TOI correspondent from Washington: Pakistan laid it on thick. Donald Trump lapped it up. The US-Pak lovefest took Sharm-el-Sheikh by storm on Sunday, eclipsing a middle-east peace celebration hosted by Egypt, after Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said he would renew his country’s nomination of Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize that the US President has been slavering after.“Suffice to say, had it not been for this gentleman… who knows, India and Pakistan are both nuclear powers… had he not intervened, along with his wonderful team during those 4 days, the war could have escalated to a level…who would have lived to tell what happened?” Sharif, invited to speak at the event ahead of several world leaders, said, lathering up the US President’s claim of having “solved” many wars, including the four day India-Pakistan clash in May this year.Visibly glowing with pride after the set-up before a line-up of regional leaders, Trump joked, “Wow I didn’t expect that. Let’s go home. There’s nothing more I have to say, Goodbye everybody. That was really beautiful. And beautifully delivered. Wow. Thank You very much.” He also asked Sharif to give his regards to “my favorite Field Marshal from Pakistan, who is not here,” without mentioning either of their names, which the US President does not appear to know considering he only addresses them by their designations. By some accounts, India was left out in the cold, with New Delhi deputing a junior minister for the event after PM Modi disdained an invitation, apparently apprehensive about being drawn on stage with the leader of a country New Delhi believes backs use of terrorism against India. But Trump evidently is not ready to jettison ties with New Delhi, given Washington’s own troubled relationship with China, which was also not present at the Sharm-el-Sheik event. “India is a great country with a very good friend of mine at the top… Pakistan and India are going to live very nicely together,” the US President said in a public effort to coax the two countries closer, an effort New Delhi feels is misdirected because it equates a perpetrator of terrorism with a victim. Trump then turned around to look at Sharif, now dubbed “Showbaz” by Pakistani critics on account of what they see as simpering sycophancy aimed at restoring Islamabad’s equities in Washington. Sharif mumbled something incomprehensible – which Pakistani fantasists read as “7-0” – as the event descended into what many observers viewed as a farce underscored by obsequious flattery and self-puffery. Among other contretemps, British Prime Minister Keith Starmer walked up to the lectern believing Trump had invited him to speak and was sent back, and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney was referred to as President of the country. A hot mic exchange later caught Trump telling him “At least I did not call you governor.” The White House later embraced the Pakistani endorsement for the Nobel that the US President is obsessed with, despite protesting that he is not. “Pakistan announces intention for second Nobel Peace Prize nomination for Trump over Gaza ceasefire role,” Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt posted on X. Trump himself continued his fixation on winning the award for 2026 by musing on Air Force One about having missed the 2025 Prize because it was already decided before he “solved” many wars and turning his attention to the Pakistan-Afghanistan war which was waiting for his intervention after he returned home. The US President’s bonfire of vanities continued on his return to Washington as he grumbled about a Time Magazine cover photo that he thought was unflattering despite “a relatively good story about me..” “But the picture may be the Worst of All Time. They ‘disappeared’ my hair, and then had something floating on top of my head that looked like a floating crown, but an extremely small one. Really weird! I never liked taking pictures from underneath angles, but this is a super bad picture, and deserves to be called out. What are they doing, and why?” the President of the United States posted on social media as he returned stateside.Back home, reviews of the performative President of a divided nation remained split. Trump’s MAGA minions celebrated his triumph – and his hair – amid smackdowns from critics, although some did acknowledge and praise his role in the Gaza ceasefire. “You are the biggest nothing in the world. …Stop fussing with your hair. Speak from your heart and start being human. That’s what you were made for, not golf,” the actor Martin Sheen, who has played President on screen, said at an event. On his way back, America’s quixotic President, also mused about his press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s lips, a subject that seems to fascinate him. “How’s Karoline doing? Is she doing good?” he asked the reporters. “Should Karoline be replaced?”When one reporter replied, “That’s up to you, sir,” Trump said, “It’ll never happen. That face… and those lips, they move like a machine gun, right?
