US media: Trump publicly appears arrogant, but internally he is filled with fear

Deep Tide TechFlow News, April 19 — The Wall Street Journal reports that U.S. President Trump seems to have lost his “risk-taking spirit,” while his fear is growing day by day. Earlier, in the nearly empty West Wing of the White House, shortly after learning that a U.S. fighter jet had been shot down in Iran and that two pilots were missing, Trump roared at his aides for several hours. He repeatedly said, “The Europeans didn’t help at all.” According to people who spoke with him, the images of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis have been lingering in his mind. After the U.S. pilots were rescued, this swaggering president then took a high-stakes gamble, trying to weaken Iran’s strongest bargaining chip—control of the Strait of Hormuz.

At the time, Trump posted, “Open the strait, you lunatics.” The president, who has long been keen on creating dramatic scenes, applied his unorthodox, extremist style of action to a war in an even more extreme way. He sometimes adopted a belligerent posture and sometimes a reconciliation strategy, but at the same time, behind the scenes, he agonized over how much worse things could become. He was afraid to order the troops into dangerous areas, resulting in some people being injured and others unable to go home—similar to the situation faced by other presidents who have experienced war. ( Jin ten )