○Trump dreamed Erdogan○
Months ago, I sat at my desk in Islamabad, staring at a blinking cursor, and posed a question that refused to leave me: Trump – is this guy mad or what? That op-ed, published under a similar headline, was not born of mere frustration but of genuine intellectual curiosity. It explored the enigma of Donald J. Trump — a figure who defies conventional political gravity. Today, as fresh evidence emerges from the volatile theatre of global diplomacy, the question echoes louder. This is not repetition; it is evolution. Welcome to Trumpology: Volume 2 — a case study anchored in the curious Erdogan episode of May 2026.
In my earlier piece, “This Guy Is Mad! Or What?”, I examined Trump’s instinct-driven governance, his mastery of narrative disruption, and the fine line between calculated boldness and apparent recklessness. In the April 2026 thesis “A Thesis on TRUMPOLOGY: Power, Instinct, and the Global Political Arena,” published in an other daily newspaper, I defined Trumpology as the systematic study of a political method rooted in instinct, media dominance, emotional mobilization, and the deliberate shattering of diplomatic norms. Today, we add new layers: the “poetears” [ poetry+Tears] of performative drama — that blend of poetic self-mythology and tear-it-all-down chaos — and fresh exhibits of upload-and-delete tactics that reveal the architecture beneath the madness.
On May 23, 2026, President Trump took to Truth Social with characteristic flourish. He shared what appeared to be glowing praise from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: “President Trump is the leader the world has been awaiting for centuries. He doesn’t just talk about strength — he embodies it.” Trump’s simple reply: “Thank you President Erdogan!”
The post was pure political poetry — or “poetears,” as I term the emotional, larger-than-life self-portraiture Trump excels at. It painted him not as a politician but as a messianic figure awaited across epochs. For a few hours, it circulated among his base as validation: even “strongman” Erdoğan, a leader who understands power in raw terms, bows to the Trump doctrine.
Then came the deletion. Within hours, the post vanished. Turkish officials quickly clarified to their American counterparts that Erdoğan had uttered no such words. The quote was fabricated, exaggerated, or — at best — creatively attributed. Ankara pushed back, and Trump’s team walked it back in the most Trumpian way possible: silence followed by erasure.
This was not a mere social media blunder. It was theatre. In the context of ongoing regional diplomacy — Gaza ceasefires, Iran negotiations, and broader Middle East realignments — the incident reeks of strategic signaling mixed with personal branding. Trump was reportedly fresh off calls involving multiple regional leaders, including Erdoğan. The post may have been an attempt to project unbreakable alliances or to test reactions. When it backfired, deletion served as the reset button.
Critics will call this madness. Supporters will call it genius. In Trumpology, we call it instinctual power performance.
This Erdogan episode is not isolated. Trump’s 2026 social media archive reveals a recurring pattern of bold uploads followed by swift deletions when backlash peaks. Consider the April 2026 AI-generated image depicting Trump in Christ-like robes, healing the sick amid divine light. Posted during tensions with religious figures, it drew immediate fire from conservative Christians and even some allies for bordering on blasphemy. Deleted within hours.
Earlier, in February 2026, a video meme portraying Barack and Michelle Obama in ape-like imagery sparked bipartisan outrage over racism. The White House initially defended it as “internet humor.” It too disappeared.
These are not random errors. They represent a doctrine: flood the zone with provocative content, gauge the temperature of public and elite reaction, and prune what threatens the broader brand. In Trumpology, this is “digital instinct” — using platforms not for polished messaging but as laboratories for psychological and narrative warfare. Traditional politicians fear deletion as weakness. Trump treats it as iteration.
“Poetears” captures this perfectly. Trump’s posts often carry poetic exaggeration — “the leader the world has been awaiting for centuries” — laced with raw emotion and drama. When the tears (or backlash) come, the post is torn down, only for the myth to rebuild stronger. It is emotional mobilization through controlled chaos.
Let us return to the core of Trumpology. Unlike conventional leaders who rely on bureaucratic caution and scripted diplomacy, Trump operates on raw instinct. He senses power vacuums, public moods, and enemy weaknesses with uncanny precision. The Erdogan misattribution fits this: in a world hungry for strong leadership amid Iran talks and Gaza fragility, why not project an image of universal acclaim?
Critics from Islamabad to Washington see recklessness. Yet history offers parallels. Richard Nixon’s “Madman Theory” — projecting irrationality to force concessions — echoes here. Trump does not merely talk about strength; he performs it, even if the performance sometimes requires quick edits.
My original op-ed questioned whether this was madness. The thesis expanded it into a framework: Power (unapologetic projection), Instinct (gut-driven decisions), and Global Arena (disrupting multilateral norms). The 2026 incidents add “Digital Poetears” — the art of crafting viral self-mythology that blends grandeur with vulnerability. Trump does not hide flaws; he weaponizes them. Deletion is not retreat but recalibration.
This approach yields results, even if messy. Abraham Accords expansions, pressure on adversaries, and domestic base solidification all trace back to this style. For observers in Pakistan, where great-power competition affects everything from CPEC to regional security, understanding Trumpology is not academic — it is strategic necessity.
For Turkey, the incident was minor embarrassment. Erdoğan, no stranger to strongman optics, likely viewed it as American domestic theatre. Yet it highlights risks in alliances built on personal chemistry rather than institutions. Turkey-US relations have long navigated this terrain — from NATO strains to Syria policy.
For Pakistan, the signals matter deeply. Trump’s outreach to multiple Muslim-majority leaders (including Field Marshal Asim Munir in reported discussions) suggests a transactional reset: peace deals, economic booms, and anti-Iran alignment in exchange for loyalty. But the upload-delete pattern warns of volatility. Today’s praise can vanish tomorrow.
Broader implications ripple outward. In an era of declining trust in institutions, Trumpology thrives by exploiting that vacuum. It challenges the liberal international order’s emphasis on predictability. Is this destabilizing? Undoubtedly. Is it ineffective? Evidence suggests otherwise. Allies and adversaries alike remain off-balance, forcing reactions on Trump’s terms.
“Poetears” also explains global fascination. Leaders like Erdoğan, Modi, or even Xi project strength through control. Trump projects it through spectacle — dramatic rises, staged falls, and resilient comebacks. The world watches because it mirrors our own turbulent times.
So, after this latest chapter, is Trump mad or what?
The honest Trumpologist answer: both, and neither. Madness implies absence of method. Here, method exists — chaotic, instinctive, digital-first. It is governance as performance art, where deletions are as strategic as postings.
My original op-ed ended on a note of wary observation: the world keeps watching because the show refuses to end. Months later, that holds. The Erdogan incident, layered atop the Jesus-image deletion and Obama-meme controversy, enriches the thesis. Trumpology is not a passing phenomenon but a template for 21st-century power in the social media age.
As Pakistan navigates its own challenges — economic pressures, security dilemmas, and great-power balancing — we must study such figures without illusion. Trump does not offer stability; he offers disruption with potential upside. Whether that upside materializes depends on how regional players read the signals behind the poetears.
The cursor blinks again. The question evolves but never vanishes: This guy — mad, masterful, or something entirely new? History will judge. Until then, we document, analyze, and prepare.
In the grand theatre of Trumpology, the final act remains unwritten. And that, perhaps, is the point.
A Sufi Whisper from the Screen – Hejazi Reflections
Suddenly the screen of my laptop went blank. A chiming sound rose from the speakers, gradually higher moment by moment. “BaBa Tal” — the Bell-man — appeared on the screen in his soofic-Darvesh attire: navy blue robe sewn with brass bells of different sizes that chimed with every subtle move. He whispered affectionately, “Bacha! Pick up your ballpoint and ink down your lines for Poetears.”
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He crowns himself with borrowed thunder from the Bosporus,
“Leader of centuries — strength embodied, not spoken.”
One click births the myth, the next drowns it in digital tears.
Poetears of instinct — upload the dream, erase the fracture.
Madman or mastermind? The mirror cracks, yet the king stands.
In deletion’s quiet ache, Trumpology writes its truest verse.
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In that mystic instant, the deeper layer of Trumpology unveiled itself. As the Holy Quran warns about those who engage in deception and misleading appearances:
“They seek to deceive Allah and those who believe, but they deceive not except themselves, and they perceive [it] not” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:9).
The Holy Prophet Muhammad[ Peace and blessings be upon him] warned in a Hadith recorded in Sahih Bukhari and Muslim: “The best leader is the one who is just, but the most severe trial comes from those who manipulate truth for spectacle.”
Trump’s instinct — crowning himself with borrowed thunder from the Bosporus, then swiftly deleting when the heat rises — echoes this divine caution against performative fraud that ultimately circles back upon the performer.
A Persian couplet stirs within:
“Khalq ra az khud barai, khud ra az khalq barai,
Har do ra barai, magar haq ra barai.”
(Created for the people, created from the people — yet both exist only for the sake of Truth.)
From the West, Niccolò Machiavelli noted in The Prince: “Men judge generally more by the eye than by the hand… Everyone sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are.” Trump masters this gaze — digital poetears as modern princely craft. He does not conceal the chaos; he weaponizes it.
BaBa Tal — with his neatly shaved French beard, coloured deep black — paused, smiled gently, and the screen faded to black. Only the soft, fading chime of bells lingered in the Islamabad night. In that silence, the question returns, refined: Is this madness or a mirror to our age of spectacle? Trumpology dances at the edge of instinct and illusion. Pakistan must observe with open eyes and grounded wisdom — neither fearing the storm nor chasing its digital shadow.
The final act remains unwritten. History will judge not the deleted posts, but the hearts that read them.
Also Read: Be aware of “Trumpology” – A Dire Threat to Global Peace
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