Bloomberg: Doha, Poland Incidents Deal Blow to Trump's Authority

Israeli missiles in Qatar and Russian drones in Poland undermine US influence among friends and foes, Bloomberg notes.

Israel's shocking strike on Hamas representatives in Qatar's capital, Doha, followed by the incursion of Russian drones into the airspace of NATO member Poland, dealt a double blow to Donald Trump's claim that under his leadership, friends and enemies respect the US more than ever.

Trump has expressed dissatisfaction with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for striking the capital of Qatar, one of the US's main allies, Bloomberg reports, citing its sources. However, at the public level, the US president has refrained from more active intervention. Politico also writes that Trump and his close aides are concerned that Israel's attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar has undermined peace talks in Gaza, "possibly forever."

Moreover, according to a person close to Trump's team, Trump and his close aides have begun to suspect whether Netanyahu, who authorized the strike and threatened new ones, was trying to obstruct the negotiations. "Every time they make progress, he bombs someone. This is why the president and his aides are so unhappy with Netanyahu," the interlocutor said. According to two sources, the White House is trying to calm Qatari representatives, whose senior leaders are using words like "atrocity" to describe Israel's actions.

In parallel, another incident occurred in Europe, to which Washington's response is also not being unequivocally assessed. This refers to the simultaneous incursion of more than a dozen Russian drones into Polish airspace. Trump, in fact, has also refused to condemn the incursion of Russian drones into Poland, stating that "it could have been a mistake, but in any case, I am not happy with anything related to this situation."

Trump's restrained position is in stark contrast to his repeated statements about his unique ability to resolve the world's most difficult conflicts. Let us also recall that days before the incident, Donald Trump had stated that the US would in no case leave Poland and would even increase its presence there if necessary.

Taking all this into account, some experts consider these developments a blow to Trump's authority and an indicator of the decline of US influence in important geopolitical points.