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It’s becoming a standard feature of Donald Trump’s second presidency: He makes an announcement or sets in motion a new, significant policy—then he utters a remark or posts a caveat on social media, and the ship of state is cast into chaos, national policy rendered uncertain, the words and deeds of the world’s most powerful leader reduced to unreliable gibberish.

On Wednesday, the secretary of energy signed an agreement by which the United States would supply Saudi Arabia with nuclear energy technology. This was a very big deal. The Saudis have been seeking such a deal for many years. It could wean the kingdom away from its reliance on oil—but it could also lay the foundations for a Saudi nuclear weapon, which in turn could spur others in the region to build nuclear arsenals as well. And unlike similar agreements that the U.S. had struck with dozens of other countries, this one seemed unconditional. Saudi Arabia long ago signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, but it did not sign the NPT’s Additional Protocol, which allows international agents to conduct on-site inspections of reactors to verify that its operators aren’t converting the fuel for military purposes.

Israelis of all political stripes, taken by surprise by the deal, voiced alarm, fearing that this would inevitably lead to a Saudi nuclear weapon. Previous talks over a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia hinged on normalization with Israel and there appeared to be no such condition for this deal. As I wrote on Wednesday, the concern in Israel over the Saudi deal seemed to indicate just how much favor Israel has lost in the United States in recent years.

Then, on Thursday, at 7:52 a.m., Trump posted on social media that the deal “is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham........

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