On Monday afternoon, Donald Trump published a bold, six-word declaration on his social media platform: “CONGRATULATIONS WORLD, IT’S TIME FOR PEACE!”
The missive was soon followed by a series of follow-up posts in which the president not only touted a “Complete and Total CEASEFIRE” between Israel and Iran, but also proceeded to take credit for the breakthrough.
In the early evening, the president went even further during an exclusive phone interview with NBC News, in which he not only said he personally made the ceasefire happen, but he also made related predictions about the likely success of the developments. Asked how long the ceasefire would be, Trump said, “I think the ceasefire is unlimited. It’s going to go forever.” He added that the war is now completely over, saying he does not believe Israel and Iran “will ever be shooting at each other again.”
It’s not like that’s a quote that could ever come back to haunt him, right?
The following morning, amid reports that Iran and Israel were being accused by the other of ceasefire violations, the American president’s tone started shifting. He published new online items, for example, urging Israel to show restraint — effectively trying to apply the “Vladimir, stop” approach to a different crisis.
Soon after, Trump spoke briefly to reporters at the White House, where his frustrations appeared to boil over. NBC News reported:
Trump said that both Iran and Israel violated the ceasefire he announced yesterday. ‘I think they both violated it,’ he said. ‘I’m not sure they did it intentionally. They couldn’t reign people back. I don’t like the fact that Israel went out this morning at all, and I’m going to see if I can stop it.’
The Republican added, “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f— they’re doing. Do you understand that?”
As part of the same Q&A, Trump accused both countries of behaving in a “ridiculous” way.
Trump: "I'm not happy with Israel…We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the fuck they're doing." So to summarize, roughly half a day after the American president said the Israel-Iran ceasefire would likely “go forever,” and there was no reason to believe Israel and Iran “will ever be shooting at each other again,” Trump was reduced to dropping an f-bomb on the White House South Lawn as his frustrations boiled over. The point is not to chide the president for having a potty mouth. Rather, the point is that he really ought to understand by now that premature triumphalism is folly, and assuming the complexities of Middle East conflicts can be resolved through the force of his will is absurd. Or put another way, Trump is getting a timely lesson in “Middle East crises are complicated,” which seems like the sort of thing he should’ve already known.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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