Trump is angry with a world that won't give him easy deals

[Zorro]

In the Middle East as in Ukraine, the president is discovering that simple bullying tricks don’t resolve complex international crises

It was as close as Donald Trump might get to a lucid statement of his governing doctrine. “I may do it. I may not do it,” the president said to reporters on the White House lawn. “Nobody knows what I’m going to do.”

The question was about joining Israeli air strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Days later, US bombers were on their way. Some expected it to happen. Others, including Keir Starmer, had gone on record to say they didn’t. No one had known. The unpredictability doctrine wouldn’t have been violated either way.

It applies also in economic and domestic policy. Trump’s boast of inscrutability could have been made about tariff rates, or a decision to deploy marines against US citizens who defy his immigration agency.

Volatile inconsistency is a trait of the presidential personality, but also a learned management technique. Keeping everyone around you guessing, lurching from charm to menaces, swapping and dropping favourites on a whim – these are methods of coercive control. They generate disorientation and vulnerability. People who are braced for sudden mood swings must hang on the leader’s every word, looking for cues, awaiting instruction. Individual agency is lost, dependency is induced. It is something cult leaders do.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/25/donald-trump-angry-middle-east-ukraine

[ret5hd]

1. "People who are braced...." :

sounds like children/spouses in an abusive narcissistic house.

[dutch777]

2. Clearly a tactic, but hardly a winning one. To some he looks in charge, to others they just wait out the petulant child

[PJMcK]

3. "Nobody knows what I'm going to do."

What a dumbass!

Of course the Iranians knew what Trump was going to do because he broadcast it a week before. That's why they moved their equipment and personnel out of the three facilities.

When Trump declared "total obliteration," it was an obvious lie (as always with him) that has now been confirmed. The strikes did not obliterate Iran's nuclear program and his bombings may have stirred up more dangers.

Trump claims that he knows more about everything than everyone else. He knows more about foreign intelligence than his Director of National Intelligence. How could that be? Where would he get information if not from his intelligence services? Like most things with Trump, it makes no logical sense.

Such an ignorant blowhard!

[Martin Eden]

4. 79 year-old toddler throws fits when reality doesn't conform to his lies

And others have the unmitigated temerity to challenge him with reality.

[SWBTATTReg]

5. tRUMP isn't doing this volatile inconsistency as a result of his presidential duties, he's doing it because he doesn't

know what the hell he's doing, period.

And he'll get worse, as his dementia gets worse. Sure, they may have some pills/drugs that can keep the dementia away, but I firmly believe that he's already on them, and that they'll lose their effectiveness before too long. I base this on his previous insane utterings, which then seem to subside, and then try to rise to the surface again, either because his meds aren't keeping up w/ his episodes, or his outbreaks or mental breaks are getting worse.

Sad thing about this whole mess is that I don't think he'll be removed promptly when he should be (when a mental break occurs) and there may be some unintended consequences. The republicans surrounding the president should shoulder the full consequences of any adverse tRUMP consequences.

[azureblue]

6. Trump is a one trick pony

And he thinks his bully tactics work on everybody. He has no idea what to do when he is laughed at and ignored. Except for throw a tantrum and bully some more.

[Karasu]

7. Then maybe he should STFU and fucking quit.