Trump caught flat-footed as Israel strikes Qatar: The diplomat who wasn't

Donald Trump has once again reminded the world why handing him delicate foreign policy is like giving a toddler a Ming vase. This week, Israel launched a brazen airstrike in Doha, targeting senior Hamas officials on Qatari soil — and Trump’s reaction on his beloved Truth Social made it painfully obvious that the self-styled master dealmaker is little more than a spectator when Benjamin Netanyahu decides to flex his muscles.

In his post, Trump confessed he was “very unhappy” about the strike, lamenting that he’d been told “too late to stop it”. He described Qatar as “a strong ally and friend of the United States” and insisted he felt “very badly about the location of the attack”.

The message, dripping with regret but conspicuously devoid of any meaningful condemnation, had all the firmness of a custard trifle. In the language of diplomacy, it was an exercise in trying to look upset without actually doing anything about it.

Here lies Trump’s problem. Qatar isn’t just another dot on the Gulf map. It is home to Al Udeid Air Base, the biggest American military installation in the Middle East, with around 10,000 US personnel. It also happens to bankroll mediations between Israel and Hamas, providing neutral ground for talks that Washington itself finds too messy to host.

For years, successive US administrations — Republican and Democrat alike — have leaned on Qatar’s deep pockets and diplomatic positioning. Doha has hosted delicate negotiations, secured hostage releases, and acted as a pressure valve whenever Gaza boiled over. And while Qatar’s ties to Hamas have long annoyed Israel, Washington has usually been happy to look the other way in the name of stability.

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So when Netanyahu decided to lob missiles into Doha, he wasn’t merely hitting Hamas; he was humiliating Qatar and, by extension, embarrassing the United States. Trump knows this, which explains the waffling tone of his Truth Social statement. To outright support the strike would be to slap an ally. To condemn Israel, however, would be unthinkable to his domestic base. Thus, he’s left flapping in the diplomatic breeze, muttering about how “very badly” he feels.

The Israeli prime minister, of course, is not in the business of making Trump’s life easier. The strike in Qatar was as much a political signal as a military one: Israel will pursue Hamas leaders wherever it likes, allies’ sensitivities be damned.

That the target was Qatar — currently mediating ceasefire talks — only added to the humiliation. As Qatar’s prime minister acidly noted afterwards, the bombing “killed any hope” of progress on hostages.

Aerial vie of the Al Udeid Air Base.

Netanyahu followed the strike with a flourish of provocation, publicly criticising Doha for hosting Hamas offices. Qatar called the comments “reckless”, but the damage was done. For Trump, who has spent months trying to sell himself as the man who can deliver peace where Joe Biden supposedly failed, this was a nightmare scenario: his key regional partner gutted, his image as peace-broker shredded, and his supposed ally in Jerusalem making him look like a bystander.

Trump’s balancing act is not new. Time and again, Israeli military operations have left him scrambling to explain why the United States was either uninformed or powerless to intervene. The Qatar strike was merely the latest humiliation. His insistence that Israel notified him “too late to stop it” echoes a familiar refrain — the sound of a man trying to prove he’s in control while admitting, in the same breath, that he clearly isn’t.

The irony, of course, is rich. Trump has built his brand on being the one who “brought peace” to the Middle East with the Abraham Accords.

Yet in reality, he is constantly reduced to damage control when Israel acts unilaterally. Netanyahu appears to understand perfectly well that Trump’s political survival depends on the perception of being a staunch friend of Israel. And so, with each strike, the Israeli leader dares him to object — knowing he won’t.

Donald Trump with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha on 14 May (photo: AP/PTI) Qatar PM says Netanyahu must face justice for state sponsored terrorism

For Qatar, the episode was infuriating. Officials fumed not only at Israel’s violation of its sovereignty but also at the United States’ weak-kneed response. Doha has long tolerated being cast as the convenient middleman, absorbing the political cost of engaging Hamas so that others need not. To have its capital bombed, and then be told by Washington that it was “very unhappy” about the matter, borders on insult.

This is not a minor spat. If Doha decides that hosting Hamas — or even hosting US negotiations — is no longer worth the risk, the fragile machinery of Middle East diplomacy could grind to a halt. And if Qatar were to reassess its willingness to let American bombers fly from Al Udeid, Washington would have a logistical nightmare on its hands. Trump, however, seems too busy covering for Netanyahu to grasp just how delicate this balance really is.

What makes the whole affair almost comic is the predictability. Trump is wedged between two immovable realities:

His base expects unwavering support for Israel. Any hint of criticism is political poison.

The United States cannot afford to alienate Qatar. The air base, the diplomacy, the energy ties — all are indispensable.

And so, the great “deal maker” is left issuing plaintive social media posts about how very sad he is, while looking powerless to manage either side.

Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in February

This isn’t the first time Trump has been outmanoeuvred by Netanyahu. Past Israeli military actions in Gaza and Syria have similarly blindsided Washington, leaving Trump scrambling to keep up. Each time, the dynamic is the same: Israel acts, Trump reacts, and America’s supposed role as the adult in the room evaporates.

What’s striking is how brazen Netanyahu has become in testing the limits of this relationship. The Qatar strike was not just tactically significant; it was a demonstration of who really calls the shots. Trump’s furious back-pedalling only underlined the point.

For all his talk of strength and mastery, Trump’s Truth Social post on the Qatar strike revealed the truth: he is less commander-in-chief than commentator-in-chief, lobbing adjectives at situations already decided by others. Netanyahu will go on doing what he pleases, Qatar will seethe, and America’s credibility will wobble.

And Trump? He will keep insisting he’s “very unhappy” while looking very much like the man who showed up to the party only after the cake had been eaten and the furniture smashed.

With agency inputs