Trump sees a deal waiting to be made. Tehran, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis see a struggle waiting to be continued. Unsurprisingly, only one side keeps being surprised.

Perhaps no politician in modern history enjoys announcing a deal quite as much as Trump. Every agreement is historic. Every ceasefire is tremendous. Every handshake appears to bring him one step closer to the Nobel Peace Prize that he seems convinced is being unfairly withheld from him by a committee of Scandinavian ingrates. To be fair, this should surprise no one. Trump has spent his entire career making deals. He has always viewed the world through the lens that made him successful: identify leverage, apply pressure, negotiate hard, close the deal, declare victory, and move on to the next one.

It is a perfectly reasonable mindset when buying hotels, constructing skyscrapers, or convincing someone to sell beachfront property. It becomes less reliable when confronting people whose worldview places martyrdom above prosperity and struggle above compromise.

Over the years, Trump has proudly touted various diplomatic achievements around the globe. He claimed credit for easing tensions between India and Pakistan. He celebrated agreements involving Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He boasted about helping resolve disputes between Egypt and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

The pattern is usually the same. An agreement is announced. The cameras arrive. The headlines appear. Everyone congratulates everyone else.

And then reality wanders into the room and asks whether anyone has........

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