There are a lot of things I don’t know.

I don’t know why Donald Trump is unbothered by the fact that Russia provides Iran with satellite intelligence that allows Iran to target U.S. assets in the Middle East, including the recent destruction of an E-3 Sentry AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) plane on the ground at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. The plane, which will cost some $700 million to replace, was not the only casualty of the attack: 15 U.S. servicemen were wounded and two refueling tankers also damaged.

I don’t know why Donald Trump lifted sanctions on the sale of Russian oil, sending billions of dollars in revenue to the Russian economy, enabling Putin to pour more money into his aggressive war against Ukraine.

I don’t know why Trump didn’t realize that launching an attack on Iran would almost certainly result in the Strait of Hormuz being closed. (Even I knew that.)

But perhaps the most consequential thing I don’t know is this: I don’t know what Donald Trump knows, and I sometimes doubt that even he has a clue on that score.

If only Trump would be as honest with himself as I am, and admit that there are a lot of things he doesn’t know.

John Farrell
Freeport