President Trump frequently threatens “severe consequences” if adversaries and competitors do not yield to his negotiating demands. But some of his international opponents seem to have concluded that he is mostly posturing and have called his bluff — without paying a price.

The prime example is the series of deadlines Trump has imposed on Ukraine and Russia for ending their conflict. President Volodymyr Zelensky immediately accepted Trump’s mandates despite initially disagreeing over the joint recovery of Ukraine’s mineral resources. Vladimir Putin, conversely, has repeatedly evaded Trump’s demands, or has agreed “in principle” but has not taken meaningful action.

Trump has responded to Putin’s obstructionism by discarding his own deadlines, such as the need for an immediate cease-fire to enable a lasting peace agreement. Russia continues killing civilians and destroying their cities as it inches forward with its invasion of Ukraine. Donald Trump inexplicably disregards his massive political, economic and military leverage over Russia and the Axis of Evil countries supporting its aggression and war crimes, most notably China.

China has similarly benefited by defying outright or finessing Trump’s mandates on COVID, Huawei, TikTok and trade while suffering minimal adverse consequences.

Trump successfully employed a radically different approach in seeking a halt to Iran’s nuclear program. After giving Tehran a........

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