Uncivil war
Australian politicians welcomed the US-Iran ceasefire, but Donald Trump’s wild bluster and threats made it tough for allies to keep pretending all was normal.
Call it the mad uncle moment. It’s the point at which everyone at the family Christmas celebration accepts that their loudmouthed uncle, who spoils the fun every year, is talking so much rubbish that they stop listening.
For Australia’s political leaders, Wednesday was Donald Trump’s mad uncle moment.
For weeks, leaders around the world listened with trepidation as the world’s most powerful man grew increasingly angry and aggressive over his failure to quickly end his war against Iran, and over the reluctance of allies including Australia to join a conflict they did not start.
As the weeks passed, Trump moved from angry to furious, then unhinged and finally incandescent with rage.
On Wednesday, with a two-week ceasefire declared, the president claimed “total and complete victory”.
