‘Judging Freedom’ edition of 8 April 2026: Is President Trump a Madman?
This session focused on the two-week ceasefire announced last night by Washington and Tehran.
I think my most valuable contribution today was to comment on the Russian handling of these developments, both before and after the cease fire announcement
The Russian news tickers last night carried the full announcement of the Iranian leadership announcing the ceasefire. They said that by accepting the 10-point Iranian plan for concluding a comprehensive peace Trump was admitting the greatest ever defeat imposed on US armed forces. Trump has agreed to American withdrawal from its military bases in the Middle East, it will raise the sanctions on Iran, accept Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz, pay reparations and stop attacks not only on Iran but also on Hezbollah in Lebanon and on Hamas in Gaza.
From this perspective the two week cease fire gives Trump a withdrawal ramp from the conflict during which he can attempt to deceive his compatriots about how the war is ending. All bridges open for the retreating enemy, appears to be the Iranian policy. During this time Trump also can force Netanyahu to desist as well in his attacks on Iran and its proxies.
From the time immediately before the announcement of the cease-fire, I noted the following.
The pitiful Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement that they will not apologize for their veto in the UN Security Council two days ago, together with China, regarding a Bahrain sponsored resolution condemning Iran for its attacks on the Gulf States. Apologize? To whom? The very notion smells of pure weakness. And it aligns with the impression of embarrassment felt by the Russian foreign policy establishment over the gently, gently conduct of the Russian war on Ukraine, where Russia has the upper hand, compared to the defiant, very brave behavior of the Iranians in the face of Israeli-US superior force.
On the Solovyov talk show last night panelists discussed how Trump has alienated all of America’s allies-vassals. This is probably bad for the US. but good news for Russia.
Interestingly, the Solovyov panelists understand very well how Trump is restrained by the 60 day limit under US law during which he can conduct military operations abroad without Congressional approval. On that basis, Solovyov panelists viewed Trumps original proposal of a 30 day cease fire as a tactic: he would claim during this cease fire that the war had ended and then embark on new attacks on what he would label a new military operation for which he gets a new period of 60 days to act without Congress/
The news program Sixty Minutes posted extensive video clips from CNN, the BBC and other major media in the West showing how Trump was under fire from Senators and Representatives over his outrageous threats to destroy Iran, destroy its civilization.
As I say in this interview, Putin and his close associates no doubt see in the present vulnerability of Trump, who is under threat of removal by invoking the 25th amendment of the Constitution for mental inadequacy or by impeachment as giving them greater leverage in any future talks over ending the war in Ukraine.
©Gilbert Doctorow, 2026
One mystery of this whole affair is how much and what kinds of assistance Russia and China have given to Iran and the degree to which such assistance has played a role in the outcome. All kinds of claims, rumors and misinformation has been flying around, but very little has actually been confirmed.