{"id":4371,"date":"2026-08-04T15:06:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T15:06:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4371"},"modified":"2026-08-04T15:06:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T15:06:49","slug":"trump-believability-crisis-launches-gop-off-dangerous-cliff-republican","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4371","title":{"rendered":"Trump ‘believability crisis’ launches GOP off ‘dangerous’ cliff: Republican"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

On Tuesday, a leading conservative magazine called it: no one takes President Donald Trump \u201cseriously,\u201d and it\u2019s not only hurting the United States\u2019 credibility but causing a disaster in the Middle East that will have far-reaching consequences. <\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s 1 quality that makes him hard to beat \u2014 and \u2018impossible\u2019 to replace<\/a><\/p>\n

This is according to the American Conservativ<\/u>e\u2019s managing editor Jude Russo, who writes, \u201cPeople have started to notice that the administration has a propensity for extravagant threats followed by equally extravagant walkbacks, often in concert with the weekly operations of the markets.\u201d He raises the example of Trump\u2019s claim last week that the U.S. would soon be hitting Iran \u201chard,\u201d referring to a much-touted plan to attack the Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site, which White House officials leaked as imminent even as commentators wrote<\/u> that it would never happen. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d submit that this is a problem,\u201d writes Russo. \u201cAmerica\u2019s diplomatic credibility is not looking too good. The recurring revision of previously agreed-upon premises, the constant toggling between mediation channels, and most of all the apparent use of negotiations as cover for surprise attacks have made it difficult for other parties to take the U.S. at its word. This problem isn\u2019t limited to adversaries like Venezuela and Iran. Two weeks ago, after signing an agreement with Saudi Arabia for the development of a civilian nuclear program, Trump fired off a social media post conditioning the agreement retroactively on Saudi normalization of ties with Israel \u2014 which, given the mood of the Arab street, amounts to nixing the deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Russo, this \u201closs of diplomatic credibility\u201d means that the U.S. will have to rely \u201cmore heavily on the application of force at a time when it was hoping to rely on this less.\u201d What\u2019s more, Trump\u2019s hollowed-out threats have much the same effect: \u201cAs threats become less effective, there will be pressure to follow through on them to inflict coercion and, secondarily, to restore their credibility.\u201d Because of this dynamic, \u201cEverything that isn\u2019t physical coercion is being sapped of its power, and force is a limited, expensive, and messy technique; indeed, the fact that we have not fully committed ourselves to this path is a testament to how unpleasant even the authors of this war find its consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Supreme Court puts final nail in coffin of Trump\u2019s long-shot demand<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lesson here,\u201d asserts Russo. \u201cHypocrisy, deception and a touch of unpredictability are no doubt useful, even necessary tools of statecraft. As most people who have been through normal childhoods know, though, the efficacy of a lie depends on the credibility of its teller … Your word must be your bond not because of the divine decrees of Moses, St. Paul, and Dale Carnegie, but because it\u2019s the only way human systems can work … Sometimes, honesty is the best politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Russo writes that another example came Monday, when it was reported that \u201cIranian elites are growing skeptical that a deal with the United States is even possible \u2014 that they believe the U.S. is for structural reasons unable to commit to any sort of agreement that it will not subsequently undermine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Russo concludes on no uncertain terms, writing, \u201cThis is dangerous; a semi-frozen conflict in the Middle East straining the world economy indefinitely is not an ideal outcome. And, of course, it was avoidable. But the question now is whether American negotiating credit can be salvaged, perhaps with some confidence-building measures like prompt follow-through on some of the concessive parts of the June MOU \u2014 sanctions relief and the like \u2014 or, at the minimum, by not issuing apocalyptic but empty threats. It may not yet be too late to turn over a new leaf, but it\u2019s getting there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Yikes!\u2019 Warning signs flash as moderate Republicans \u2018abandon\u2019 Trump<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Tuesday, a leading conservative magazine called it: no one takes President Donald Trump \u201cseriously,\u201d and it\u2019s not only hurting the United States\u2019 credibility but causing a disaster in the Middle East that will have far-reaching consequences. This is according to the American Conservative\u2019s managi…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":557,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump 'believability crisis' launches GOP off 'dangerous' cliff: Republican - Next Address America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4371\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump 'believability crisis' launches GOP off 'dangerous' cliff: Republican - Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On Tuesday, a leading conservative magazine called it: no one takes President Donald Trump \u201cseriously,\u201d and it\u2019s not only hurting the United States\u2019 credibility but causing a disaster in the Middle East that will have far-reaching consequences. 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