Talk about getting Jim Cramered. The Atlantic’s pompous loudmouth of a staff writer David Frum committed an unforced error by publicly showcasing how he literally knows nothing about the Trump Doctrine on military strategy or foreign policy.
Frum attempted to make it seem like Iran had President Trump’s number in a June 21 screed published at 9:00 am ET, “The mullahs of Iran join the bet that Trump always chickens out.”
Frum was responding to Trump’s retrospectively deceptive tactic to make it appear he was waiting two weeks before making a decision on whether the U.S. would conduct targeted strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. “A dramatic victory seemed poised to tumble into [Israel’s] lap. Why not his? But as the hours passed, Trump reconsidered. Instead of acting, he postponed. He said that a decision would come within ‘two weeks,’” Frum chirped.
Frum, behaving like he got a zinger in at Trump, mocked how “Trump is vulnerable to the negotiate-to-delay strategy because he has not taken any of the necessary steps to lead the nation into the war he once seemed ready to join.” Just hours later, U.S. B-2 bombers would strike three of Iran’s nuclear sites with 30,000 pound bunker-buster bombs on Trump’s orders. On the “two-weeks” deception, a Trump adviser admitted to Axios that “[i]t was a headfake … [Trump] knew the media couldn't resist amplifying it. He knew the Iranians might think he was bluffing. Well, everyone was wrong." No kidding. But Frum's take was a faceplant.
"Two weeks" is what Trump says when he's backing away from a commitment he did not mean, whether sanctions on Russia - a healthcare plan - or an infrastructure bill.
— David Frum (@davidfrum) June 21, 2025
Now Frum is the butt of the joke on social media, similar to CNBC’s Cramer when another of his stock predictions goes kaput. Reading Frum’s diatribe like he was some kind of authority on Trump’s thought process in the first place is sure to evoke some giggles:
Time for diplomacy to work? Perhaps that might be the case in another administration. In this one, as attentive Trump watchers have learned, the ‘two weeks’ promise is a way of shirking a decision altogether, whether on Russia sanctions (deadline lapsed June 11, without action), trade deals (deadline lapsed June 12, without result), or a much-heralded infrastructure program (deadline lapsed May 20, 2017, without action then or ever).
Yeesh. This is like watching Sideshow Bob from The Simpsons stepping on rakes.
In fact, Trump’s decision would constitute “the largest B-2 operational strike in U.S. history and the second-largest B-2 mission ever flown, exceeded only by missions after 9/11,” according to NBC News.
But Frum was adamant that “Trump seems to recognize that he cannot unify the nation and therefore dares not lead it into any arduous or hazardous undertaking. That may be the secret self-awareness behind Trump’s ‘two weeks’ hesitation.” He continued: “But in the absence of any strategic planning or preparedness, that self-awareness is all we have to guide the country through the next fortnight and, very possibly, a long succession of ‘two weeks’ after that.”
Enjoy the smorgasbord of crow, you alleged "expert."
