To read the Republican spin is to catch the faint whiff of a false flag. Even some of Donald Trump’s opponents support his bulletproof ballroom and funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2026/04/26/can-this-really-be-happening-again-00892125

It seems like Donald Trump has a choice between his unseemly affection for Vladimir Putin and his war on Iran: “‘We see how courageously and ‌heroically the Iranian people are fighting for their independence and sovereignty,’ Putin told [Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas] Araghchi, saying he hoped they could get through a ‘difficult period’ and that peace would prevail.”[1]
[1] Al Jazeera, “Putin praises Iranian ‘courage’ as Tehran’s foreign minister visits Russia,” April 27, 2026, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/27/iran-foreign-minister-in-russia-for-putin-talks

It’s now beyond question that, despite his apocalyptic threats,[1] Donald Trump’s utterly stupid war on Iran has utterly failed. We do not have regime change and Iran still possesses its enriched uranium.[2]
This is a problem that extends far beyond Iran, all the way to China—Iran’s ally—and Taiwan. Simon Tisdall reckons that Trump is heading for a summit with China’s Xi Jinping where Xi holds all the cards and will likely demand concessions on Taiwan in exchange for any help with the Iranian situation.[3]
[1] David Benfell, “Thoughts and prayers, for real,” Not Housebroken, April 9, 2026, https://www.disunitedstates.org/p/thoughts-and-prayers-for-real; Maya Yang, “Trump threatens to blow Iran ‘off the face of the earth’ if it attacks US vessels,” Guardian, May 4, 2026, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/04/trump-iran-threat-us-vessels
[2] Julian Borger, “‘They have screwed each other pretty badly’: tensions emerge in Netanyahu-Trump alliance,” Guardian, May 9, 2026, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/09/tensions-emerge-bejamin-netanyahu-donald-trump-alliance; Jeffrey Sachs and Sybil Fares, “The war on Iran will likely end in American retreat,” Al Jazeera, May 9, 2026, https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2026/5/9/the-war-on-iran-will-likely-end-in-american-retreat
[3] Simon Tisdall, “Donald Trump will arrive in Beijing this week knowing that Xi holds all the cards,” Guardian, May 10, 2026, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/10/donald-trump-xi-jinping-beijing-summit-iran-taiwan