Donald Trump just proved he can’t negotiate his way out of a paper bag
There are few things bullies love more than “talking tough” while being overheard. That’s why the MAGA toad-god and convicted felon Trump disgracefully disparaged President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as live cameras rolled. That’s why on Wednesday America’s disgraced man-baby threatened and screamed at Hamas on “Truth” Social. It’s easy to talk like a big man from the safety of the Oval Office, surrounded by armed secret service agents. Not only that, it impresses other stupid and weak people.
But it also does something else. It imperils the lives of real human beings in real-time, including, as it happens, mine. When Trump screamed at Zelenskyy, my life and, far more importantly, the lives of my loved ones became significantly less safe. Trump’s open and completely inappropriate contempt for the Ukrainian President emboldened Vladimir Putin. If Trump uses his shameless display of arrogance to justify backing out of NATO, that will put all of Europe in clear and present danger from Russia.
As is the case with all egomaniacs with Authoritarian Personality Disorder, Trump might have “gotten off” by posting on “Truth” Social for Hamas to “release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you,” but he also put the lives of all 59 hostages in deadly peril. He doesn’t know with whom he deals. (Or worse, maybe he does but he doesn’t care.) Hamas isn’t afraid of threats on social media. But what they might do in response to such threats is torture or kill some of the hostages. “The Art of the Deal” indeed.
If Trump is such a big tough guy, how come he doesn’t try the same tack with Vladimir Putin? The answer is obvious. One aspect of Trump’s admiration for Putin is his fear of him. Trump is a bully, and like all bullies, he only picks on victims he believes are weaker than he, like Ukraine and Hamas.
“Make a SMART decision,” arguably the dumbest man on the planet advised the terrorists of Hamas, “RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW, OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!” All caps is a thing with Trump, as if writing his threats in ALL CAPS somehow makes the “art of the deal man” appear, ahem, bigger. But then, size has long been a point of inadequacy for the man who wears makeup, a hairpiece and lifts in his shoes.
“To the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits,” (yes, as a Trump golf course on the Mediterranean), “but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD!” I can almost hear the battle-toughened terrorists of the Al-Qassam Brigade of Hamas laughing. They daydream about the honour of dying in battle with the name of Allah on their lips. The very notion that they find this orange absurdity terrifying is terrifyingly funny. But seriously, it bears repeating, I fear for the hostages. You don’t taunt psychopaths when they hold the lives of human beings in their dripping-with-blood hands.
Officially, fifty-nine hostages are still held by Hamas, though Israeli intelligence believes that only twenty-two remain alive. Whatever the number was yesterday, there are probably fewer alive today, thanks to Trump. Trump loves to talk tough and throw his gelatinous weight around. But the fact remains, Trump’s tactics are costing Americans their democracy, their money and their lives, including the lives of innocent human beings in other countries. Shame on you if you voted for him. Shame on you if you have fallen for the cheap, tough-guy talk of this pathetic, inadequate and little man.
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.