her divine role while denying with a straight face its symbolism. The chaos on President Trump’s social media handles has prompted some of his political opponents to wonder if he is fit to hold office. One can hardly blame them.

It was against this backdrop that the American leader took to Truth Social on Friday to announce, with considerable enthusiasm, that his war on Iran was all but over. He opened by declaring the US the “‘hottest’ country in the world right now” — a characteristically modest assessment — before informing the public that the “Strait of Iran” was now open for business. Mr Trump hastened to add that while Iran had lifted its blockade, the American blockade on Iran would remain in place until a bilateral agreement was finalised; though this, he assured everyone, “should go very quickly”.

Israel, he added, had been “prohibited” by the US from bombing Lebanon any further. He paused to reproach Nato for its absence from his war, extended warm thanks to the Gulf nations and the Pakistani leadership, and closed with a solemn pledge to “make Lebanon great again”. All of this, it should be noted, came within hours of him describing one critic as “a low IQ person” and another as “dumb and mentally ill”.

There is, in Mr Trump’s stream-of-consciousness approach to statecraft, something quite honest: he is, at minimum, consistent. The same impulses that produce his insults can also generate peace announcements. The world can only watch in quiet exasperation as the American president rampages towards new objectives. Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2026