Unlike others Donald Trump is at war with all. Allies and enemies alike. The uncontainable President fires salvos at friends and foes, it seems, just for effects. To grab eyeballs. And he keeps doing that so randomly and with such an unpredicatable finesse that nobody, not even his own men would know what may come when and how.
Daniel Coats, Director of National Intelligence speaks before Senate Intelligence Committee The recent example is the experience of the US intelligence chiefs. When the intelligence honchos briefed the US Senate Intelligence Committee on their understandings and information on a plethora of security issues that concern the United States, Trump rubbished them and called them "naive" and advised them the "go to school".
The reason? Possibly their contentions did not match Trump's. Trump does not think Iran is complying with the nuclear deal. His chiefs think Iran is. Trump thinks IS is defeated and wants to pull out from Syria. His chiefs think IS is badly battered and down but certainly not out. Trump is very optimistic about North Korean Dictator Kim. His chiefs are sceptical. Trump does not seem to be much concerned about the possibility of a no deal Brexit. His chiefs are worried.
Well, Trump cannot be falted for being rough and tough. If all his beliefs and convictions are ground to dust then he is within his Presidential right to blast at his blasted intelligent heads.
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Now, the reality is Iran is trying to work hard on its advanced missile project but not trying nuclear bombs. Islamic State is trying to regroup and launch attacks wherever it exists to boost morale of its fighters and to show the world that it is not decimated and is still a force to reckon with. Kim is displaying good gestures but is surely loathe to go the total denuclearisation way as staying nuclear means he and his regime stay put. A no deal Brexit is a nightmare for British PM Theresa May but it is also so for the world in general and the British people in particular.
Then see Trump with the allies. He calls all Heads great friends but criticizes them without a blink. Whether it is Modi, Merckel, Macron or May - nobody escapes Trump's ire. But he does not speak bad about Putin or say, about Xi Jinping. Though sanctions on Russia continue and China is mildly subjugated by the trade tariffs.
Trump does not say anything bad about Saudi Arabia on journalist Jamal Khasoggi killing though the US lawmakers think otherwise. Trump chastises NATO ally Turkey and threatens NATO members over funding forgetting that America's wars would not be successful without the help of its NATO allies.
Trump continues enforcing the government shutdown making it possibly the longest in US history but apparently makes light of the grim situation the country is facing over his adamantine vow of building the wall at the Mexico border.
But his visceral hatred for the media is singularly glaring in its wide application. And Trump can be credited with (not manufacturaing but) marketing the expression "fake news" which he uses with careless abandon against all stories that do not show him in good light.
This loathing encompasses his political detractors, investigaters, and even his colleagues whose actions he finds not compatible with his views. So he castigates who confronts or irritates him irrespective of their position or status in the nation or in his own government.
So basically Donald Trump is no friend of anyone except, as some of his critics might say, of Vladimir Putin - a person he should be very wary of as the President of the United States.
The question is: Where is all this leading Trump? This has already been very plain that whatever Trump says he does with an eye on his support base. Nothing wrong in that. Every poltician does that. But to say something for effects and to actually mean that and act accordingly are two different things.
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The problem with Trump is that he often does things which may go down well with his supporters but create problems for the country. Border wall issue is one such thing. Pulling out of Syria is another. But perceptions are changing. In a recent media survey it was found that Trump's border wall have not many takers. Many Americans do not approve of Trump's way of doing things. Some lawmakers think that Trump has brought disgrace to the President's office.
In all probability Trump knows that his patriotism is seen through and falling apart. Many people have started believing that his 'Make America great again' is actually an attempt to project himself as great and thereby becomes a shrewed way of coming back to power in 2020.
But things may not be very easy for him in the coming days. More and more people are joining the fray, the most formidable of them being Democrat Kamala Harris. And Trump acknowledges that, albeit in an indirect way.
