Richard LeBaron

Retired Senior US Diplomat. Occasional commentator on foreign affairs. Strong supporter of public service.

[Jon Cooper 🇺🇸 @joncoopertweets]

🚨 BREAKING: Trump has a complete MELTDOWN on Meet the Press.

Kristen Welker presses him on his wild California election conspiracies. Trump calls her “crooked” and “stupid,” calls the press crooked, calls Meet the Press crooked, and throws a tantrum about how unfair everything is.

Then he dramatically storms out mid-interview like a toddler who lost at recess.

Classic Trump: zero answers, all insults, instant exit.

Thank you, Kristen Welker — this is how you handle him. 🔥

[Really American 🇺🇸 @ReallyAmerican1]

EMBARRASSING: As Americans face economic anxiety and a growing conflict abroad, Trump is busy bragging about the size of a reflecting pool like it's a national achievement.

[Richard LeBaron @RBLeBaron]

Insecure dinosaur.

[Kristin Diwan @kdiwaniya]

This is not OK
The casual sexism of President Trump is enraging

[TheSteadyState @steadystate2025]

Access to the most sensitive national-security systems in government, paired with a demonstrated willingness to pursue unsubstantiated, politically motivated allegations against perceived enemies and zero qualifications for the job, puts everyone at risk.

[Richard LeBaron @RBLeBaron]

"No known national security experience": Trump Names Housing Chief Bill Pulte as Acting Director of National Intelligence https://t.co/sCu6vUNYBh

[Yosef Yisrael @yosefyisrael25]

Israeli Far-right Minister and Cabinet member Itamar Ben-Gvir states that Netanyahu must reject Trump's demand and take action in Lebanon, contrary to the U.S. President's instructions

[J Street @jstreetdotorg]

Bezalel Smotrich should be sanctioned by American political and Jewish communal leaders - not marching alongside them in the streets of New York City.

Smotrich:
❌ is the architect of the Israeli government’s policies to ultimately annex the West Bank.
❌ said that “it may be just and moral” to starve 2 million Gaza residents, but "no one in the world would let us."
❌ is a supporter of "greater Israel" - believing that Israel should not only annex the West Bank, but go beyond into other nations like Jordan.
❌ believes Palestinians aren't real
❌ is a settler in the West Bank https://t.co/4O11WfL4j0

[Richard LeBaron @RBLeBaron]

Kuwait has been a generous host of US military bases since 1991, with clear aim of deterring Iraq. Only later did the bases become critical support for US campaigns in Afghanistan, and now apparently, Iran. Ironically, Kuwait has not historically considered Iran a threat.

[Richard LeBaron @RBLeBaron]

13 Signs That Israel Missed: How Disaster Unfolded the Night Before October 7 - Israel Security https://t.co/bUurQCSEyV.

[TheSteadyState @steadystate2025]

Within roughly six hours, Trump posted this entire wall of AI-flattered, authoritarian-coded, self-mythologizing propaganda on Truth Social. This really isn't normal communication. It’s more like a personality cult with a posting schedule.

[Richard LeBaron @RBLeBaron]

I recall that the UAE claimed it had stopped imminent West Bank annexation by signing. This was not true then, and the #UAE has had no perceptible influence on settlement expansion since signing. https://t.co/3DqVjAFbCj via @NYTimes

[Danny (Dennis) Citrinowicz ,داني سيترينوفيتش @citrinowicz]

Trump is trying, as hard as he can, to manufacture a “victory image.” If Iran will not give him one, then perhaps the Gulf states will, allowing him to justify what increasingly looks like a deeply troubled approach toward Tehran.

The problem is that this futile insistence is damaging U.S. relations with the Gulf states and, paradoxically, pushing them toward their own accommodation with Iran.

Needless to say, there is virtually no chance this idea will materialize. But Washington’s persistence is steadily eroding trust with Riyadh at a moment when the Saudi leadership is already deeply concerned about renewed regional escalation.

It is impractical, detached from reality, and so disconnected from the actual dynamics of the Middle East that it raises serious doubts about whether this administration truly understands the region at all.

#IranWar‌
#Iran

[Richard LeBaron @RBLeBaron]

@amazon @awscloud But they are also screwing around with delivery times, charging for deliveries that should be free. So much for better service to Prime members in rural communities.

[Richard LeBaron @RBLeBaron]

@RealEmirHan 24 hours in "Der Dag," an excellent heist series from Belgium. It's One Day in English and it twists and turns. I saw it on PBS recently.

[Richard LeBaron @RBLeBaron]

@ShalomLipner This has the feel of something Bibi sold POTUS, perhaps as a face saver for both. Or perhaps as Bibi's bid to derail negotiations. Whatever its source, and whatever the merits of establishing diplomatic relations with Israel, it's a dumb move at this juncture.

[Richard LeBaron @RBLeBaron]

@TheAtlantic @davidfrum I understand the journalists' impulse to declare winners and losers, but the winner/loser trope is not particularly useful. The families of the 3500 Iranians (1700 civilians among them) who were killed might believe otherwise, for example.

[Richard LeBaron @RBLeBaron]

@elonmusk So pass a reasonable immigration law. Your buddy killed the last one for his own political purposes.

[Richard LeBaron @RBLeBaron]

@citrinowicz @barbaraslavin1 Good thoughtful post. My only comment would be that this story is not over. Lots more to come. The good news: At least for now it appears that the near future does not include a major regional war.

[Richard LeBaron @RBLeBaron]

@TheAtlantic @Tyler_A_Harper Good to see @TheAtlantic reaching new heights of "neither complicated nor offensive" click bait. A "delicate equipoise of fizzy nothingness" indeed. Not why I subscribe. Do better.

[Lt. Col. (R) Peter Lerner @LTCPeterLerner]

I’m an Israeli. I served my country, defended it, represented it, and continue to fight for its future because I love it deeply.

And precisely because of that, I find the attacks on @jstreetdotorg so disturbing.

You don’t have to agree with every statement or policy position to recognize that J Street is part of the Jewish and Zionist conversation. Many of the people involved care deeply about Israel, its security, and its future as both a Jewish and democratic state.

What troubles me most is this growing idea that only one kind of Jew, one kind of Zionist, or one kind of supporter of Israel is legitimate. That anyone who asks difficult questions, speaks about democracy, human rights, or the moral direction of our country is somehow an enemy.

I reject that completely.

Israel was never meant to be a place of enforced political conformity. The strength of our society has always come from argument, diversity, and the courage to challenge ourselves, especially in difficult times.

@yechielleiter comments don’t protect Israel. They shrink it. They push away people who still choose, every single day, to stand with Israel even when it’s hard.

As a liberal Israeli, I will always defend our right to disagree with one another without erasing one another.