‘War leader’ Trump fixates on trivial matters as Iran death toll mounts

More than two weeks into the US-Israel war on Iran, and the conflict appears at risk of spiraling out of control.

Back home, Donald Trump’s behavior also appears chaotic. A foreign conflict typically brings somber reflection from leaders: in Trump’s case, it has brought a stream of behavior that has defied norms and raised eyebrows over his state of mind.

Take last Sunday, for example: the Pentagon solemnly announced that a seventh US service member had been killed in the Iran conflict. Trump spent the day playing golf in Florida, where he appeared to be wearing the same baseball cap he wore during a dignified transfer ritual of dead military members on Saturday.

That same day, Trump spoke at a “Shield of the Americas” summit, alongside a group of Latin American leaders. He told heads of countries, including El Salvador and Honduras, that Marco Rubio, his secretary of state, has “a language advantage over me”, because Rubio speaks Spanish.