Donald Trump’s latest foray into Middle East diplomacy isn’t just failing—it’s actively damaging Lebanon’s shaky government. In a series of tweets and public statements over the past two weeks, Trump has repeatedly mocked Lebanese leaders, calling them weak and incompetent. The message is clear: he doesn’t see them as partners, just obstacles. That’s not how you fix a country on the brink of collapse. Lebanon has been without a stable government for over a year, its economy in freefall, and its people trapped in poverty. None of that seems to matter to Trump, who’s more interested in scoring political points back home than solving real problems abroad.

The latest blow came this week when Trump singled out Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati in a speech, saying, ‘They can’t even run their own country.’ Mikati, a billionaire businessman who’s held the job before, has been trying to stabilize Lebanon’s currency and deal with a banking crisis that’s wiped out people’s savings. Trump’s words don’t just sting—they undermine the little credibility the government still has. Lebanon’s president, Michel Aoun, hasn’t fared much better in Trump’s eyes, with the former president calling him a ‘puppet’ of Iran. It’s hard to see how this helps anyone but Iran’s regional allies.

Behind the insults, Trump’s approach is simple: pressure Lebanon into accepting deals that favor the U.S. and Israel, like a maritime border agreement that would let Israel drill for gas in disputed waters. The problem? Lebanon’s government isn’t in any position to negotiate from a place of strength. Its army is weak, its economy is in ruins, and its people are furious. By publicly humiliating its leaders, Trump isn’t pushing Lebanon toward compromise—he’s pushing it toward chaos. The U.S. has already spent years trying to isolate Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group that’s a major player in Lebanon’s politics. But Trump’s strategy isn’t weakening Hezbollah—it’s making its allies, like Aoun, look like victims of American bullying. That’s not winning friends in Beirut.

What makes this worse is that Lebanon doesn’t have the luxury of waiting. The country’s currency, the lira, has lost 90% of its value since 2019. Banks have restricted withdrawals, and salaries for teachers and doctors go unpaid for months. Protests have turned violent as people blame their leaders—and now, they’re blaming the U.S. too. Trump’s team seems to think that by making Lebanon’s government look weak, it’ll cave to U.S. demands. But in reality, it’s pushing Lebanon’s politicians into the arms of groups like Hezbollah, which can still provide services and protection when the state can’t. That’s not mediation—that’s making things worse.

Even Trump’s allies in the region are starting to worry. Saudi Arabia, which has its own issues with Iran, has quietly warned the U.S. that humiliating Lebanon’s government could backfire. Egypt and Jordan, both struggling with their own economic crises, have also expressed concern. The White House insists it’s trying to help Lebanon, but its tactics look more like bullying. The U.S. has sent billions in aid over the years, but most of it has been blocked by corruption or siphoned off by elites. Now, Trump’s approach risks turning Lebanon into a battleground for regional powers, with no one left to protect its people.

So what happens next? Lebanon’s government is likely to dig in, not just against Hezbollah but against the U.S. too. Protests will keep growing, and the economic crisis will deepen. Trump might get his maritime deal, but at what cost? Lebanon’s collapse won’t just hurt the people there—it’ll create a vacuum that Iran and Russia will gladly fill. And once that happens, the U.S. will have even less influence in a country it claims to care about.

The real tragedy here is that Lebanon doesn’t need a mediator who humiliates its leaders. It needs partners who can help it rebuild its economy, strengthen its institutions, and give its people a reason to believe in the future. Right now, Trump’s approach is doing the opposite.

What You Need to Know

  • Source: Foreign Policy
  • Published: May 15, 2026 at 12:29 UTC
  • Category: Politics
  • Topics: #foreign-policy · #geopolitics · #diplomacy · #trump · #lebanon-negotiations-are · #breaking

Read the Full Story

This is a curated summary. For the complete article, original data, quotes and full analysis:

Read the full story on Foreign Policy →

All reporting rights belong to the respective author(s) at Foreign Policy. GlobalBR News summarizes publicly available content to help readers discover the most relevant global news.

Curated by GlobalBR News · May 15, 2026

🇧🇷 Resumo em Português

Líbano mergulha em crise política enquanto Trump se impõe como peça-chave na mediação, humilhando o governo local em meio ao caos crescente. A visita do ex-presidente norte-americano, marcada por promessas de apoio financeiro e cobranças duras ao Hezbollah, expôs ainda mais as fragilidades de Beirute, já sufocada por uma economia em colapso e uma classe política dividida. O episódio reacendeu o debate sobre a influência externa no país, tradicionalmente um tabuleiro de disputas entre potências regionais e globais, e agora sob os holofotes em ano de eleições nos Estados Unidos.

A situação no Líbano não é apenas um espetáculo diplomático distante: ela tem reflexos diretos no Brasil. O país sul-americano abriga a maior diáspora libanesa do mundo, com cerca de 7 milhões de descendentes, muitos deles conectados economicamente e politicamente ao território original. A instabilidade no Líbano afeta remessas de dinheiro, acordos comerciais e até mesmo a segurança de comunidades brasileiras, além de servir de alerta para os riscos de uma governança frágil e de interferências estrangeiras em nações soberanas. Para o leitor brasileiro, a crise libanesa é um lembrete das consequências de um Estado falido — e do perigo de se tornar refém de interesses externos quando a classe política local se mostra incapaz de agir.

Com a população libanesa já nas ruas protestando contra a fome e a corrupção, e os EUA usando a crise como trunfo eleitoral, o próximo passo pode ser uma intervenção mais direta — ou o aprofundamento do colapso.

🇪🇸 Resumen en Español

El presidente estadounidense, Donald Trump, irrumpió en la crisis política libanesa con unas declaraciones que dejaron al gobierno local en una posición de extrema vulnerabilidad. Sus mediaciones, lejos de estabilizar el país, han avivado las tensiones internas y acelerado el deterioro institucional.

El conflicto se remonta a meses atrás, cuando Líbano quedó sumido en una profunda crisis económica y social que ha agravado la división entre las facciones políticas. La intervención de Trump, lejos de aportar soluciones, ha sido interpretada como una injerencia que debilita aún más la autoridad del ejecutivo libanés, ya de por sí frágil. Para los hispanohablantes, este escenario refleja cómo las potencias extranjeras pueden agravar tensiones regionales, algo que recuerda a dinámicas similares vividas en otros contextos geopolíticos cercanos. La humillación pública al gobierno libanés no solo profundiza la desconfianza hacia sus líderes, sino que también plantea preguntas sobre el papel de EE.UU. en Oriente Medio y sus consecuencias para la estabilidad global.