On 12 April, US President Donald Trump put out a poster on Truth Social, depicting a Jesus Christ-like image of himself comforting a sick man. There was an American flag in the background as well as a dove and US military servicemen.
Trump was compelled to pull down the post because the poster raised a furore.
Five days later, in a congressional hearing, Rep Mark Takano confronted US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy and raised questions about Trump’s mental condition. Kennedy clarified, in a later part of the hearing about the poster, thus: “He [Trump] was sending a message of brute force and violence to the mullahs to incentivise them to change... but also sending a message of love and compassion to the Iranian people. So, you can look at it and say, 'Oh, it's insane that he'd make this kind of threat.’ But he's a dealmaker."
Kennedy went on to add that Trump was “very, very sane”.
The problem is that these mixed messages may have been valid for Trump—the real estate magnate, but they certainly are not for the highest level diplomacy dealing with war and peace.