By Nadim Shehadi

The intensity of American reactions to President Donald Trump remains intriguing. I saw it in Boston among both students and faculty during the traumatic 2016 elections. His victory was totally unexpected and there was an emotional, almost visceral response that transcended normal political disagreement. He was the establishment’s worst nightmare and they projected all sorts of fears on to him. The same goes with the media. And this is still the case in his second term, with the polarization persisting beyond what I would consider rational.

Trump is unpredictable, full of contradictions, breaks every rule and it is sometimes difficult to interpret what he means from what he says. I have made the effort. I listened to 20 interviews conducted with Trump by the journalist Bob Woodward while on mountain hikes in Greece and I may have gotten a feel of some patterns. But I still cannot claim to understand him.

No matter. We in the Middle East do not share America’s emotional extremes about Trump. As allies who depend on American partnership, the region’s leaders have to adjust and build a working relationship with whoever is in power. What concerns us more is the polarization itself — when foreign policy swings........

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