Why Americans Need to Get Much Angrier About Donald Trump.

Over the months and years, I’ve watched America transition from a tolerant, bastion of free speech, to a divided nation where intolerance abounds and the only permitted political comments are those lauded towards their new Caesar, President Donald J. Trump. Looking back, it was an inevitable love affair. On the international scene, presidential indecision had, by 2017 left the US looking weaker than at any other time in history. America hasn’t won a major sustained war on its own since Word War 2, though there have been a few ‘successes’ if you include smaller interventions.

In 1983, the US swiftly invaded Grenada (with an estimated population, then 110,000) and overthrow the Marxist military government. Similarly, in 1990, in Operation Just Cause, they quickly ousted dictator Manuel Noriega and installed a democratically elected government. I do not include the Gulf War as this broadly successful conflict involved a 35-nation coalition, of which the US was only a part.

Prosperity on the Home Front

On the home front, US citizens were at their most affluent (if defined by how easily a single wage earner could buy a home, raise a family and buy a car) under Dwight  Eisenhower, while they were able to save the most under Nixon and Carter;

although, unemployment was high under Reagan and Ford, but healthcare arrangements were improved the most for the elderly and low-income populations under Lyndon B. Johnson, though I’m sure some readers would argue in providing cover to over 30 million Americans,  Obama’s Affordable Care Act deserves mention.

Against this, Trump has referred to his own presidency as a “very beautiful and romantic time”, and after his first term, “our country was thriving, we were just beating everyone,” but is this true?

International markers during both Trump eras show that, if we examine the Happy Planet Index (a tool created by the New Economic Foundation to measure national well-being, we see Costa Rica is top, the UK comes in at 34^th, while the US is way behind at 108^th. Equally, if we look at the Human Development Index, an UN-inspired economic tool to measure economic opportunity and capability, Norway is top, the US 13^th and the UK close behind at 14^th. Finally, using the OECDs Better Lives Index, a tool identifying 11 facets essential to well-being (housing, income, jobs, community, education, environment, civic engagement, health life satisfaction, safety and work-life balance), Norway, Finland and Denmark come top and the US is far behind in 15th place.

Similarly, if we explore the rate of inflation over the last twenty years, the U.S. has averaged roughly 2.5% to 3.0% annually, marked by a period of historic stability between 2006–2020, followed by a massive 40-year peak of 9.1% under Trump in 2022 due to pandemic-era factors, and more recently, we see a volatile run back up to 4.25% due to recent energy price shocks following the Iran war.

Given this why I fail to see anything beautiful or romantic about Trump’s two presidencies, especially when you remember unemployment went to its highest during his first term at 14.7%. Now you might accuse me of being unfair given this was during the Covid lockdown, but comparatively during the same era, Japan kept unemployment to between 2.8 and 3.3%, Germany averaged 3.8% and the UK averaged 4.9%. So clearly something went badly wrong with Trump’s economic policy.

Taking the honesty test

Although a very bitter pill to swallow, it might be possible to forgive him if he was honest, but what is widely known and has been proven beyond doubt is the level of his dishonesty resulting in a criminal grand jury indicting him on one count of making “false statements and representations”. This related  specifically to hiding subpoenaed classified documents from his attorney, who was trying to return them to the government. And let’s not forget his 34 felony counts for falsifying business records in the first degree.

By now, “true defenders” will argue Trump is frequently maligned and these prosecutions should never have happened because they were either errors or, at worst, business matters with no bearing on his political acumen or integrity.

These are by far from his only dishonest actions. There are plenty more – let’s look at just a few:

1.  “Already, I’ve secured a record-breaking $18 trillion of investment into the United States.” It would have been great if it were true, but it was false.

2.  “Our country was being invaded by an army of 25 million people.” Those numbers weren’t even close to being true.

3.  “I was elected in a landslide.” Untrue.

4.  “The price of a Thanksgiving turkey was down 33% compared to Biden last year.” It wasn’t true.

5.  Trump said the Republicans’ “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed this year included, among other things, “no tax on Social Security.” Sound nice, but it wasn’t actually part of the package.

6.  “When I took office, inflation was the worst in 48 years, and some would say in the history of our country.” Trump says this all the time, but as I showed above, it was demonstrably false.

7.  “I’ve … settled eight wars in 10 months.” I get the sense he’s convinced himself this happened, but it hasn’t, no matter how many times he repeats the line.

8.  “Gasoline is now under $2.50 a gallon into much of the country. In some states, it, by the way, just hit $1.99 a gallon.” This is a weird thing to lie about, since consumers know better, but for the record, this obviously was not true.

9.  “The price of eggs is down 82% since March, and everything else is falling rapidly.” Trump would have been even more popular if this were true, but it was a lie.

1.  “I negotiated directly with the drug companies and foreign nations, which were taking advantage of our country for many decades, to slash prices on drugs and pharmaceuticals by as much as 400%, 500% and even 600%.” This whopper came  close to the top spot because of the sheer absurdity of the lie.

1  “Between 3 million and 5 million illegal votes caused me to lose the popular vote.” (There is no evidence of illegal voting.).

1  “Take a look at the Pew reports (which show voter fraud.)” (The report never mentioned voter fraud.)

1  “After being forced to apologize for its bad and inaccurate coverage of me after winning the election, the FAKE NEWS @nytimes is still lost!” (It never apologized.)

.  “I saved a lot of money on those jets, didn't I? Did I do a good job? More than $725 million on them.” (Many of the cost cuts were planned before Trump.)

I could go on, but rather than bore you, I will move on, as many journalists now argue there may be as many as 20,000 – 30,000 other lies I could have included. I am no great follower of either TV, or TV personalities, but I believe there is one celebrity called Judge Judith Sheindlin, who once said a teenager is likely lying simply if "their mouth is moving". It seems this is also true of President Trump.

Trump on the international stage

But it is on foreign policy he has failed the most. During his two terms, he has consistently miscalculated the strength or weakness of other parties, as well as often making promises he was obviously incapable of achieving. Take his much-touted promise to solve the ongoing conflict in Ukraine within 24-hours; a promise that ultimately fell completely flat. This failure, combined with repeated wavering commitments to ⁠NATO has discredited the United States as a dependable security provider and forced many European allies to reconsider their own defence postures. This became apparent when Trump called on NATO countries to support his action in Iran, only to find they all pretty much refused point blank. Or his operation to oust Venezuela's elected (albeit in a highly contentious election) ex-President Nicolas Maduro; a unilateral action to remove a national leader without any discussion with his allies.

It is unlikely they would have disagreed with the operation, but the fact he chose to move without consultation created a lot of global uncertainty, leading experts and senior diplomats to warn this unpredictable approach damaged diplomatic relations and emboldened other competitors. Essentially, his rogue action created an uncertainty where it became unclear where, or how, Trump might act in the future. Could he attack Guatemala, Cambodia or Turkey simply because their leaders came to power in unfair elections? The Maduro kidnap occurred because the US accused him of “narco-terrorism”, but could the same happen to other leaders in Ecuador, Colombis, or Mexico? Outrageous perhaps, but Trump’s foreign policy has lacked finesse and forethought leading many countries to distance themselves.

As for the relationship between the US and Russia, far from easing tensions, it has become a strained dynamic, because while Trump previously sought a close, transactional friendship with Putin to resolve global conflicts, it has shifted to frustration as Moscow’s aggressive actions in Ukraine continue and peace becomes increasingly elusive.

Equally, and just as in Ukraine, the once warm relationship between Trump and Netanyahu has deteriorated into name-calling and anger, but unlike Zelensky, Benjamin Netanyahu has no fear of an American withdrawal and appears to almost welcome to ‘go alone’ and destroy Hezbollah on his own, if necessary.

The Iran Deal

The recent agreement between the Trump administration and Iran has ripped the mask off the so-called “Best Friends Forever” relationship between Trump and Netanyahu. If we explore his history, we can see how Trump tends to favour alliances with political strongmen, often siding with them over traditional friends and allies, but only so long as they serve his personal purpose. However, the moment they outlive their usefulness, or become a personal liability, the friendship evaporates instantly.

For Netanyahu, the writing is now on the wall, and Trump has decided to fly solo while ignoring Netanyahu and the needs of the Israeli people; any fealty to Trump has run its course. The Iran deal is so profoundly detrimental to Israel that what was once a political asset - the bond with Trump—has become a liability.

As for the rest of the world, the Wall Street Journal defined it perfectly in their editorial when they argued: “President Trump is touting his latest ceasefire deal with Iran as peace in our time,” the Journal writes, “but the world is more likely to see it as a strategic retreat short of achieving his war aim.”

In fact, I must ask did he ever have any war aims, beyond destroying their nuclear capability? Sure, he told the Iranian people “help is on its way”, but it never really happened and anyway, it was primarily the Israeli Air Force who attacked and killed Ayatollah Khamenei and eliminated much of the IRGC hierarchy, while US forces concentrated on military and nuclear bases.

Much to Trump’s surprise, Iran did not capitulate – they stood their ground and fired back resulting in a financial cost (according to the Pentagon) of approximately $29 billion, though Sen. Chris Murphy argues the cost may be much higher and could be as much as $60 billion, along with the lives of 13 US military personnel.

With Republicans in Congress increasingly unhappy about the war and mid-terms due in November, Trump panicked and as we saw from the “Agreement”, pretty much capitulated on everything. Even his declaration of the terms of the agreement was hysterical, with him refusing to announce its content until the actual day of signing, while Tehran took the upper hand and were so cock-a-hoop they announced the full contents a full week earlier AND claimed victory in the war.

As Melanie Phillips the political commentator so eloquently stated in her blog:

“He has surrendered America to Iran.

He himself admitted that he stopped the war because of the threat of economic catastrophe if it continued. That was because of the oil shock caused by Iran seizing control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump was therefore signalling that America was powerless to defeat the regime. At a stroke, he turned the United States into a paper tiger, seen to be unwilling to do what it takes to fight a war until victory.

He thus ensured that Tehran would have the upper hand in everything that now follows in the negotiations for a final “deal.” It will be able to run rings round the Americans over the proposed “online blending” of the enriched uranium Trump once pledged to destroy, the destruction of centrifuges, disarmament verification, or anything else.”

After several military disasters over the last few years, the US needed a victory in Iran and with Trump’s “Make America Great Again” banners flying high, he looked to be the man to do it. He had everything in his favour: a strong ally with a highly trained and experienced well-equipped military, a region eager to see Iranian influence shut down, on the home front a nation angry with the Ayatollahs and eager to see justice for the Iranian people, and a powerful US military dedicated to defending democracy and freedom.

Trump should have been unbeatable – but somehow, he managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Political Comment

Unquestionably, the United States is full of people who pride themselves on their courage and loyalty; a people who are ever eager to defend the oppressed; and, to their eternal credit, a people who, quite simply, don’t like bullies. I’m not American but I can understand their pride and their patriotism – they have fought hard for it. Occasionally, there are people who superficially say all the right things, sound strong and upright, but beneath the bustle and bravado there is weakness. We have seen it in the UK – in 1939, Neville Chamberlain sucked up to Hitler so heavily, it was frightening and had Lord Halifax become prime minister instead of Winston Churchill, this post would have been written in German.

Despite the bravado and unusual delivery (albeit joyously funny, after all, his presidency will be remembered for his ability to create several new words to the language, including ‘bigly’,’ braggadocios’, ’hamburrderers’, ‘panican’, and my favourite ‘confide’). But despite the humour, let me be clear, Trump is weak and collapses when the conflict is tough. The international media have a nickname for him, calling him “TACO” Trump, an acronym standing for “Trump Always Chickens Out”. Sadly, in the last three months it’s a title he has earned:

21^st March – Trump issued a 48-hour deadline then extended it.

31^st March – He told Iran to make a deal, or US would obliterate energy plants.

1^st April – “We will bomb Iran into the Stone Age.”

5^th April – “open the f****n’ Straits, you crazy b******s or you will be living in hell”.

7^th April – “An entire civilisation will die tonight.”

21^st April – “I expect to be bombing.”

4 – 5^th May - Operation Project Freedom designed to escort ships through the Straits but lasted no more than a day when Iran fired on US military forces.

11^th June – “The US will hit very hard tonight” but cancelled the attack only hours later.

Was it any wonder Iran didn’t believe a single threat Trump made and felt justified in assuming they could go into negotiations with an upper hand.

Make no mistake, despite the “agreement” this war is not over, because Iran believe they are winning and while Trump may be too weak to continue, we all know Israel will not back down and if the US does not finish the job, Israel will do it for them.

Are we about to segregate Jews?

It is possible, in the excitement of today's march in London against antisemitism that you may not be aware that, as of May 2026,  The Ministerial Committee for Legislation in Israel is set to vote on a proposal by Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman that would bar non-Orthodox converts—including those converted by Reform and Conservative movements—from obtaining automatic citizenship under the Law of Return. This proposed legislation aims to reverse a 2021 Supreme Court ruling that mandated recognition of these conversions for citizenship purposes.

For decades, Israel has accepted conversions performed by the Reform and Conservative movements abroad as sufficient for Israeli citizenship, as the Law of Return left the issue of conversions deliberately vague, not specifying if they had to be performed by an Orthodox rabbi.

However, conversions inside Israel had to be performed under Orthodox religious law to be recognized for the purposes of citizenship.

Rothman asserted that changing the language of the law “expresses a return to the principles established by the founders of the state and is necessary for the unity of the Jewish people both in Israel and in the Diaspora.”

Committee approval is only the start of a long process and it remains uncertain if enough time remains before the election, and if it is enough of a coalition priority, for the bill to pass under the current Knesset.

Should the Ministerial Committee for Legislation back the bill, it will be added to the legislative agenda and advance to a preliminary reading in the Knesset, after which it will be assigned to a committee for further discussion ahead of the three readings necessary for it to be passed into law.

Sorry here we are in a world where violent antisemitic attacks are taking place, where shuls are being fire bombed, and where Jews no longer feel safe to wear kippot or Star of David pendants and decent people are fleeing for safety. Yet at the same time, the ultra-orthodox, in the safety of their Jerusalem homes are now saying if you were born into a Reform or Conservative home, or if you converted to one of these groups, Israel may not grant you the right of return or sanctuary. The eternal home of the Jewish people will not keep you safe if you aren't a good enough Jew!

But they will take the money you donate every month to Israeli charities, they will encourage you to fight for, and defend Israel on social media - but they will not let you make Aliyah because a few rabbis have decided you aren't a good enough Jew!

So, my question to my chaverim  on this committee is this simple - if ever antisemitism became so bad that Reform and Liberal Jews feared another Shoah - would you turn them away? Would you leave them to die simply because they lacked an orthodox pedigree?

I've loved, supported and worked for Israel most of my life, I've publicly defended governments I have privately opposed, I have publicly spoken in support of legislation that I have privately despised - but this is too much.

Am Israel chai isn't just a nice saying, it is a declaration that we are one nation, a people and we are united as one and cannot, and will not be divided.

There is no such thing as a better Jew - we are one - and no committee will ever divide us.

So to my Reform, Liberal and Conservative brothers and sisters I say this - we will not and must not ever forsake you. You are part of us and your link to Israel is absolute and must always be protected.

An Iranian spy-ring on the heart of London?

According to reports, an Iranian spy recruitment ring is operating openly in London and the Islamic Republic is exploiting Britain’s “permissive environment” as a base for its Western intelligence-gathering and propaganda campaigns, according to the newspaper.

It seems the UK's permissive environment is common knowledge at this point, with charitable organisations linked to the antisemitic regime operating freely here, repeated glorification of the terrorist IRGC and regime leadership on our streets, propagandistic events on campuses and vigils for assassinated terrorist figures that run absolutely counter to our values. Iranian state television still operates in the UK, and the regime itself continues to enjoy a diplomatic foothold.

British authorities have been warned that an Iranian spy recruitment network is operating openly in London, with the country’s state broadcaster, Press TV, reportedly serving as a front to identify and cultivate intelligence assets, according to reporting by The Telegraph. The network is said to exploit Britain’s permissive environment to gather information on Western targets and propagate Tehran’s interests.

Press TV, the English-language channel of Iran’s state broadcaster, maintains a studio in London and is alleged to have produced programming that effectively created a “target list for terrorists” by highlighting Jewish charities, schools, and community organisations, officials told The Telegraph. Concerns have risen following a recent anti-Semitic arson attack in north London, where two men were arrested after ambulances owned by a Jewish charity were set alight outside a synagogue. Counter-terrorism police are leading the investigation, amid fears the incident could be linked to Iran.

Earlier this month, two Iranian nationals were charged with spying for Tehran after allegedly conducting surveillance of the Israeli embassy in London and Britain’s oldest synagogue, the Westminster magistrates’ court was told. Experts have long cautioned that Iranian intelligence services routinely target Jewish communities, Israelis, and Iranian dissidents, often using criminal intermediaries.

Police stand outside the scene of an antisemitic arson attack in the Golders Green Bneighbourhood of north London, on March 24, 2026. (AFP)

“From an Iranian perspective, London is a permissive environment,” Jonathan Hackett, a former American intelligence officer with two decades of experience in Marine Corps intelligence, told The Telegraph. He said some Press TV journalists were tasked with spotting and assessing potential recruits, using their professional credentials to gain access to both private and governmental circles. Hackett explained that the journalists would develop assets before transferring them to more experienced Tehran-based handlers.

Hackett noted that Press TV’s London office has assumed a “more significant” role in recruitment efforts as the broadcaster has been sanctioned in other Western countries. In recent years, Press TV has faced restrictions in the European Union, Australia, Canada, and the United States, with the latter citing the airing of forced confessions and the channel’s use by Iranian intelligence to recruit sensitive assets, including U.S. nationals, according to the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The recruitment of Monica Witt, a former U.S. Air Force counter-intelligence specialist with access to top-secret defense files, was highlighted as a high-profile example. Witt was allegedly groomed by Press TV presenter Marzieh Hashemi, initially “spotting, assessing and handling” her before transferring the case to a Tehran-based officer, Hackett said. Witt defected to Iran in 2013, a development described by Hackett as a major intelligence victory for Tehran.

Press TV has also faced scrutiny for broadcasting content considered anti-Semitic. The Community Security Trust (CST), a U.K.-based Jewish charity, has criticized the channel’s programme Palestine Declassified for depicting numerous Jewish organisations and individuals as “genocidal Zionist extremists.” The CST spokesman said the programming raises safety concerns for the targeted individuals and organisations, requiring extensive monitoring and security measures. Episodes reportedly named 14 Jewish charities and criticized Jewish schools and leaders for alleged pro-Zionist activities.

Two prominent U.K. presenters of the programme include Chris Williamson, a former Labour MP now deputy leader of the Workers Party, and academic David Miller, who was dismissed from Bristol University over anti-Zionist claims but later won a workplace discrimination case. Both are noted for presenting Palestine Declassified and contributing to Press TV’s English-language output.

In response to the growing concerns, a group of Members of Parliament urged the U.K. security minister to impose financial sanctions on Press TV. David Taylor, Labour MP for Hemel Hempstead, called the broadcaster the “international mouthpiece for Iran’s murderous regime,” highlighting its alleged role in targeting Jewish communities and propagating anti-Western narratives. Discussions at Downing Street and among officials at the Foreign Office, Home Office, and Treasury have reportedly considered measures to further restrict the channel’s operations in the U.K.

Press TV’s broadcast licence in Britain was revoked by Ofcom in 2012, and it has been banned from YouTube, yet it continues to operate via social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, and X, with over one million followers. Roger Macmillan, a former director of security at independent Farsi-language broadcaster Iran International, described Press TV as operating in a “grey zone,” noting that while it may not violate broadcasting regulations, it continues to disseminate pro-regime content and anti-Semitic material.

                                                 Marzieh Hashemi, a Press TV presenter, is accused of recruiting spies for Iran 

A U.K. government spokesperson said, “We are clear-eyed about the threats posed by Iran, and our first priority is protecting British interests and British lives both in the U.K. and overseas. We have introduced a comprehensive set of additional measures aimed at countering threats posed by the Iranian regime.”

The network’s activities in London, including the alleged use of Press TV to recruit intelligence assets, remain under scrutiny amid broader security and counter-terrorism efforts.

At a time when Jewish institutions, synagogues, schools and individuals are being targeted by Iranian assets and extremist cells, we are in desperate need of a crackdown, however Starmer and his pseudo-liberal buddies seem reluctant to tackle issues that not only affect the Jewish community, but the UK as a whole,

The possibility of an Iranian spy ring will be no great surprise to most of us, but the fact it is to Starmer is a matter of deep concern.