By Bob Gaydos

Trump and Mohammad bin Salman in happier days before Abraham came up.

I can just see Marco Rubio running into the Oval Office waving a bunch of papers in his hand and screaming, “Steven, we forgot about Abraham!”

Miller looks up from the Resolute Desk he likes to sit at when Trump is not in the building and says in bewilderment, “Marco, there’s no way we have anyone named Abe in this office. Get real!”

“No, no, the Abraham Accords! The Abraham Accords! We forgot to put them in the deal we signed yesterday with Saudi Arabia for nuclear reactors! Trump is on social media saying the deal ‘is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords.’ ”

Or, as The New York Times bluntly put it in the headline on their lead story July 24: “Trump Demands Saudis Establish Ties With Israel.”

The art of the deal strikes again.

I’ve got to admit, I was more than mildly surprised when Trump announced the nuclear agreement with the Saudis since he was still stuck in a war with Iran. A war he started in concert with Israel, allegedly over Iranian nuclear power. Iran, of course, is the Saudis’ chief Islamic rival in the Middle East. The timing seemed a bit off.

Be that as it may, we are told that Energy Secretary Chris Wright, an energy nerd and entrepreneur, did indeed sign a deal with Saudi Arabia’s energy minister. Whether or not it includes Saudi Arabia eventually enriching its own nuclear material for non-civil purpose is also apparently up for debate. That’s because no one outside the White House has apparently seen this agreement, which, fortunately, must go to Congress for review. Even rubber stamp Republicans will want to see the details.

So, to review, Trump works out a nuclear energy deal with the Saudis, a favorite business partner of son-in-law Jared Kushner, and apparently doesn’t realize that Israel, his ally in the “nuclear energy” war with Iran, might object to the Saudis having access to nuclear material given the history of the region and the fact that Saudi Arabia doesn’t even recognize Israel. The Saudis say it’s because Israel won’t accept the concept of a Palestinian state.

Details, details.

Trump was obviously alerted to these oversights by news reports after the deal was signed and quickly jumped in to say there will be no enrichment of nuclear material allowed (although some officials say the deal allows for debate about it) and that the Saudis have to recognize Israel. Sign the Abraham Accords. Period.

Slight problem. Or two. Saudis in general are not happy with Israel’s waging of the war in Gaza or its refusal to recognize a Palestinian state. That puts Muhammad bin Salman, the crown prince, in a difficult position. Do the deal, sign Abraham, ignore your subjects and risk losing their support, or no deal.

This diplomacy thing can be pretty complicated when you ignore history and stuff like that and you also ignore people who know about that stuff and you’re only interested in distracting headlines and making a quick buck. One might have thought that Trump would have learned at least that much by now. More’s the pity.

Stay tuned.

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Note: The following Arab nations have signed the Abraham Accords, negotiated in 2020 in the first Trump administration, which recognizes normalization of relations with Israel: United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, Morocco.