When the Worst Man in the World Has the Most Power In the World

That sentence explains the chaos Trump has unleashed on the planet

Mar 24, 2026

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DONALD TRUMP IS in the business of unnecessary chaos and business is booming. What I’ve learned from three weeks teaching AI workshops across Asia is that Trump’s actions are reviled everywhere and that America’s standing in the world has fallen much further than I could have imagined. And being an American means trying to explain your country, your president and even yourself to strangers. [BTW, I will share in my newsletter what I learned about AI from my trip, including at the Indiaspora Global AI Summit in Bangalore that I’m emceeing.]

While I was here in Bangalore, I was interviewed by one of India’s top journalists, Barkha Dutt of Mojo Story. Unlike most colleagues of her stature content to pontificate in comfortable studios, she is on the ground in the Middle East. She was live in Dubai when she interviewed me and Rajiv Agarwal, a retired Indian colonel.

I told her the chaos we’re seeing is because the worst man in the world has the most power in the world. Trump, unchecked, will not stop harming millions and millions, causing billions more in damage and doing whatever Netanyahu, MBS and others want him to do.

Another excerpt:

Just this week we got another headline that should make your head spin: “Oil Prices Tumble and Stocks Rise as Trump Backs Off Threats to Iran Infrastructure”. So, Trump says he will not commit a war crime, and markets reacted positively. This is where we are.

There is no end is sight. Or, maybe there is. But there might not be. The US has “won” the war. Or it hasn’t. Iran is about to surrender. Or, Iran will keep fighting until it can’t anymore. It’s hard to say how this is all going because no one in the Trump administration can answer even the most general question about it. Then there’s Trump himself, who has proven able to give dozens of conflicting statements in quick succession.

I asked Gemini to summarize the interview with Dutt and to write some takeaways for the newsletter. That’s presented below, unedited. Everything between *** and *** (except for the partner messages) are written by Gemini.

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Barkha Dutt reports from critical locations in the UAE, including Dibba (near the Strait of Hormuz) and Ras Al Khaimah, highlighting the “eerie quiet” in fishing villages and the anxiety of the 3,200 vessels currently stranded in the Persian Gulf [03:29].

The primary points of tension include:

The Ultimatum: Donald Trump has set a 48-hour deadline (expiring Tuesday morning) for Iran to open the Strait or face “obliteration” [01:45].
Nuclear Escalation: Both Iran and Israel have targeted each other’s nuclear-ddrelated facilities, with Iran hitting near Israel’s Dimona reactor and Israel/US targeting Iran’s Natanz facility [01:36].
Global Impact: The Strait of Hormuz carries 20 million barrels of oil daily and 20% of the world’s LNG. Closure threatens to skyrocket global energy and fertilizer prices [19:46].
Strategic Miscalculation: Colonel Agarwal warns of a “gross underestimation” of Iran’s capabilities, while Sree Sreenivasan highlights the “chaos” injected into global markets and the specific threat to the 9 million Indians living in the Gulf [12:51].

PARTNER MESSAGE

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New York: Wednesday, March 25 at 7:30 PM at The Town Hall

Hidden Brain Tour

Takeaways for Sree’s Sunday Note | Written by Gemini in the style of sreenet.substack.com

Based on the themes discussed in the episode, here are takeaways tailored for the newsletter’s focus on “unserious people in serious jobs” and global impact:

1. The Tragedy of “Unserious People in Serious Jobs”

The conflict is framed not as a calculated military strategy but as a series of impulsive decisions. The 48-hour deadline, delivered via social media and followed by the President playing golf, exemplifies a “video-gameization” of war that ignores the brutal reality on the ground for soldiers and civilians [15:19].

2. An Attack on the Global Indian Diaspora

With over 9 million Indians living and working in the Gulf, this is not a “distant” war. As mentioned at the Indiaspora Global Summit, an attack on the UAE or Iran’s energy infrastructure is effectively an attack on the safety and livelihoods of the Indian diaspora, whose lives have been turned “completely upside down” [23:03].

3. The Myth of the “Clean Exit”

The concept of “finishing the job” or “regime change” is a dangerous illusion. History (Iraq, Afghanistan) shows that decapitation strikes rarely win wars. Assassinating leaders like Ali Larijani, who was reportedly open to negotiations, leaves the world with no one credible to talk to, ensuring the conflict remains a “war to the finish” with no clear exit ramp [11:31].

4. Economic Fallout for the “Global Uber Driver”

The impact of the Hormuz blockade is already hitting the most vulnerable. From rising petrol prices for Uber drivers in Colombo to the cost of fertilizer for farmers in India, the “reckless” nature of this war is a tax on the global population for a conflict they did not start [13:55].

5. What to Watch: The Tuesday Deadline

The world stands at a precipice as the 48-hour ultimatum expires. Whether Trump “chickens out” or doubles down on targeting Iranian power plants (a potential war crime) will determine if the conflict moves into a catastrophic nuclear phase [22:21].

Link to Video: Iran War LIVE I Barkha LIVE in UAE I Iran’s Big Threat To “Completely Close Hormuz If..” I Trump

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So, what do you make of the Gemini-written portions of the newsletter?

— Sree / Twitter | IG | LinkedIn | FB | YouTube | Spread | TikTok

FYI: 22.5% of 2026 is already over. What will you do with the remaining 77.5%? LMK and I’ll see you made it all the way down here.

PARTNER MESSAGE

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