It’s notable that Trump was not asked about any particular story — although he appeared to think he was being asked about reports that he divulged classified intelligence (reportedly shared with the United States by its ally Israel) to Russian officials in the Oval Office on May 10. Trump was extremely defensive, accusing the press of getting the story “wrong,” although he stopped short of calling it “fake news.”

Today’s defensiveness from Trump, and the absence of any criticism from pro-Israel hardliners in the United States for his disclosure of this sensitive information, is another piece of evidence that on his Middle Eastern trip, the president is being graded on a massive curve on all things foreign policy. Trump wasn’t entitled to this low bar even before the disclosure to the Russians, and he certainly isn’t now, just because he claims to be a great dealmaker who prayed at the Western Wall.

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Trump frequently criticized President Barack Obama for undermining the U.S.-Israel relationship. Trump has arguably done more to damage it in four months than Obama did in eight years. Yet Trump is relying on platitudes and, crucially, this week’s visit to Israel, to position himself as the repairer of damage created by his predecessor.

Obama had a notoriously difficult relationship with Netanyahu — something for which Republicans repeatedly pilloried the Democratic president. Obama was criticized for seeking a freeze on settlement activity by the Israelis in the occupied West Bank and for having successfully negotiated a nuclear deal with Iran. The Obama-Netanyahu conflict reached its apex in March 2015, spilling out into open political warfare when Netanyahu lambasted the Iran nuclear deal in a speech to Congress that 58 Democratic lawmakers boycotted.

What’s truly remarkable is that Netanyahu expended so much energy accusing Obama of endangering Israel through the Iran nuclear deal. Yet when Trump reportedly discloses Israeli intelligence information to Russia, Iran’s ally, he essentially gets a pat on the head from Netanyahu, who praised Trump for “the reassertion of American leadership in the Middle East.”

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It’s important to point out that although Trump today claimed “the story” was “wrong,” the White House has never officially denied The Post reporting of May 15, that Trump had divulged classified information to the Russians that had been obtained from the intelligence services of a U.S. ally. Nor has it denied the New York Times’ follow-up story the next day, which reported that Israel was the country that provided the intelligence that Trump blurted out to the Russians. At most, the White House has “emphasized that Trump had not discussed specific intelligence sources and methods, rather than addressing whether he had disclosed information drawn from sensitive sources,” according to The Post.

Today Trump said nothing about whether the improper disclosure actually occurred — he only said that he didn’t mention Israel. But the disclosure didn’t seem to matter to Netanyahu, who, according to Haaretz, assured reporters that intelligence cooperation between the two allies remained “excellent.” The exchange bore all the hallmarks of two allies straining to get past very difficult tensions in their relationship.

But it also highlighted how Trump has largely been given a pass for a series of missteps — some more serious than others — relating to Israel.

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Behind the scenes, Israeli intelligence officials were infuriated that Trump had breached the trust of their relationship, particularly that “sensitive information may have been passed to Russia, a partner to Iran,” according to a detailed dispatch in Foreign Policy magazine.

Yet Trump’s own advisers continue to pretend nothing was amiss here. National security adviser H.R. McMaster called Trump’s statements to the Russians “wholly appropriate” — not a denial that it happened, but just a denial that Trump had done anything improper. McMaster further maintained that Trump wasn’t even aware of the source of the information.

But even that excuse is shockingly unflattering to Trump. It reveals that Trump is not at all in command of complex foreign policy and national security priorities, and may not be capable of keeping track of classified intelligence and knowing when to keep it to himself.

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In the midst of all of this, Trump has gone to the Middle East and is being lauded by American Jewish groups for a charade of a visit to Saudi Arabia, for which he is being widely praised for urging Muslim nations to combat extremism. But as Anne Applebaum points out, Saudi Arabia, which is ruled by a repressive regime that itself enforces one type of religious extremism, is an odd place to deliver such a message.

For his part, Netanyahu is maintaining a pretense that all is well, and that Trump is the groundbreaking emissary for peace that he pretends to be. “I’ve heard it’s one of the toughest deals of all,” Trump said today of peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, drawing chuckles — because why should anyone have to think that Trump would address an issue of such importance seriously?

Trump’s traveling team is faring no better. His secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, speaking to reporters on Air Force One as it was en route from Riyadh to Tel Aviv, seemingly dismissed any need for Trump to apologize to Netanyahu for the disclosure to the Russians.