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Of all his favourite words, “loser” seems most revealing. It’s mean, an always ready term he uses to take down those he dislikes by placing them in a category from which they can (he obviously hopes) never escape. Lately, he tends to over-use it. The Manchester atrocity happened when he was in the Middle East and felt called upon to comment. He denounced those responsible as “evil losers.” He said, “I won’t call terrorists monsters, they would like that name. I will call them losers, because that’s what they are.”

Presumably that satisfied him, but was it appropriate? In Manchester, 22 people died and dozens more were seriously injured. What does it mean when Trump applies to mass murderers a word he usually deploys against journalists or politicians who have annoyed him? It suggests a deficient sense of proportion.

Of all his favourite words, “loser” seems most revealing. Lately, he tends to over-use it

In Jerusalem Trump said the city itself should encourage the settling of disputes. He called on all people involved (“Jews, Christians, Muslims and every faith, every tribe, every creed”) to draw inspiration from Jerusalem “to overcome sectarian differences.” That may have been the most outlandish of all his suggestions. Far from sustaining amity among religions, possession of Jerusalem has been — and remains — a fundamental cause of strife.

Trump’s sense of language appears most distorted when he uses the term “deal.” He’s now decided that with compromise, Israel and Palestinians “can make a deal.” Peace won’t be easy, he concedes, “but Israelis and Palestinians can make a deal.” He believes, after talking with the leaders, that both Palestinians and Israelis want peace.

But their differences run far deeper than anything in Trump’s experience, as anyone knows who has followed the Middle East diplomacy of the last few decades. The word “deal” is pitifully inadequate when describing any possible agreement between Palestinians and Israel. Many have died on each side of the struggle. Many solutions have been suggested. In the world Trump now occupies, language drawn from his life in business loses its meaning.

National Post

robert.fulford@utoronto.ca