Between the lines: Over the past month, Trumpworld’s sense of being unbeatable has only grown. This is partly because the president sometimes defines victory in narrow terms, like pleasing the base and juicing the markets.
Trump stunned allies and even many in his own government when he greenlighted the killing of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Quds Force. Trump has claimed victory and his aides have said the Iranian response — missile attacks that have yet to kill any Americans — show the warnings of war were baseless. The jury will be out for a while on that, but Team Trump claims vindication.
And last week, Jared Kushner released the long-awaited Middle East peace plan, which the Israelis loved and the Palestinians promptly rejected. But the encouraging statements from some key Arab neighbors bolstered the White House’s confidence…
“I swear to God, this guy is the luckiest SOB that’s ever lived,” said a former White House official who stays in close touch with current officials. “That’s not to say he hasn’t done right things. But the flip side is, he’s one of these away from a massive F-up.”
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