On Saturday, June 21, Donald J. Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social:
We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!
He added, as if in an email to a company that had mailed him the wrong shoes:
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
On Monday, he announced, again on Truth Social:
Trump Media and Technology Group Corp. (Nasdaq, NYSE Texas: DJT) ("Trump Media" or the "Company"), operator of the social media platform Truth Social, the streaming platform Truth+, and the FinTech brand Truth.Fi, announced today that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $400 million of the Company’s common stock.
. . . Trump Media's CEO and Chairman Devin Nunes said, “The Board took a vote of confidence in our Company, our stock, and our strategic plans. Since Trump Media now has approximately $3 billion on its balance sheet, we have the flexibility to take actions like this which support strong shareholder returns, as we continue ex
As usual, both announcements massaged the truth.
Call it “flexibility,” but buybacks are a common strategy for boosting the value of a stock. Trump Media, of which DJT is the largest shareholder, reported losses of $400.9 million in 2024.
Far more important, while Trump was concerning himself with the value of his portfolio, Iran launched missiles at a U.S. military base in Qatar.
It seemed less THE TIME FOR PEACE than it was on the day before the bunker-busters hit the ground.
On Monday night, again on Truth Social, Trump proclaimed a “Complete and Total CEASEFIRE” between Iran and Israel.
White House Propaganda Minister Karoline Leavitt posted on X:
President Trump has accomplished what no other president in history could ever imagine — the obliteration of the Iranian Regime’s nuclear program, and an unprecedented ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Truly remarkable!
By the next day, Iran and Israel had both violated the ceasefire. Trump said he was “not happy” with either country. The two had been fighting so long, he added, that “they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing.”
Implying that he does?
Wars, stock buybacks, ads for gold-plated Trump-branded tchotckes — whatever. Holding forth on the same platform, blurring the distinctions among his roles as president, politician, businessman, and general know-it-all, Trump perpetually showcases his self-styled all-purpose identity as consummate dealmaker. Or as he’d put it, Dealmaker.
But no Trump deal is win-win. Somebody has to lose. We will soon see who.