Notorious Bully Trump Is Hurting Himself

Published in Der Standard
(Austria) on 26 May 2026
by Kim Son Hoang (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Fiona Garratt. Edited by Phoebe Caval.
Renewed attacks on Iran have made a face-saving deal for President Donald Trump increasingly unlikely.

The mindset of notorious bully Donald Trump is simple: If he doesn’t get what he wants, he pulls out the hammer and keeps swinging until he gets his way.

Of course, geopolitical reality makes that difficult to sustain. His bullying has impressed neither Beijing nor Moscow, and Europe has remained firm on Greenland while gradually distancing itself from Trump.

Tehran Is Holding Firm

Perhaps the most absurd chapter of this “art of the deal” is unfolding in the Middle East. Using a mix of incentives and threats, Trump is trying to extricate himself from the Iran war, which has yielded nothing for him. Tehran, however, is not going along with it.

The Iranian regime holds the stronger cards through its control of the Strait of Hormuz. It also knows that this presents an opportunity to shift the balance of power in the Middle East in its favor. And it stands to claim a major propaganda victory if it survives the direct confrontation with the United States and Israel and emerges stronger.

Repeat Offenders

Trump can undertake little more than damage control for his country and its allies, but he refuses to admit it. Instead, he attacks Iran while negotiations are still underway — yet again.

That will achieve nothing here, either. Even worse — in Tehran, he is weakening the pragmatic camp, which is far more likely than the ideological faction to reach a deal that would allow Trump to save face. In other words, Trump has dropped the hammer on his own toes.


Durch die erneuten Angriffe auf den Iran ist ein für den US-Präsidenten gesichtswahrender Deal unwahrscheinlicher geworden

Die Denkweise des notorischen Mobbers Donald Trump ist simpel: Bekommt er nicht, was er will, packt er den Hammer aus und schlägt damit so lange zu, bis er sein Ziel erreicht.
Mit der geopolitischen Realität ist das natürlich schwer vereinbar. Sein Bullying hat weder Peking noch Moskau beeindruckt, Europa ist beim Thema Grönland hart geblieben und distanziert sich schrittweise von Trump.

Teheran bleibt hart

Das wohl absurdeste Kapitel dieser "Verhandlungskunst" spielt sich im Nahen Osten ab. Mit einer Mischung aus Zuckerbrot und Peitsche will er aus dem Irankrieg aussteigen, der ihm absolut nichts gebracht hat. Teheran geht darauf aber nicht ein.

Das Mullah-Regime verfügt durch die Kontrolle der Straße von Hormus über die besseren Karten. Es weiß auch: Hier bietet sich die Chance, die Verhältnisse im Nahen Osten zu seinen Gunsten zu verschieben. Und es steht vor dem ultimativen Propagandasieg, wenn es in der direkten Konfrontation mit den USA und Israel überlebt und gestärkt hervorgeht.

Wiederholungstäter

Trump kann für sein Land und seine Verbündeten nur Schadensbegrenzung betreiben, will das aber nicht wahrhaben. Stattdessen greift er den Iran während laufender Verhandlungen an – mal wieder.

Das wird auch hier nichts bringen. Schlimmer noch: Er schwächt in Teheran das pragmatische Lager, mit dem ein Deal, der Trump glimpflich davonkommen lässt, wahrscheinlicher wäre als mit dem ideologischen Lager. Anders ausgedrückt: Trump hat sich den Hammer auf die eigenen Zehen geknallt.
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