The Emir of Qatar with President Trump on his recent trip abroad. Oh what a difference a few weeks makes. White House photograph by Shealah Craighead.

President Donald J. Trump seems hell-bent on alienating as many American allies as possible. His presidency was only hours old when he put Australia in his crosshairs. Now working his way through the alphabet, the president has tweeted proudly that he’s the reason many of the Middle East’s Arab countries are freezing out Qatar as a hotbed of terrorism.

Except that Qatar is the site of an American military base from which we launch our airborne stand against ISIS. Meanwhile, buddy-buddy Saudi Arabia is where most of the 9/11 terrorists came from. A complex situation, n’est pas? And complexity is not Trumpet’s strong suit.

You know, if you didn’t know better, you would almost think that Trumpet – so quick to make himself the centerpiece of any major story, especially a plant by the Russkies – was deliberately trying to sabotage the United States.

Almost.