We all remember the campaign promise made by then-candidate Donald Trump, suggesting that he was the only person who could secure peace between Russia and Ukraine, as well as between Israel and Hamas.
Clearly, that did not happen on his first day in office or even his first several months, and now peace may be something that is not on the horizon anywhere in the immediate future.
Both Israel and Russia have escalated their respective wars, effectively sidelining Trump and his efforts.
Russia has been flirting with that red line you are not supposed to cross for the last few weeks, and its leaders finally breached it.
This week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of firing drones over Polish airspace.
After the report surfaced, Trump wrote, "What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!"
Poland is a member of NATO, so it enjoys Article 5 protections, meaning any attack against any NATO nation is considered an attack against them all. In essence, this was a declaration of war against all NATO countries.
Reports also surfaced this week that Israel struck Hamas leaders as they were meeting in Qatar.
It was reported that Trump received notification of the attack far too late to stop it, although he did reportedly give Qatar notice of the strike when he learned it was imminent.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was unapologetic over the attack, seemingly the first outward clash he has had with Trump, and that includes both the president's first and second terms.
Netanyahu then stated, "We went after the terrorist masterminds who committed the October 7th massacre. And we did so in Qatar, which gives safe haven, it harbors terrorists, it finances Hamas.”
Trump’s threats are being ignored by Russia, and Israel is no longer seeking approval before it launches strikes, and this is not a good look for the president, effectively sidelining him and derailing his efforts for peace.
Jennifer Kavanagh, senior fellow and director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, explained, “I think what we’re seeing here is the ramifications of the Trump administration not really having a strategy to achieve peace in either conflict.”
She continued, “In both cases, the answer is the same, which is we should be doubling down on diplomacy, and that means recognizing that it will be a long process, and we’re not seeing that.”
Trump has to get a grip on this before the 2026 midterm cycle kicks in, or it will be a landmine the GOP will not be able to avoid. This is exactly why you don’t overpromise during a campaign. Trump did, however, and now that promise is blowing up in his face. I hope and pray he can get this under control before it’s too late.
