Perhaps Donald Trump really did get “tired of winning”. Ten years ago, Trump famously promised Americans they would win so often on the world stage that they’d become tired of it. Maybe, a decade on, Trump really did get fed up. That might be one way to explain why he’s had such a catastrophic week of losses on the world stage, on almost every front imaginable.
The embarrassments started out small, at least in geopolitical terms. Trump decided to personally involve himself in the fortunes of Team USA at the World Cup, intervening to reverse Folarin Balogun’s one-match ban following a red card. Trump succeeded in that endeavour – to huge global political outcry – only for the USA to crash out against Belgium all the same, to the world’s general delight.
The sad thing for the President is that this might have been the high spot of his week. Ever since launching a war against Iran in the last days of February, Trump has promised Americans a total victory, and claimed that Iranians desperately wanted to surrender and strike a deal. Last month, it seemed as if he’d finally got his wish, after a fashion, when the two sides agreed a 60-day ceasefire.
This week, less than halfway into that deal, Trump declared it dead. The USA is once again launching strikes against Iran, and Iran in turn is launching missiles against US bases in the region. Trump’s base wanted an end to US involvement in Middle Eastern wars. Instead, he’s now heading into the midterms with a whole new war of his very own.
