Indeed.

What bothers me most is that Trump is a transactional president. There always has to be something in it for him in order to have cooperation. Trump also tends to be too difficult by inserting his own ideas and ideologies to talks and expected outcomes. When those outcomes don't service his interests he has temper tantrum. That is not a reliable administration. That is corrupt one.

April 12, 2026
By Jean-Pierre Filiu

Some seemingly minor investments (click here) can yield enormous returns. For Steve Witkoff, then a corporate lawyer, it was simply a sandwich he offered in 1986 to his client Donald Trump. At the time, Trump was embroiled in one of the many lawsuits that marked his real estate career. Penniless, as is often the case with the ultra-wealthy, Trump accepted his attorney's invitation.

A few years later, he remembered the gesture. Witkoff, who had since moved into real estate, forged a lasting friendship and solid partnership with Trump, fueled by their shared passion for golf. The two men even set up their respective golf clubs in Florida, not far from each other.

It was during a round of golf with Witkoff that Trump survived an assassination attempt on September 15, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. Two months later, the Republican candidate, having just been elected to a second term as president, announced Witkoff's appointment as his future special envoy to the Middle East....