Has the US completely abandoned the art of diplomacy?
The Guardian’s headline regarding Trump’s 24 February 2026 State of the Union speech says it all: “Trump has lost the ability to entertain. Sadly, he hasn’t lost the ability to offend.”
The fact that US President Donald Trump is a loose cannon is no secret. Trying to seek out his diplomatic skills is like “a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat which isn’t there,” to use Baron Charles Bowen’s (1835-1894) phrase when referring to theology’s quest.
Trump bulldozes ahead, offending friend and foe alike… well, almost, as he is generally even more scathing with America’s traditional allies. It is no surprise, then, that his cronies are no better.
In an interview with the US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, which was led by US commentator Tucker Carlson and released on Friday February 20, Huckabee was asked whether Israel had a right to “essentially the entire Middle East”, an area which the conservative host said was the Jew’s traditional homeland according to the Bible.
Huckabee’s response was as ruthless as it was unambiguous: “it would be fine if it took it all!”
This is shocking by any standard, since it not only undermines the whole Palestine Question, including Trump’s own Board of Peace, but it offended a host of spineless Arab nations who are quite happy to sleep with the enemy while a genocide is being committed in their back yard, since some of the territory in question is their own.
In a joint statement, several governments, over a dozen, including Jordan and the United Arab Emirates called the comments “dangerous and inflammatory”, while Egypt added that the remarks were a blatant violation of international law and a departure from the principles of the UN.
“The cat is out of the bag;” a different cat that was not so difficult to perceive. When it comes to Israel, the US has no moral compass, no qualms in stabbing its other allies in the back and no red lines.
Diplomacy could have kept the charade going for a bit longer, but the US has clearly decided that diplomacy is a pointless effort considering its military arsenal that can enforce whatever it wants anyway.