoric of power devoid of real content. Behind the explosive headlines about giant deals and fake peace, a dangerous reality of abandoning alliances with Israel, radical Iranian strengthening, the strengthening of Turkey and its allies, and a fatal erosion of the State of Israel's security was hidden. History will prove that Trump's business-predatory approach, in which loyal allies are abandoned for momentary populist considerations, left the Middle East and the entire world in a state that is vulnerable, fragile, and many times more dangerous than what Trump found when he arrived at the presidency.
