Is President Trump Losing His Patience?

President Donald Trump is frustrated.

That’s one takeaway from recent headlines about Israel’s military strikes on Gaza, efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, progress on getting his signature bill through Congress, as well as trade negotiations with scores of countries that he predicted would be begging for new deals.

Revelations about a president’s mood are catnip for political reporters, who look at whom the commander in chief turns to in a political or foreign-policy crisis for clues about the next emergency and to try to predict whether he will change course in a significant way.

It might be better to say “revelations.” Note the quotation marks. Over the last 30 years, I’ve come across self-serving “the president is upset with [name of aide] about [policy area where the administration is struggling or public opinion is negative]” many, many times from successive White Houses.

It’s also a little tough to assess whether this is a change in Trump, who has stylistically always been more “American Carnage” than “Hope and Change.” But let’s take a closer look at each dossier and Trump’s recent actions.