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Look at our battered world, and you see two presidents, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, caught in wars that they are struggling to finish. There’s a common theme with the Iran and Ukraine conflicts that we might call “the power trap.” These two men can’t escape the consequences of their mistakes.

Both leaders thought their enemies would capitulate in weeks. Both ignored advisers who warned that victory wouldn’t come so easily. Both still believe they can dictate the outcome, even as the chances of full success recede. Both have isolated themselves in bubbles of adulation and ignorance.

Look at our battered world, and you see two presidents, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, caught in wars that they are struggling to finish. There’s a common theme with the Iran and Ukraine conflicts that we might call “the power trap.” These two men can’t escape the consequences of their mistakes.

Both leaders thought their enemies would capitulate in weeks. Both ignored advisers who warned that victory wouldn’t come so easily. Both still believe they can dictate the outcome, even as the chances of full success recede. Both have isolated themselves in bubbles of adulation and ignorance.

The closer each gets to retreat, the more they seem to think that they’re winning.

Trump’s entrapment becomes more obvious every day. It’s written on his face, as in his snarling tantrum before he stormed off the set of his interview last weekend with NBC’s Kristen Welker. He’s clearly so frustrated in his effort to find an exit ramp from Iran that he claims he doesn’t even “consider” the standoff in the Strait of Hormuz a war.........

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