Trump has made a personal and vicious attack on Pope Leo. He posted on Truth Social (then deleted) a Messianic image of himself. I read a report that he had called the Iranian leadership “deranged scumbags” who he had the honour to kill.
Do you think this was gutsy behaviour by the President of the United States? Do you think it was truthful? Do you think it was wise?
Trump is no statesman. He's a businessman through and through.
He's super politically incorrect.
His primary weakness IMV is alienating his old allies through his business buffoonery and bravado.
Iran already has quasi-democratic processes, so "any kind" is a bit of a stretch.
Regime change worked in Germany and Japan in 1945, more or less, but Iran isn't Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan and doesn't justify the enormous price paid in those cases, nor is there an external threat from communism to keep the conquered on side.
I’m really not. Supporting and fostering terrorism is an evil thing. And Iran is the main culprit in the Middle East. That’s a given.
I'm not sure it is a given. A good argument can be made that Israel is the main culprit, providing the definition of "terrorism" isn't limited to non-state actors. There are regular acts of terrorism committed in the West Bank by settler groups. The current bombing of civilian targets in Lebanon, and the destruction of Gaza over the last couple of years, meets many of the definitions of terrorism.
It all comes down to whether it is self defence or not doesn't it?
At least the Israeli government are regularly telling people in Lebanon to leave certain areas where they are targeting Hezbollah.
You mean they ordered over a million people to move before turning South Lebanon into a free fire zone and blowing up villages?
It’s pretty clear he believes in the art of the deal. My concern for ages has been that when it comes to international deals (let’s call them treaties), the logic of business deals simply doesn’t apply. As posted earlier, 24 hours is a ludicrously short time to expect to negotiate a deal with Iran, given the huge differences between the initial positions.
I’m pretty sure it was Churchill who observed that “Jaw, jaw, jaw is better than war, war, war”.
In any case, that’s a statesmanlike observation. The best I can say about Trump’s understanding is that it is inferior to statesmanship. He’s impatient for results, prejudiced about those who think different, throws out words like “weak” and “scumbag” without any real thought about their meaning, truth and impact. I don’t know but maybe he really does believe he’s some kind of Jesus-like Messiah.
These are just some of the reasons why I think he’s hopelessly deluded and increasingly dangerous to the lives of other people. This is the cost of electing someone who is not a statesman, nor has the desire to become one.
His buffoonery and capacity for alienating friends demonstrate his unsuitability for high office. The disaster in Iran is just the most recent example.
As for setting back Iran's nuclear plans last year. Yes I imagine it did some. But have you noticed they have a huge other arsenal that they are wreaking havoc with? That's part of the problem. Certainly from an Israeli perspective.
Which they weren't doing until they were attacked. The Israeli perspective is currently conducting ethnic cleansing in Southern Lebanon, which is a few steps beyond anything the Iranian government is doing.
I don't see any evidence for ethnic cleansing in Lebanon.
Israel has a right to defend itself against Hezbollah.
There are serious allegations that Israel’s actions in Lebanon amount to genocide, alongside strong evidence of unlawful attacks and likely war crimes. But no international court has yet ruled that Israel is committing genocide in Lebanon, and the legal question—especially around proving genocidal intent—remains contested
The cynic in me notes that smiting one's neighbour, killing children, engaging in ethnic cleansing, and trying to annex land, is par for the course for Israel. Much of the Old Testament seems to bear witness to this.
Comments
Trump is no statesman. He's a businessman through and through.
He's super politically incorrect.
His primary weakness IMV is alienating his old allies through his business buffoonery and bravado.
Greenland was a disaster.
Regime change worked in Germany and Japan in 1945, more or less, but Iran isn't Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan and doesn't justify the enormous price paid in those cases, nor is there an external threat from communism to keep the conquered on side.
You mean they ordered over a million people to move before turning South Lebanon into a free fire zone and blowing up villages?
https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/03/23/israels-displacement-of-civilians-in-lebanon-is-a-possible-war-crime
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/12/how-israeli-offensive-destroyed-entire-villages-in-lebanon
It’s pretty clear he believes in the art of the deal. My concern for ages has been that when it comes to international deals (let’s call them treaties), the logic of business deals simply doesn’t apply. As posted earlier, 24 hours is a ludicrously short time to expect to negotiate a deal with Iran, given the huge differences between the initial positions.
I’m pretty sure it was Churchill who observed that “Jaw, jaw, jaw is better than war, war, war”.
In any case, that’s a statesmanlike observation. The best I can say about Trump’s understanding is that it is inferior to statesmanship. He’s impatient for results, prejudiced about those who think different, throws out words like “weak” and “scumbag” without any real thought about their meaning, truth and impact. I don’t know but maybe he really does believe he’s some kind of Jesus-like Messiah.
These are just some of the reasons why I think he’s hopelessly deluded and increasingly dangerous to the lives of other people. This is the cost of electing someone who is not a statesman, nor has the desire to become one.
His buffoonery and capacity for alienating friends demonstrate his unsuitability for high office. The disaster in Iran is just the most recent example.
One of the things I learned from negotiating training was to wait out the impatient.
There are serious allegations that Israel’s actions in Lebanon amount to genocide, alongside strong evidence of unlawful attacks and likely war crimes. But no international court has yet ruled that Israel is committing genocide in Lebanon, and the legal question—especially around proving genocidal intent—remains contested
Has anything really changed?