This is what happens when a political dilettante wages war.
A comment by Thomas Schmoll
A golfer uninterested in the world, facts, and science rules the most powerful country on earth like an autocrat. His "do-what-you-please" attitude is reminiscent of Putin. But as soon as Donald Trump encounters opponents who, like him, disregard international law and humanity, things look bleak for him.
What goes on in Donald Trump's brain—clouded by his self-aggrandizement—is now well known: extremely banal. His Minister of Truth, Karoline Leavitt, officially the US government spokesperson, revealed just days after the attack on Iran that her boss decides on a gut feeling—based on "feelings informed by facts"—whether to send his country to war (or not). His simple mind must have concluded: Venezuela was a piece of cake and earned me and the US military (the latter rightly so), so Iran will be another child's play. This is how wrong you are when you ignore facts, science, and the experiences of others and believe in alternative truths.
The result of this mix of disregard and misguided pronouncements is well known: a global economic crisis and a political debacle for Trump and the US, much to the delight of their most powerful adversary, China. The rapid collapse of the negotiations was only logical, as the US and Iran each made demands that were impossible for the other to fulfill. Only someone who thinks like the US president could declare this disaster a glorious victory across the board. However, his fuse is as short as the one he has when someone dares to doubt him and his brilliance. We can safely assume that the first man in the White House remains unshaken in his absurd self-assessments. The fact that his sanity is now being openly debated is of as much concern to this political charlatan as the content of international law.
As early as the summer of 2025, Trump demonstrated to the public that he mastered the art of autosuggestion like few others in the world—at least in this respect, he came close to the uniqueness he claimed for himself. He proclaimed: "The nuclear sites in Iran are completely destroyed"—only to justify the war against the Middle Eastern country a few months later, in part, by claiming that it should never be allowed to build atomic bombs. But what does this old white man care about his blather from yesterday and the day before? It's often outdated within hours.
"We have had a regime change," Trump declared, referring to the fact that numerous previously influential figures in Iranian politics, the military, the Revolutionary Guard, and intelligence services had been killed. The executions of insurgents prove that the barbarians in Tehran have lost none of their domestic power. "Iranian patriots, keep protesting!" Trump had urged the courageous demonstrators via Truth Social in mid-January. "Help is on the way." The opposition is still waiting for that. Those who rely on Trump are left high and dry. Europe and NATO are also feeling the effects.
All that had long been suspected was confirmed by Trump during his war against Iran: He exposed his intellectual and strategic weaknesses like a bankrupt man revealing his financial situation in a bankruptcy hearing. A good gut feeling about what the masses want to hear is not enough to turn a war into a lasting victory, no matter how great the military superiority. Trump has no boldly conceived plan, or indeed any plan at all. The only thing that drives him is generating headlines so that he dominates the news every day and sees confirmation of what a brilliant leader he is.
Trump's most effective tactic is retaliation. He vows revenge to anyone who doesn't fall in line. A tariff here, a threat there to withdraw military support. The man may be shrewd. In the realm of world politics, he has so far proven himself clueless and incompetent. To wage war against Iran and not consider the end of it, the Strait of Hormuz, or the economic consequences in general is not just stupid, it's utterly foolish. Trump has so far failed to understand that NATO is a defense alliance and not an alliance to support wars started by a would-be autocrat in order to go down in history as a peacemaker and Nobel laureate.
What the US president may consider strategy is nothing more than what a feared schoolyard bully does, someone who knows his physical strength. He threatens a beating with anyone who gets in his way and doesn't do what he wants—and if necessary, he actually strikes. You don't need a shred of intelligence for that. Trump's idiocy would be tolerable; there are plenty of dimwits in politics. But they are reined in by advisors. However, the first man in the White House has chased away or silenced countless advisors because they were increasingly less likely to tell him what he wanted to hear.
Reports from the US that intelligence officials and military personnel no longer dare to present the president with findings and facts that don't suit his agenda seem plausible. Anyone who does is fired—one of several parallels to Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, Trump's role model. Both are surrounded by lackeys and sycophants who say what their master wants to hear. US "Secretary of War" Pete Hegseth is the prototype of these ludicrous figures. His appearances, his effusive praise of Trump, are so absurd that they are indistinguishable from satire.
Trump and Putin are also united in their acceptance of war as a means of pursuing political interests. The US president admires the Russian dictator because no parliament, no court, and no pressure from the streets sets limits for him. The American would certainly like to act just like the ruler in the Kremlin, but he has to constantly be corrected and restrained by judges and a genuine opposition, which, unlike the opposition in Russia, doesn't have to fear ending up in the Gulag.
The Iran war revealed how difficult it becomes for Trump when he encounters leaders who, like himself, live in a parallel world of thought and act with the same lack of empathy and ruthlessness. They couldn't care less whether the civilian population suffers or dies. They have only one goal: to secure their power. And they use everything at their disposal without scruple to achieve it. If Trump possessed even a shred of empathy for people outside his electorate, he would know this. But he doesn't. But only his military and the certainty of being able to command it and send it wherever he pleases. However, military superpower isn't everything. You can't bomb away the mental weaknesses of a simpleton.
Trump has found himself in a dead end, forced to negotiate with the worst kind of Islamists about opening the "fucking Strait of Hormuz." The fact that the Iranians now know just how effective the blockade of the strait is is thanks to the US president. The idea of collecting tolls in the strait together with these "crazy bastards" is something straight out of a comedy sketch—the guy has truly lost his mind.
The winners of this fiasco are China and its allies Russia and Iran. The US failed to coordinate its war with the pro-Western Gulf states, thereby jeopardizing their economic model. The government in Beijing appears to be more rational and reliable—a view shared by countries in the Middle East. China is reportedly preparing to ship shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles to Iran. The trilateral alliance of China, Russia, and Iran, flanked by North Korea and economically closely linked to India, poses a challenge for the US. But Trump and his cronies don't seem to grasp this.
The war against Iran has revealed how easily the US president can be defeated. It's enough to drive up oil prices – and Iran will now do just that again. There's already a term for this on the stock market: TACO. The acronym stands for "Trump always chickens out," which roughly translates to: Trump always caves in. Iran grasped this very quickly and put it into practice. Other countries will do the same. This will make the world even more insecure. Because deterrence works differently. But Trump won't understand that either. He's simply too simplistic.
