You might have missed the British prime minister’s response to the news that Israel and Iran had launched strikes on each other in the hours that followed their ceasefire agreement on Tuesday morning. “I want the ceasefire to continue, and therefore, obviously, the sooner we get back to that, the better,” said Keir Starmer as he arrived in the Netherlands on Tuesday for the Nato summit.
You almost certainly did not miss the American president’s. “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing. You understand that?” Donald Trump fumed at reporters on the South Lawn of the White House, before turning away, in mic-drop fashion, to board Marine One and begin his own journey to join the other world leaders gathered in The Hague.
It was coarse, un-presidential, and highly effective. This was no slip of the tongue; this was a clear and deliberate message. “Daddy” (ahem) was angry, and he wanted the world to know it.