There are those who contend that today’s Morning Jolt is yet another example of my Trump Derangement Syndrome, as I point out that Trump threatened Hamas with “hell” on February 11 and March 5 and yet so far, Hamas’s condition is about the same as it was on February 10. Some might even compare this to drawing a “red line” and then not doing anything to enforce it, but surely Donald Trump would not repeat the mistakes of Barack Obama.

Oh, and all the while the Trump administration has been in direct talks with Hamas, for the first time in history. Back on December 4, 2024, Trump named Adam Boehler as his nominee for special presidential envoy for hostage affairs.

Here’s Boehler, talking about the negotiations with CNN’s Jake Tapper:

TAPPER: So you talked about the job Israel has done in trying to negotiate the release of the hostages, living and dead. Axios’ reporter Barak Ravid is reporting the top Israeli official Ron Dermer strongly discouraged you from talking directly with Hamas. He said it was a tense phone call. Tell us about that. Do you understand why Netanyahu, Dermer, others might be upset?

BOEHLER: I do understand. I spoke with Ron, and I’m sympathetic. He has someone that he doesn’t know well making direct contact with Hamas. Maybe I would see them and say, look, they don’t have horns growing out of their head. They’re actually guys like us. They’re pretty nice guys.

I am pretty sure that the membership and leaders of Hamas are not, in fact, “pretty nice guys,” and I think it is more than a little contradictory and confusing for the president of the United States to repeatedly threaten to inflict hell if hostages are not released while the U.S. envoy goes on national television and tells Americans that Hamas are “actually guys like us. They’re pretty nice guys.”