Praise be to Allah.
For the second time in two weeks, President Trump used that phrase in a post about the Israel-U.S. war against Iran.
Crowing about the alleged destruction of Iranโs planes, ships and bases in a Truth Social post Saturday, he emphasized his greatest victory in the monthlong campaign: โMost importantly, their longtime โLeadersโ are no longer with us, praise be to Allah!โ
Making sense of anything Trump says in the heat of posting is a foolโs errand, but itโs also entirely necessary. Sane wash his words we must, because no matter how unhinged or infantile, the worldโs safety, fortunes and future are inextricably tied to Americaโs next move, and therefore to his next move.
So what is Trump trying to communicate, or provoke, by using the Arabic word for God, as Muslims do? Letโs translate.
The first and most likely explanation: โPraise be to Allahโ was meant to disparage his adversaries in the Islamic Republic of Iran. They are Muslim, they refer to God as โAllah,โ therefore, he will turn their phrasing against them. Word bombs to accompany the deadly ones falling in Iran and Lebanon.
All leaders deploy tough talk in times of war, but Trumpโs posts read more like the feverish ramblings of mad Col. Kurtz (Marlon Brando) in โApocalypse Nowโ โ โYouโre an errand boy sent by grocery clerks to collect a billโ โ than Winston Churchillโs galvanizing call to arms against the Nazis, โWe shall fight on the beachesโฆโ
Unlike the fictional Kurtz or the real Churchill, Trump has no military experience. He avoided the Vietnam War draft with four student deferments and one medical deferment for bone spurs. An area where he is experienced? Baiting foes. Antagonizing enemies, genuine or imagined, is a Trump specialty, be it from the Oval Office, on the campaign trail, or in the before times, as a reality TV personality.
Painting Muslims as the Other is nothing new for Trump, (unless they come bearing luxury airliners as gifts โ then theyโre friends). The same goes for others in his party. Since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) posted that Muslims donโt belong in American society. Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) wrote, โWe need more Islamophobia, not less. Fear of Islam is rational.โ And Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) reposted an image of the Twin Towers burning side by side with an image of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, with his own caption: โThe enemy is inside the gates.โ
The presidentโs first usage of โPraise be to Allahโ as a middle finger to Iran landed on a Christian holy day, Easter Sunday. He posted a demand that Iran open the Strait of Hormuz: โOpen the Fโ Strait, you crazy bโ, or youโll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.โ Hardly messaging that brings to mind Easter egg hunts on the White House lawn.
If the idea was to humiliate Iran into submission, itโs not working. Iran doesnโt appear to be backing down, even after Trumpโs week-ago threat that a โwhole civilization will die tonightโ if it failed to meet his deadline to reopen the strait. The critical global shipping route is still closed. Trump didnโt appear all that interested in the art of the deal, either, even as Vice President JD Vance tried and failed to negotiate with Iranian leaders in Pakistan on Saturday. The president told reporters that he didnโt โcareโ what happens with Iran negotiations because โregardless what happens, we win.โ He also said, โWhether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me.โ He was seen later in Miami at an Ultimate Fighting Championship cage match with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Making the Allah references all the stranger were Trumpโs other religious-themed posts this past weekend. One was a lengthy screed against Pope Leo XIV, whom Trump described as too liberal and โweak on crime.โ Itโs worth noting that more than half of American Catholics voted for Trump in the last election, and that his vice president is Catholic, as is the secretary of State and the first lady.
The other was a stand-alone, AI-generated image of himself as a Christ-like figure. It showed the 79-year-old clad in a white robe and papal-red cape, a divine light emanating from the palm of one hand while the other hand was placed on an ailing man. The post was deleted Monday morning after a sizable backlash.
โI did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor, and had to do with Red Cross, as a Red Cross worker there, which we support,โ Trump said, responding to a reporter Monday during a presser at the White House as DoorDash delivered an order from McDonaldโs to promote the presidentโs โno tax on tipsโ policy.
There was no mention of Allah during that particular event.
Alhamdulillah.