Donald Trump's recent string of high-profile diplomatic meetings could give one the impression that peace in Ukraine is within grasping reach. But read any analysis of these so-called negotiations and you quickly see that this is not true; progress remains ever-elusive.
Still, I wouldn't fault you for wondering right now if Trump is suddenly invested in peace. (Trust me, I wish he were.) But let his own comments disabuse you of that hopeful thinking. As I recounted in a quick piece today:
Amid starvation imposed by Israel on Gaza and deadly bombings in Ukraine, President Donald Trump’s narcissism is reaching new heights.
“I’ve done six wars, I’ve ended six wars,” he claimed on Monday in a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders, taking credit for settling conflicts that the US began or saw little to no American involvement in their resolutions. Elsewhere in the Oval Office meeting, Trump forced guests to endure a viewing of hats emblazoned with “4 more years.”
Such stunning self-regard was once again on display Tuesday as Trump praised accused war criminal Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “war hero” over his approval of Israel’s June airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites, and then gave some love to himself. “I guess I am, too."
Those were just two instances of startling egoism as death rages on in Ukraine and Gaza. So what's he so proud about? I speculate here that it might have to do with successfully elbowing the Jeffrey Epstein scandal out of the frame. That and watching his dream police state unfold.
—Inae Oh
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