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PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s mercurial personality has been under intense scrutiny in his own country and beyond. Many of his personality traits and governing style have been widely commented upon and discussed.
What is perhaps under-recognised but more consequential, especially for his foreign policy, is how he takes initiatives or starts an endeavour but never finishes them. He embarks on a course of action but doesn’t see it through to bring it to closure. Whether this is because of his short attention span, lack of staying power or consistency, the result is half-done ventures. Among the reasons for this is that he sets unrealistic objectives and when he finds they are unattainable he moves on. Trump changes course when he cannot get his own way. Rather than try to fix the issue at hand, he prefers to kick the can down the road. He switches attention almost randomly from one policy area to another, leaving issues unresolved.
The most striking illustration of Trump’s unfinished ventures is his Gaza peace plan announced with such fanfare seven months ago. Instead of following through with his own 20-point plan, he decided to attack Iran along with Israel. This shift in focus left the Gaza plan at best in limbo but also in disarray. Yes, there is a ceasefire. But it is constantly violated by Israeli attacks, which have claimed the lives of over 700 Palestinians since it came into force in October 2025. Israel occupies over half of Gaza and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has now ordered his military to seize 70 per cent of the Strip. The withdrawal of Israeli forces, envisaged by Trump’s plan, never got underway. In fact, what was set out as a multiphase plan didn’t go beyond the first phase. The much-touted international stabilisation force has neither been assembled nor deployed.
