World leaders swiftly condemned Israel after it struck a Gaza hospital yesterday, killing 20. The incident inflamed growing calls for Israel to halt its war on Hamas. And back at home, Israelis are staging a national day of protest, blocking roads and demonstrating outside government officials’ homes. Are the condemnations fair? Stephen Flurry takes up this vital question in his powerful article from our latest print issue, featured in this Morning Brief, “What Is Israel’s Sin?”

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The inexhaustible president: With a maximum of 1,303 days left as president, Donald Trump is determined to use each of them as consequentially as possible. He is wielding his powers in ways no previous president has, advancing his agenda, domestically and globally, on multiple fronts at once.

• The man turns 80 next June, but thrives on 4 to 5 hours of sleep—even 3 during busy times. And busy times these are.
• Supporters are euphoric. Critics are outraged. Skeptics within his own party are lying low, knowing that dissent can get you steamrolled.

In leading an American resurgence, Trump is putting on a master class for all the world of what strongman leadership can accomplish. His actions also indicate how biblical prophecy about his king-like presidency could unfold and suggest how quickly and dramatically things will change when he exits the stage.

Eleven days ago, Trump hosted Vladimir Putin in Alaska, and eight days ago he hosted a historic gaggle of European leaders in the Oval Office, to try to end the Ukraine war. This week he has moved on. A rundown of Trump’s activities from just yesterday:

• Angle to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula: While hosting South Korea’s president at the White House, Trump touted his “great relationship” with North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong-un and said he wants to meet him again. “I know him better than you do. I know him better than anybody almost, other than his sister,” he told President Lee Jae Myung. “I’m not supposed to say I really like him a lot because if I do that, I get killed in the fake news media.” Lee said: “I hope you can bring peace to the Korean Peninsula, the only divided nation in the world, so that you can meet with Kim Jong-un, build a Trump World in North Korea so that I can play golf there, and so that you can truly play a role as a world-historical peacemaker.” Apparently, Trump’s frustrations with Putin haven’t dampened his enthusiasm for working with dangerous dictators.
• Fire Fed governor: Trump fired Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud. His critics called the unusual move an “illegal, authoritarian power grab.” If it withstands legal challenges, it would leave two empty seats among the Fed’s seven governors and enable Trump to really stamp his image on the Fed. That may not be good: He seems to want low interest rates so the government can borrow more money, which would exacerbate America’s debt crisis.
• Eliminate cashless bail: Trump signed executive orders aimed at eliminating cashless bail in Washington, D.C., and nationwide, threatening to withhold federal funding from jurisdictions that maintain the policy. He argued that the practice allows dangerous criminals to be released. Demanding bail seems to favor the rich over the poor (against biblical injunctions), but cashless bail definitely has been abused by softheaded judges. Of course, the order was immediately challenged in the courts.
• Punish flag burners: In another executive order, Trump directed the Justice Department to prosecute people who burn or desecrate the American flag, labeling it “uniquely offensive” and a potential incitement to violence. The order imposes a year in jail and, for noncitizens, possible visa revocation or deportation. It directly challenges a 1989 Supreme Court ruling (Texas v. Johnson) that protects flag burning as free speech.

It was a busy day after a busy week. In just the past seven days, Trump has reduced crime in the nation’s capital by deploying the National Guard; proposed adding federal muscle to law enforcement in Chicago, Baltimore and other cities; promised to plant new grass in all of D.C.’s parks; secured a 10 percent government stake in Intel; suggested renaming the Department of Defense to Department of War; and the list goes on. Nobody can keep up with this man.

Bible prophecy describes an end-time counterpart to King Jeroboam II of ancient Israel, a man who expands the nation’s power, presides over a short period of prosperity, even excess, and makes sweeping executive edicts executed by his deputies. Donald Trump is that man. Watching how his actions are paving the way for major prophecies to be fulfilled is truly something to behold.

Meanwhile in Europe—a comedy of errors: The contrast with America could not be more stark. Today’s news is driven by the Continent’s glaring lack of leadership.

• The Dutch government collapsed over the weekend—despite the fact that it already collapsed in June. The caretaker government couldn’t even hold itself together long enough to last until the election, scheduled for October 29. When the cabinet failed to agree to sanction Israel, Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp and his New Social Contract party walked out. The remaining ministers each wear two or three hats, and they control only 32 of the 150 parliamentary seats. Worse, there’s no sign the Dutch will be able to form a functioning government after the election. Disagreement over Israel adds another point of division in a country that finds it almost impossible to form a coalition.
• France’s government seems set to fall on September 8. Prime Minister Francois Bayrou is trying to drive through unpopular €44 billion spending cuts. He plans to hold a do-or-die vote: Parliament either approves the cuts or votes his government out of office. A comfortable majority seems set to boot him. France borrows more money annually than any other eurozone country: Compared to the size of its economy, its debt (which grows by $5,700 every second) is almost double Germany’s. Efforts to bring it under control keep unseating prime ministers: The unstable-as-water country has cycled through seven governments in the past decade alone.
• Germany’s economy is still struggling. Bankruptcies in July were up 20 percent over the same month last year, the highest July in a decade, new federal data shows. Industrial production fell by 1.9 percent in June, hitting its lowest level since COVID. Unemployment is up 170,000 in the past year, and it likely crossed 3 million this month, the highest in a decade. Chancellor Friedrich Merz wants to revive German industry, but his Social Democrat coalition partners want to spend any spare cash on welfare. So far Merz has dodged the problem by focusing on foreign policy. But at a party conference on Friday he warned that “the welfare state that we have today can no longer be financed with what we produce in the economy.” If he tries to cut it, his coalition could suffer the same fate as the Dutch and French.

Yesterday, President Trump initiated more reforms in one day than France and Germany have managed in the last year. Europeans dislike most of what Trump is doing, but they are getting a master class in the power of a strongman.

After President Trump was elected, Mr. Flurry wrote:

There is a big leadership vacuum. Germans know something dramatic must be done, and quickly! You see this in recent election results with the rise of fringe parties like the Alternative für Deutschland. Voters are showing themselves willing to embrace out-of-the-ordinary politics. They are clamoring for a strong leader! …

This is where Bible prophecy is so invaluable. Prophecy tells us that Germany is about to shock the world with its power.

Faced with such constant failure, many commentators write off Germany and Europe as sclerotic has-beens. Yet the Bible tells us the deepening leadership crisis will prompt the arrival of a vigorous, energetic strongman. With Germans’ full support, he will work even faster than Donald Trump, transforming Europe into an aggressive superpower. Learn more in Mr. Flurry’s article “After Trump’s Victory, Watch Germany.”

IN OTHER NEWS

Germany—no to Palestine: Germany will not recognize a “State of Palestine,” Chancellor Merz said today. France, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia have all said they intend to recognize Palestine as a sovereign country next month. “The position of the federal government is clear, as far as the possible recognition of the state of Palestine is concerned,” Merz said during a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. “Canada knows this. We will not join this initiative. We don’t see the requirements met.” It looks like Germany is one of the few major Western economies that is truly Israel’s friend. But as Josué Michels wrote in “Are Germany and Israel Truly Friends?,” this is a mirage.

Syrian migrant attacks U.S. male model in Germany: Over the weekend in Dresden, Germany, two men, reportedly Syrian nationals, harassed women on a tram. When 21-year-old model John Rudat intervened, he was attacked and suffered a deep facial cut. Police apprehended a 21-year-old Syrian near the scene but released him, as investigators believe the second suspect wielded the knife. Rudat later described one attacker as “an immigrant, an illegal one, a drug dealer and very popularly known here, especially by the police,” questioning why migrants can “swing knives, and hurt, abuse, terrorize and oppress citizens of Germany” while Germans remain bound by law. Such incidents have fueled the rise of Europe’s far-right and popular calls for stricter security policies and stronger leadership. The Continent is changing.

Russia keeps pushing forward: Russia is pushing westward in its conquest of Ukraine, nearing a major supply line close to the village of Sobolivka. This is another sign the war in Ukraine is transforming from a stalemate to a slow but steady Russian victory. Ezekiel Malone has more in our In Brief.