Trump, the bullfighter, the cape, and the sword! by Hagay Sobol
Feb 14, 2025, 2:13 PM
Preamble: Eight years ago, I published an article on the inauguration of an American president with an iconoclastic style, Donald Trump. For his second term, he remains disturbingly relevant. Never stingy with excess, instilling fear in some and admiration in others, unpredictability is said to be his trademark. What if it were the exact opposite? Using the same old tricks, he distracts us from his true objectives, leading us in one direction to better act elsewhere. Like a bullfighter waving his cape to better strike the bull with his sword!
February 17, 2017.
Trump as President, such is the reality that very few commentators anticipated, given how the candidate multiplied outrages and inconsistencies during the electoral campaign that brought him to the Oval Office. It must be acknowledged that this improbable tactic caught everyone off guard, with the success we know.
And what if, from the moment he takes office, he applies the same approach to better divert attention from his true objectives?
Despite a campaign that was close to amateurish and apparent tactical blunders, Donald Trump successfully passed all stages to the Presidency. From then on, one might have thought that once inaugurated, the follies he was accustomed to would be left behind.
But from the moment he took office, far from calming down, the billionaire who made his fortune in real estate remained true to himself, without any fear of shocking either his fellow citizens or those abroad. Let’s only mention the « anti-immigration decree » which sparked a unanimous wave of condemnation worldwide.
Is this decree a sign of his incompetence to hold such high office, or is it part of a plan whose outlines we have not yet perceived?
To answer this question, we must first revisit the unique trajectory of the most caricatured man in the world. To rise to the head of a real estate empire, then defy all predictions by successively winning the Republican primaries, and then beating a Hillary Clinton well-versed in the intricacies of politics, one cannot be a complete fool.
Next, let’s look factually at « the infamous decree » which, as soon as it was announced, raised the disapproval of everyone and was struck down twice by the American justice system, thus demonstrating its vitality.
Contrary to the initial impression, it is not a general law targeting nationals of all Muslim countries for an unlimited period. But it is a temporary suspension of entry visas to the USA limited to seven countries, Syria, Iran, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Iraq, plagued by terrorism, which, far from being democracies, themselves apply such provisions. Moreover, the ban only lasts for a period of 90 days.
It’s taking a very big risk on the part of a barely elected president, for a very meager gain. And what if behind this clumsy decree, there was a completely different objective?
Indeed, if we analyze the countries affected by this ban, we find Shiite Iran, an ally of Russia, and some of its « satellite countries, » such as Syria and Iraq. There would only be a tiny step to take to discern a message addressed to Tehran, to its powerful patron, Russia, as well as to the rest of the world, in order to study the reactions from both sides.
Thus, Donald Trump’s admiration for Putin would be more for the latter’s strategic ambitions than for the man himself. Proceeding in his own way as a real estate magnate, he would try to impose, through a sort of shortcut, the USA as the dominant power once again.
Or as his campaign slogan said, « America First, » after being weakened, according to him, by Obama’s two consecutive terms.
Seen this way, whether he wins or loses in American courts is of no importance. The only thing that matters is that the message has been well understood by the right people. Some test ballistic missiles, like Iran very recently, others produce decrees…
And the message could very well be the following: I am not crazy or incompetent. I am capable of everything for the rediscovered greatness of America. I have no limits, so are you ready to raise the stakes?
The sad reality is that Putin has managed to impose his dictates on the rest of the world, provoking only indignant protests and sanctions of more or less limited scope.
Thus, Donald Trump’s attitude should not only provoke disapproval, albeit legitimate, but above all make us question its true meaning.
For the President of America plays with the world, just like the new Tsar of the Kremlin, like a matador waving his cape, making us forget the sword!
Hagay Sobol
