Iran is run by a vicious, oppressive theocracy that doesn’t share Trump’s predilections for short-term bursts of violent performance art. They are in it for the long haul, gaudy White House ballrooms and soaring presidential libraries be damned. They’re willing to absorb extraordinary punishment to protect their faith and country. Trump failed to recognize that before he went to war and may not even understand it now. His cognitive boundaries are circumscribed by wealth, celebrity, self-aggrandizement and self-preservation – and little else.

 

Trump Got Schooled by Iran. He’ll Never Learn

April 9, 2026 at 5:00 AM EDT

By Timothy L. O'Brien

Timothy L. O'Brien is senior executive editor of Bloomberg Opinion. A former editor and reporter for the New York Times, he is author of “TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald.”