Donald Trump - charismatic or enigmatic?

"Men at some time are masters of their fate," declares Cassius in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings." Cassius is making the point that they may at present be subordinate to Caesar but they can recreate their destiny.

US President Donald Trump is definitely not an underling or an inferior. If anything, he's the master of his fate. He is an impulsive extravert who deals with issues, no matter how contentious, head-on. On the Myers-Briggs System, he is an ESTP personality type: Extravert (as opposed to Introvert), Sensing (as opposed to Intuitive), Thinking (as opposed to Feeling), and Perceiving (as opposed to Judging). Joe Biden, his predecessor, was described as empathetic with strong interpersonal skills.

"Men make history and not the other way around," said Harry S Truman. Is Donald Trump here to make history? We don't know. But a lot is riding on his presidency. Ironically, some of his negative attributes can be a source of a much needed positive change in the world of international politics. "He (Mr Trump) seems unusually self-confident," writes Dr Ryne Sherman in Psychology Today, "and he shows feelings of grandiosity and entitlement." He is highly ambitious and bold. He likes to be in charge and does not spare a moment to speak his mind.

Fuming at the violation of the ceasefire he recently brokered between Israel and Iran with the help of the Emir of Qatar, President Trump lashed out at both Israel and Iran, "I don't know what the (heck) they are doing." He went on to reprimand Israel, as if with a fatherly responsibility, "In all fairness, Israel unloaded a lot, and now I hear Israel just went out because they felt it was violated by one rocket (from Iran) that didn't land anywhere. That's not what we want, I'll tell you. And I'm telling you I'm not happy about that, Israel, either. Do not drop bombs."

But we like to drop bombs, don't we? We like to show our strength. We like to send supersonic missiles into enemy territory and destroy their buildings and shoot down their planes. "Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand?" Macbeth utters these words as he contemplates the assassination of the king in Shakespeare's Macbeth. But the dagger is no more. We have fighter jets and missiles – precision-guided munitions – nukes that can blow up entire cities pulverising human flesh instantly leaving any survivors far and beyond with adverse health conditions including leukemia. We are human – the most intelligent creatures on Earth. We have perfected the art of killing each other.

In the recent Israel-Iran clash, over 700 people were killed by the Israeli strikes in Iran. The death toll included Iranian nuclear scientists and military commanders. Over 28 people are reportedly dead from the Iranian missile strikes inside Israel. Iran not only responded fiercely to Israel's aggression initiated on June 13, it proved to be a more determined adversary than any other in the past. However, those celebrating and claiming victory for Iran in this conflict are either misinformed and misled by media that only perpetuates half-truths, or they suffer from a pathological appetite for self-aggrandisement. Media on both sides seems to be catering to what their listeners wish to hear. The fact remains that governments of both countries have been treading on this ice. Iran's is a repressive theocratic hegemony guilty of countless human rights violations, whereas the Israeli government, under Benjamin Netanyahu, has morphed into a criminal mafia guilty of genocide of thousands of innocent Palestinians that have nothing to do with Hamas.

So, what happens next? To understand this, we must go back to 1996 when Benjamin Netanyahu, then serving his first term as the Prime Minister of Israel, had a premonition. It was a policy document prepared for him titled "A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm". It was the Israeli version of the Manifest Destiny. At its core, the policy was simple: break away from the Oslo Accords that call for a two-state solution, bring about regime changes in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Yemen and Iran by launching wars or military action against them with the help of the United States. Mission accomplished? Not yet.

Now let's picture the US President, Donald Trump, sword drawn. Is he a different President in his second term? Will he use his impulsive and charismatic leadership to engineer peace in the Middle East? Will he act like a lone wolf or will he succumb to the Israel lobby that supported him in the 2024 elections? Recall, for instance, that three billionaires, Elon Musk, Miriam Adelson and Dick Uihlein, collectively donated a staggering $220 million to help get Donald Trump elected. AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) spent more than 100 million dollars in the election. "At least 318 AIPAC backed candidates won their seats in the US elections," reported The Jerusalem Post. Trump can't betray their trust, can he?

Ever since the tentative Israel-Iran ceasefire, one can't help but wonder: what about Gaza?