NEW YORK, NY June 6 (DPI) – Donald Trump suggested today he was responsible for five Arab nations seeking to isolate Qatar for its support of terrorism, an almost amusing set of events given that all of the Arab countries involved have for years abetted Islamic extremism, tiny Qatar is home to a US military base, and because Trump – as a chorus of readers points out – doesn’t seem to grasp the eternally shifting sands of the Middle East.

Posters on the NYTimes.com site today, with near unanimity, said the impetuous president is a “national embarrassment” who  is jeopardizing American interests in the region. “The USA, not just Trump, will end up looking even more naive and isolating itself even more to the benefit of its competitors,” as one popular post declared today.

Readers were unsparing in their contempt for the president’s behavior: “When she was two,” wrote one, “my daughter pointed at the family room floor and said ‘a mess’– proud of having made something on her own. Somehow, that observation seems appropriate here.”

Among the most popular comments:

Now we have a president who only exists on Twitter. If he can’t boast or rant about it on Twitter, it doesn’t exist for him.
Even if his claim to have caused this diplomatic rupture is true, it’s colossally, stupendously stupid (not to mention dangerous to our personnel in the region) to make this boast.
Of course, what is far more likely to have happened is that the Saudis played him. Flattered him, gave him a gold geegaw, and now he’s their personal friend (since he doesn’t know the difference between a diplomatic or strategic ally and his pals). Sorry, Qatar: guess you didn’t sweeten the Trump family fortunes enough.

Oh really! With the U.S. heavily invested in military facilities in Qatar, the President takes credit for isolating it from the rest of the region? How is that deserving of bragging rights? More evidence that the President’s mind is exhausted, I think.

I voted for Trump, support him but he’s getting ridiculous. I think it’s time for a sanity check, I’m serious. Why the need to tweet about this matter? You have accomplished aides and these situations require a delicate touch. He has this need to be seen as driving events and to take credit. We have a base there it’s not a matter to be tweeting about. He’s just making the jobs of the hard working men & women in the foreign service that much harder.
What a selfish & small man. I can’t believe he’s older than my parents and I’m a few months away from turning 40.

Wealthy Saudi families have been proven to be a far higher source of terrorist related funding than Qatar. Unless this was a masterful pivot to pressure Qatar first to then be able to put pressure and Saudi Arabia and its allies for the same behavior, it was idiotic. In any case, it is probably stupid given the greater value of keeping Qatar as a military ally. There were better ways of achieving objectives here. The USA, not just Trump, will end up looking even more naive and isolating itself even more to the benefit of its competitors.