Trump begged foreign leaders 'like a dog' to help him out of Iran jam: DC insider

New reports have emerged that the White House "pushed" Pakistan to mediate the fragile ceasefire with Iran, with one conservative commentator likening President Donald Trump begging "like a dog."

On Tuesday, reports began to circulate about the pressure the Trump administration put on Pakistan to make a deal, which were eventually confirmed by the Financial Times. Reacting to the news on X, journalist Adam Cochran argued that this move showed how "desperate" Trump is for a way to escape the war with Iran, as well as why the deal is on shaky ground to begin with and will ultimately failed.

"The White House pushed Pakistan into brokering this 'ceasefire' as Trump was desperate for an out," Cochran wrote. "Iran had to be dragged to the table, which is why their demands have not changed and why this peace will breakdown as neither want to budge on terms. Trump is trying to negotiate as if he has leverage, and he doesn’t. But his inability to cede points, means we’re not any closer to a resolve."

As Cochran noted, the supposed ceasefire began to come undone almost immediately, with Israel conducting strikes against Lebanon, which they claimed was not covered by the deal, despite an announcement from Pakistani leaders explicitly stating that it was. In response, Iran reportedly closed the Strait of Hormuz again, seemingly bringing the entire situation back to where it started.

Tim Miller, an anti-Trump conservative political commentator and writer-at-large for The Bulwark, responded to Cochran's post by putting the move in blunter terms, invoking one of Trump's most repeated insults to make his point.

"I think we can just be blunt about this and acknowledge that Trump had to beg Pakistan *like a dog* to help him out of his jam," Miller wrote in his own post. "I take no pleasure in reporting this humiliating news about our president."

Trump's obsession with derisively comparing things to dogs dates back quite a while, with commentators remarking on the odd habit back in his first term as well. Following his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 race, Trump alleged that GOP-aligned poll watchers were treated "like dogs" as part of his attempts to spread fraud conspiracy theories about the election, with MS NOW analyst Steve Benen saying at the time that the comparison was one the president "loves, but has never understood."

"For a guy who doesn’t want a dog, he sure does seem focused on them," Benen wrote. "Now all he needs is for someone to explain to him that a lot of people actually like dogs."