The president is not known for his love of slow and difficult diplomacy – but in terms of Gaza, there’s no quick or easy way for the US to go
When Donald Trump returned to the White House in January he quickly started attacking one of America’s closest allies – Canada.
He targeted not only individuals such as Justin Trudeau, but suggested all the country’s 41 million citizens be annexed into becoming the US’s 51st state.
When he started threatening tariffs of as much as 25 per cent, many Canadians expressed fury at what they felt was an act of utter betrayal.
Six months on, Trump is at it again, with new threats for America’s northern neighbour, as the 1 August deadline to reach a trade deal ticks closer.
“Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine,” Trump said on social media. “That will make it very hard for us to make a trade deal with them.”
The announcement by Prime Minister Mark Carney that he would recognise a state of Palestine came as concern about the suffering of civilians in Gaza has intensified, the death toll has passed 60,000, and images of starving and utterly malnourished children have dominated some of the world’s media.
“The level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable and it is rapidly deteriorating,” Carney said. “The prospect of a Palestinian state is being eroded before our eyes.”
His move followed a similar announcement from the UK and France. Indeed, 147 of the UN’s 193 member states recognise Palestine, which is currently a “permanent observer state” at the world body.
When Trump met Keir Starmer in Scotland last weekend, he said for the first time there was “real starvation” in Gaza and urged Israel to allow “every ounce of food” into the Palestinian enclave.
Since the 7 Oct 2023 Hamas attacks, Israel has slowly seen international support dwindle as its military response has often been seen as disproportionate.
At the same time, the UN and other groups have accused it of failing to permit the sufficient flow of aid into Gaza.
This is a claim Israel rejects, but every day there are reports of Palestinians being killed as they seek to obtain aid from the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a group backed by the Israeli and US governments which took over responsibility for aid distribution earlier this year.
The Hamas-run health ministry says 91 people have been killed while seeking aid in the last 24 hours.
For all Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence Israel is doing everything it can to help Gazans, he has fewer and fewer allies.
Trump is certainly the most powerful of them and has continued to back a ceasefire in Gaza that could allow more aid and the return of the remaining hostages. Netanyahu met Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday but there was no immediate talk of a breakthrough.
The US has a long history of giving political cover to Israel, vetoing critical UN resolutions and sending billions of dollars of weapons and aid.
Trump now has no easy way out. With even members of his own Maga base, such as Marjorie Taylor Greene saying what is happening in Gaza is “genocide”, he faces a divided Republican Party.
The US president did manage to broker the Abraham Accords during his first term, which saw diplomatic relationships established between Israel and a series of Muslim nations, namely the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
But he is not known for his love of slow and difficult diplomacy. He much prefers to announce “deals” and “wins” with a showman’s flourish, hoping that if he talks loudly enough nobody will pay attention to the small print.
In terms of Gaza, there’s no quick or easy way for the US to go.
Better then for him to reach for the distraction playbook and attack Canada, hoping to avoid taking responsibility for the horrors in Gaza and lining up an easy scapegoat should the trade deal fall through.
