It was the sort of dramatic moment on which Donald Trump thrives.

The US president was presiding over a meeting about Antifa violence in Left-wing cities, cameras trained on his every move, when Marco Rubio, his secretary of state, passed him a note.

“I was just given a note by the secretary of state,” announced the president, hushing his audience, “saying that we’re very close to a deal in the Middle East, and they’re going to need me pretty quickly”.

An Associated Press photographer captured the text with a long lens.

“Very close,” read the scrawl, those first two words underlined.

“We need you to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first.”