Oops. Trump made a stupid deal. So now he won’t honor it.
The Art of Stupid Deals
Yesterday, I commented Trump Deal Allows Saudis to Enrich Uranium, No International Inspections
Trump asked for nothing in return. Today, Trump demand Saudi Arabia recognize Israel.
Truth Social: The Civil Nuclear Deal (There will be no enrichment of material!) being made between the United States Department of Energy and Saudi Arabia, which pertains only to non-military use such as the ones that Iran and UAE (and others) already have, will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords. The United States is not opposed to Civil (Non-Enriched) Nuclear Facilities. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP
Jul 23, 2026, 5:52 AM
The Art of the Oops
Please consider Trump Forgot to Ask the Saudis for Anything in Return. Today He’s Trying to Fix It.
Donald Trump has spent forty years cultivating a single image above all others: the master negotiator.
Which makes what happened with Saudi Arabia this week genuinely hilarious.
On Wednesday, he proudly announced a landmark civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia. The Department of Energy celebrated billions of dollars in commercial opportunities, strategic cooperation and a historic new partnership.
There was just one curious omission. There was no mention of something that had been central to these negotiations going back almost a decade.
No Abraham Accords. No Saudi recognition of Israel. No indication that Riyadh had agreed to provide the diplomatic concession Washington had spent years trying to obtain.
Instead, Trump appeared simply to hand Saudi Arabia the very thing it wanted most asking for and getting nothing in return.
Less than twenty-four hours later, Trump suddenly declared that the nuclear agreement was “totally subject” to Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords after all. The White House then reinforced the point: no normalization, no deal.
Morning After Negotiation
Governments spend months—and often years—hammering out exactly what each side is giving, what each side is receiving and which commitments will appear in the final text. Only then do presidents step in to announce the result.
Trump appears to have reversed that process. First came the announcement. Then came the negotiation—or at least an attempt to renegotiate one of the agreement’s central political terms after it had already been unveiled.
That’s not how contracts work. It’s certainly not how international diplomacy works.
The Cult of the Dealmaker
One of the strangest features of modern American politics is how rarely Trump’s reputation as a dealmaker is tested against his actual negotiations.
The mythology remains remarkably durable. He is forever described as the businessman who understands leverage better than career politicians, the outsider who knows how to negotiate because he spent decades making deals.
But reputations are supposed to survive contact with evidence. This week provided evidence.
Trump announced an agreement that appeared to omit the principal concession the United States had sought for years. Then, after the omission became obvious, he attempted to bolt the missing condition back onto the agreement.
Whether that ultimately succeeds almost misses the point.
The revealing moment wasn’t Thursday.
It was Wednesday—the moment Trump seemed perfectly happy to announce the agreement exactly as it stood. Only afterward did someone apparently explain that America had forgotten to collect payment.
If that sounds like the setup to a Jon Stewart monologue, it’s because it is.
The difference is that this one isn’t satire. It’s American foreign policy under Trump.
Par for the Course
Trump personally negotiated the USMCA agreement between the US, Mexico and Canada. He called it the greatest deal ever made.
Now he claims Canada is ripping us off.
Trump has modified nearly every Tariff deal he has made. But none of them were signed.
The biggest deal reversal in history is the MOU with Iran. That was just a Memorandum of Understanding, but Trump’s understanding of the memorandum was more than a bit lacking.
Trump read into the MOU exactly what he wanted to believe, knowing full well (at least he should have known full well) that Iran’s interpretation was vastly different.
The Art of Breaking Deals
The MOU was the best deal that Trump could have expected.
He could have bragged about it. Strike that. Trump he did brag about that despite the fact it was a lousy deal compared to what Obama negotiated.
Then Trump changed his mind. He wants more from Saudi just like he wants more from Canada, more from the EU, and more from Iran.
It’s stupid to sign a deal with Trump because he always wants more. In this case, a deal he bragged about could not even last 24 hours.
What If Iran Just Honored Obama’s Nuclear Deal?
On March 25, 2026, I asked What If Iran Just Honored Obama’s Nuclear Deal? Would We Be at War?
That’s where we need to start. The answer is yes.
This was a war of choice, by warmongers pledging to end wars.
We have Congressional Testimony proof.
Trump’s First Term Flashback
- Trump’s US State Department: Iran honoring the terms.
- Trump’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: Iran honoring the terms.
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA): Iran honoring the terms.
- Arms Control Association: Iran honoring the terms.
- All US European allies: Iran honoring the terms.
- Every other signee of the accord: Iran honoring the terms.
- Trump’s top general Gen. Joseph Dunford: Iran honoring the terms.
- Trump’s Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis: Iran was complying with the terms of the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal
Key Details on Mattis’ Statement and Context:
- Testimony (October 2017): Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Mattis said, “I believe that [Iran] fundamentally [are] in compliance with its nuclear deal”.
- Contradicting Trump: Mattis, a career hawk, advised that staying in the deal was in the U.S. national security interest, putting him at odds with President Trump’s public criticism of the agreement as an “embarrassment”.
Iran only began stepping back from JCPOA limits (e.g., higher uranium enrichment levels, reduced IAEA access) after Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018 and reimposed sanctions—not before.
This sequence is well-documented in IAEA reports and international statements that include Trump’s top general and Secretary of Defense.
And it’s verified under oath in testimony to Congress.
Obama’s Nuclear Accord Agreement
- Iran will give up about 14,000 of its 20,000 centrifuges
- Iran will give up all but its most rudimentary, outdated centrifuges: its first-generation IR-1s, knockoffs of 1970s European models, are all it gets to keep. It will not be allowed to build or develop newer models.
- Iran will give up 97 percent of its enriched uranium; it will hold on to only 300 kilograms of its 10,000-kilogram stockpile in its current form.
- Iran will destroy or export the core of its plutonium plant at Arak, and replace it with a new core that cannot produce weapons-grade plutonium. It will ship out all spent nuclear fuel.
- Inspectors will have access to all parts of Iran’s nuclear supply chain, including its uranium mines and the mills where it processes uranium ore. Inspectors will also not just monitor but be required to pre-approve all sales to Iran of nuclear-related equipment. This provision also applies to something called ‘dual-use’ materials, which means any equipment that could be used toward a nuclear program.
That’s the agreement U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, General Joseph F. Dunford, and the International Atomic Energy Agency all said Iran was honoring.
Trump took Obama’s deal and tore it up.
Cheese Was a “Key Achievement” of Trump’s USMCA Trade Agreement
Please recall my March 9, 2025 post Cheese Was a “Key Achievement” of Trump’s USMCA Trade Agreement
Trump is complaining about Canada’s cheese tariffs. In 2018, he was bragging about cheese.
Trump Statements on USMCA
- August 21, 2023: The highly anticipated Des Moines Register Poll of Iowa Voters is just out: “DONALD TRUMP HOLDS COMMANDING LEAD In First Test of 2024 Republican Caucus Field.” Remember, I got the Farmers 28 Billion Dollars from China, the USMCA Trade Deal (& many others!), saved Ethanol, Social Security, and MediCare, & got Iowa “First In the Nation” status. Nobody else could have done this. Anyway, I’m at 51%, a 31 Point lead over “farmer hating” DeSanctimonious, with the others gaining on him, but not on me!
- February 15, 2020: RT @WhiteHouse: President @realDonaldTrump’s USMCA will have a tremendous effect on GDP!
- January 30, 2020: BIGGEST TRADE DEAL EVER MADE, the USMCA, was signed yesterday and the Fake News Media barely mentioned it. They never thought it could be done. They have zero credibility!
- January 29, 2020: USMCA is a cutting edge state of the art agreement that protects, defends and serves the great people of our Country. Promises Made, Promises Kept!
- January 29, 2020: USMCA is a massive win for American manufacturers and auto workers!
- January 16, 2020: One of the greatest trade deals ever made! Also good for China and our long term relationship. 250 Billion Dollars will be coming back to our Country, and we are now in a great position for a Phase Two start. There has never been anything like this in U.S. history!
- December 10, 2019: America’s great USMCA Trade Bill is looking good. It will be the best and most important trade deal ever made by the USA. Good for everybody – Farmers, Manufacturers, Energy, Unions – tremendous support. Importantly, we will finally end our Country’s worst Trade Deal, NAFTA!
- December 19, 2018: Mexico is paying (indirectly) for the Wall through the new USMCA, the replacement for NAFTA! Far more money coming to the U.S. Because of the tremendous dangers at the Border, including large scale criminal and drug inflow, the United States Military will build the Wall!
- December 13, 2018: I often stated, “One way or the other, Mexico is going to pay for the Wall.” This has never changed. Our new deal with Mexico (and Canada), the USMCA, is so much better than the old, very costly &, anti-USA NAFTA deal, that just by the money we save, MEXICO IS PAYING FOR THE WALL!
- November 30, 2018: Just signed one of the most important, and largest, Trade Deals in U.S. and World History. The United States, Mexico and Canada worked so well together in crafting this great document. The terrible NAFTA will soon be gone. The USMCA will be fantastic for all!
- October 3, 2018: Mexico, Canada and the United States are a great partnership and will be a very formidable trading force. We will now, because of the USMCA, work very well together. Great Spirit!
- October 2, 2018: “USMCA Wins Praise as a Victory for American Industries and Workers”
- October 2, 2018: Great reviews on the new USMCA. Thank you! Mexico and Canada will be wonderful partners in Trade (and more) long into the future.
Q&A on the Greatness of USMCA
Q: Is 250 percent on cheese fair?
A: It’s not 250 percent. It’s tiered, and embedded into USMCA.Q: Who signed USMCA?
A: TrumpQ: Who is responsible for this arrangement?
A: TrumpQ: Didn’t Trump brag that USMCA was the best trade deal in history?
A: YesQ: Is Trump a good deal maker?
A: Apparently not, by his own admissionQ: Will Trump honor the USMCA deal ratified 89-10 by the Senate and signed by himself?
A: NoQ: Will Trump honor any deal he signs?
A: You tell me, but no one can expect thatQ: Is there a massive lost in trust that Trump will honor any deals he signs
A: Yes
Does anyone have any questions regarding the greatness, importance, and historic nature of USMCA to farmers and manufacturers?
It was such a great deal that Trump thanked Mexico and Canada. Notably USMCA is “Good for everybody – Farmers, Manufacturers, Energy, Unions – tremendous support. Importantly, we will finally end our Country’s worst Trade Deal, NAFTA!”
It “greatly opened markets to our farmers” and it even paid for the wall! And it will bring three great nations together!
Anyone who thinks Trump can negotiate a good deal and honor it has Jello where a brain should be.
We can, as usual, have a good laugh at Taco Trump and his crazy shenanigans. However, not to defend Trump, surely this so-called agreement was reviewed by his sycophants before it hit his desk? Why weren’t the caveats in the before Trump announced it? I think the incompetence has to be shared.
Who hired those syncophants?
The sycophants know they are not qualified for the position they have been given and go along with whatever Trump wants to do just to keep their job. The days of Trump’s first administration, when he hired generally well-qualified people, were a disaster from Trump’s perspective because they kept telling him no and had to be fired. The sycophants in this administration will gladly lick any boot they are told to.
Trump has no use for his aides.
He makes decisions alone, in the middle of the night.
I didn’t think we could get lower than George Dubya. I stand corrected.
Notice the trend?
It has been known for a long time that Trump does not read.
He never read it; doesn’t read any details or particulars, ever.
Trump obviously didn’t consult Israel before proposing the nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia. That’s a big no-no.
Why do you believe that this deal was negotiate over the years with the Saudis by the Orangutan? The deep state sherpas worked on it to prop Westinghouse over the years. That’s why the deal was placed on the Resolute and an autopen was given to the Pedophile in Chief. Whatever the soiled diapered man says afterwards can be solved with a change by his staff.
Westinghouse? Wow, I haven’t heard that name in decades. Someone’s AI must have screwed up and think the company is still around.
I worked on the Westinghouse AP1000 project in South Carolina until it got cancelled because the cost and schedule each doubled. Several executives at Westinghouse and the client utility went to jail over fraud.
Westinghouse is now owned by a private equity firm who acquired it when Toshiba had to sell it to avoid financial annihilation. The client utility likewise was bought by Dominion.
By all accounts, the AP1000 reactors that have been completed in China and Georgia have performed very well. There is talk about restarting the South Carolina project.
In the time that it took to build a couple of them in Georgia, China built 60 reactors.
Lots of reports from inside Iran that many people are demanding a push for nuclear weapons as a deterrent.
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202607223877
Rich irony if Iran develops nuclear weapons because of the US attacks. Seems possible many countries in the region may have them by the end of the decade.
A long time ago a Indian General Krishnaswami Sundarji who served as the 13th Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army from February 1, 1986, to May 31, 1988 said that if you want to be respected then ‘Park a intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in your front garden and a Nuclear Bomb in the back’
And the General has been proven correct. No one in the West has the gumption to take on North Korea because (1) NK doesn’t have any resources of value & (2) NK listened to General Sundarji
Nobody cares about North Korea because they are weak, isolated, and have little that the rest of the world wants.
Quite a likely outcome.
Incredibly dangerous – the Israelis could well decide that they have to do a first strike if that happens. Then who knows what could happen and at what speed.
The US should disperse much of its nuclear arsenal to the 3rd world. To paraphrase Heinlein: a nuclear armed world is a polite world.
His incompetence is the greatest ever. Never has been greater incompetence anywhere in the world.
The Dumocrats are jealous of his incompetence. Everybody is jealous.
Except me. I’m waiting for the obituary party
😂😂😂
On that blessed day, I’m going to purchase a $300 bottle of loudmouth, get ripped and dance in the streets with everyone else.
Shouldn’t be long now. His makeup is starting to look like it was done by an undertaker.
Lol – at the Minoqua Brewing Co.
We have a president whose real estate business had bankruptcy (4 of them) as its major operating feature is now the leader of the free world without his single most important tool for keeping his wealth. Without bankruptcy, which in his case was probably preplanned to stiff his creditors, he would be broke. What a mess.
How do you preplan something?
Borrow a $billion to build an $800 million casino that you know can’t make money. Pocket the difference. Declare bankruptcy, leave the stupid bankers holding the bag.
I attribute this to powerful human delusional hero-savior impulses. Organisms overwhelmed by their complex environments look to imitate peers, and cluster in like-behaving and like-signalling crowds.
Trump’s myth is a modern classic. He has been far more fake than real since the mid-1980s, 40 years, yet suckers endlessly line up for new rounds of punishment. He has the largest modern “halo effect” of a few successes, and a few brilliantly conceived and executed ideas, parlayed into this vast persistent halo of mythical expectations and deference. As his substance waned, his conscious marketing blew it all into new dimensions.
The mean intelligence of a large mass of his constituents is too low to sort this. Some more clever ones sense the predatory possibilities, alongside the genuine capitalist virtues of some. And the weakness and drift of his political opposition intensified it all. The political menu choices are screwed up, complicating this.
He is The Stupid Whisperer
P.T. Barnum
Dementia is a very sad and frightening disease especially when you combine it with Trump’s other personality traits and is really the only explanation for what is happening at this point.
There should be age restrictions on presidential candidates to protect us all from this result because we obviously cannot rely on congress to protect us.
Somebody need to take old Yeller out behind the barn.
You know, truth be told, he’s been off his game since Omarosa left.
If the Saudis try any funny business, he’ll invade Iraq.
And for our financial entertainment, WTI trades at $90 this morning. Up $28 since the 2nd Trump nightmare began.
Operation Epstein Failure continues and costs billions per week while Americans can not afford the gas to get to work and pay for their child care.
Things are about to get a whole lot worse!
The US is down to one ally ~ Israel and they provide nothing but endless demands while committing genocide in plain view of the entire world.
Hysterical how Israel quietly tip-toes backwards out of the room.
It’s been clear for years that the playboy (age in discriminate), spoiled brat, silver spooner clown is completely incompetent and that this is completely expected
but he is a personification of our culture and how much the USA has lost its way politically, primarily due to winner take all money worship
Is this guy the President of Israel in disguise?
So let me get this straight…
Saudi Arabia, the country where Osama bin Laden and 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers came from, gets access to a Nuclear Bomb (for “peaceful purposes”, obviously).
Israel gets diplomatic recognition from Saudi Arabia.
And the United States gets… what exactly?
The BILL $$$$$ and resulting debt…
As a complete fantasy novelty, it is interesting, cutting the Gordian knot of the core conflict in the Middle east. But that s the problem of these, and other fantasy hucksters, since forever. They propose horrible trades and dazzle people into them.
How’s your SpaceX stock?
Trump claims we got a guarantee SA will never enrich the uranium, but we already agreed in Trump’s first term that they are exempt from the customary 123 agreement that bars enrichment. You can never believe Trump when he promises something. It’s usually the reverse that’s true.
Reports that the US is building up medical facilities in Europe and sending more strike capabilities. Increased blood supplies was one of the key indicators that Russia was about to invade Ukraine.
Other reporting is that Trump has decided that he needs to push this before the mid-terms. While he should just state victory and back down, that is not in his nature.
If there is an invasion (e.g. of an Island) then he will need Israel’s support. Maybe that gave Netanyahu’s call yesterday more weight.
Yes. We have been preparing for a major escalation for the second time. We didn’t follow through the first time. Time will tell.
Yes, a land invasion of an entrenched foe, holding the high ground, in 120 degree Arabian Summer sounds like a great idea. Gallipoli version 2. Only the very stable genius Trump could come up with this brilliance.
So when Oceania-stan KSA launches a nuke at Iran, Yankee-stan will say “wasn’t us”.
Don Jr. and RFK Jr. can be promoting Sunblock 5000.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oJzfmWO3CU
Focusing on trump takes the heat off the uniparty.
No war powers opposition.
No 25A motion.
IOW: No dogs barking. Well, a few barks for show. No bites.
A few months ago, RJK Jr said when asked about 25A: Trump is useful for negotiations.
The uniparty couldn’t be happier.
Not the uniparty, 100% Republicans.
You can bet that any new ceasefire deal with Iran will require a much more clear language stating that THEY control the Strait and also demanding a lot more concessions.
Trump just tried to TACO his way out of the mess again with some vague wording ceasefire deal, but Iran told him to fuck off.
They now want everything spelled out and on their terms.
Yes. Iran will want more. And they may get it. But they also know that Trump will never honor any new MOU or agreement that he signs. So they will continue to force the issue.
Iran is prepared for a very long battle. They expect a big escalation from Trump,
Including ground troops. I feel sorry for our troops who will die needlessly for Trump’s ego.
If they haven’t figured out at this point that the president is a traitor, or have and continue to serve him, my sympathy is muted.
One of the terms might be that trump and his family are subject to public hanging in Tehran for revenge of the murder of their leaders family and the murder of 150 school girls.
Trump no longer has the cognitive capacity (if he ever did) of thinking through a deal and the consequences. On top of that he’s surrounded by inexperienced and compromised by their own motivations advisors like Kushner and Witkoff. Just look any cabinet meeting or at the recent clip of him getting a standing ovation that would make Kim Jong Un feel at home. None of them are going to tell him anything his brain farts out is a bad idea.
https://x.com/atrupar/status/2080358572454486488?s=20
Kushner & Wifkoff should be hawking baubles in the NYC diamond district…and be nowhere near these negotiations
If he’s going to announce things that haven’t happened, he might as well announce that we landed a man on Mars.
The guy who applied a version of this is the richest in the world. Can you see it? The pie in the sky?
Taco is extending his typical capitulation to Taco Thursday/Friday. The boy who cried wolf will call it too often one of these days.
He already has.