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The world is watching and waiting for Donald Trump to decide if he's going to make the most critical decision of his Presidency to date - whether to join in the bombardment/destruction of Iran's government, or succeed in convincing the Iranian leadership to roll over and abandon its nuclear ambitions.
It's generally accepted that Trump loves being the centre of attention, but what we're now waiting to see is if he can multitask and be capable of focusing on multiple crises at the same time. While all the media focus this week has been on the hostilities between Israel and Iran, that has only served to push other issues into the media shadows.
Trump hasn't managed to fix Gaza or Ukraine, either because his attention span has moved on - or maybe he just doesn't want to and would prefer to let the combatants just fight it out, "like two children in the park". Or maybe it's just too hard, and he doesn't like being seen as a loser?
It was only a week or so ago that his major focus was sending the National Guard and US Marines into Los Angeles, before it switched to his birthday parade and the 250th anniversary of the US Army, which, depending on what media outlet you follow, was underwhelming.
Trump didn't get his way at the G7 meeting in Alberta, Canada (still by the way in Canadian hands) either, when his pal Putin wasn't invited, and he left early to sort out Iran - which as above, he's still not sure what he's going to do - or be able to do. "As soon as I leave here, we're going to be doing something. But I have to leave here,"said Trump. But not before taking a Parthian shot at Emmanuel Macron for daring to suggest that Trump was "leaving the G7 to get a ceasefire and then kickstart broader discussions"between Iran and Israel.
Trump's response: Macron was "publicity seeking"and "whether purposely or not, Emmanuel always gets it wrong."Maybe Trump should look in the mirror?
Elsewhere, Trump has a few other deadlines and timelines ticking. Whilst most countries are waiting for the final numbers on the US Tariff lottery, the 90-day deadline on the "pause"on reciprocal tariffs is set to expire on 9th July, and the US-China de-escalation due to end - or be resolved - in mid-August. To date, only the UK has a permanent trade deal signed, despite Trump and Starmer dropping the papers at their G7 trade announcement.
On the domestic economic front, Trump's not having much luck persuading Jerome Powell to dance to his tune either. The Fed President left rates on hold at 4.25% this week, against a backdrop of rising inflation, unemployment ticking up, and softening growth forecasts. Powell made it clear that the Fed would not move until the economic consequences of the tariff uncertainty became clearer.
What would Powell know, in spite of Trump nominating him as Fed Chair in November 2017 during his first term, but who he now describes as a knucklehead and stupid.
If nothing else, Trump's great fodder for Hedge Clippings. If only it weren't so serious.
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