Donald Trump is waging a two-front war.

In Iran, the downing of an American F-15 fighter jet, with the spectacular rescue of the missing second crew member, announced by the president yesterday, was fantastic news thanks to special ops teams who risked their lives to find him. But the fact that the plane was shot down unfortunately undercuts Trump’s argument that the murderous mullahs have no ability to fight back. And it highlights what soldiers have always known: War is hell. 

The same goes for the Iranians downing an A-10 attack plane, and though the pilot was quickly rescued, it shows the unpredictable nature of war. 

At home, Trump has been firing top aides, and targeting others for dismissal. The ouster of Pam Bondi and Kristi Noem, and media reports about who’s next, has fueled anxiety throughout the Cabinet. The only person who’s probably safe at this point is Jared, given his son-in-law status.

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There is some connective tissue between these ongoing battles. They reflect a president who busts through the guardrails, scolds his allies, launches a surprise war with little explanation, and turns on those he deems insufficiently loyal.

To his supporters, Trump gets results because he’s not afraid to take risks that have paralyzed previous presidents grappling with the world’s leading terror state.

To his detractors, Trump is impulsive and reckless, boxing himself into impossible corners by failing to adequately plan for the inevitable consequences.

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By any fair yardstick, U.S. and Israeli warplanes have decimated Iran’s military machine with a remarkably low casualty rate.     

And Iran’s cheap-to-produce drones have caused some injuries to Americans at military bases in surrounding Arab countries, and also inflicted damage on Israel, wounding numerous residents.

Asked by NBC’s Garrett Haake in a phone call whether the downing of the F-15 – before the rescue – would affect his negotiations with Iran, Trump said, “No, not at all. No, it’s war. We’re in war, Garrett.”

One reason the president’s prime-time speech fell short is that the public expected him to declare victory and get out, not threaten to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages.” And will he actually wrap things up in “two to three weeks,” which is his standard refrain for some time in the future?

For the president to urge European nations to just “take” the Strait of Hormuz – after having declared that he wouldn’t end the war without a deal to break the Iranian blockade – shows the mixed messages that have marked this conflict.

And then, having washed his hands of anything having to do with Hormuz, Trump posted on Truth Social yesterday: “Open the F—– Strait, you crazy b——s.”

Uh, which is it? Depends on when you ask him. (CNN ran the quote as a banner, uncensored.)

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Trump is touting Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Ghalibaf, as someone he can do business with. But Ghalibaf has repeatedly mocked him, posting: “This brilliant no-strategy war they started has now been downgraded from ‘regime change’ to ‘Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?’”

Perhaps the president will lose confidence in him the way he did with Pam Bondi.

The now-former attorney general did a terrible job, from botching the Epstein files to refusing to engage with the pedophile’s victims to insulting Democrats at a hearing in which she proudly proclaimed that this was a distraction from the Dow topping 50,000.

Bondi unloaded on Jamie Raskin, who led Democrats during Trump’s second impeachment: “You don’t tell me anything, you washed-up loser lawyer. You’re not even a lawyer!?” (Raskin is a graduate of Harvard Law School and taught constitutional law at American University.)

But that only partially explains her removal. Bondi did everything she could to prosecute Trump’s political enemies. But charges against James Comey and Letitia James were tossed out by judges or blocked by grand juries that refused to indict.

It’s worth dwelling on how outrageous it is for the Justice Department to serve as an attack dog for those who the president has pronounced guilty. Not since John Mitchell went to prison in the Watergate coverup has the department’s mission been so twisted.

Bondi’s likely replacement, Todd Blanche, Acting Attorney General, a former Trump defense lawyer (and ex-prosecutor), backed Bondi every step of the way in turning DOJ into Trump’s Department of Retribution. The president clearly wants Blanche to be even more aggressive.

Trump all but confirmed this yesterday to ABC, saying: “Everybody wants it. But Todd’s doing very well. He’s been with me a long time.”

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Trump’s attorneys general have suffered the same fate. He booted Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from the Russiagate probe, and then campaigned against him. Bill Barr resigned under pressure from Trump after finding no widespread fraud in the 2020 election, with the president later hurling insults at him.

Noem also did an awful job, seemingly more interested in self-promotion than dealing with the excesses of ICE, especially the fatal shooting of two American citizens, who she branded domestic terrorists. It wasn’t until she falsely accused Trump of approving a costly ad campaign featuring her that he’d had enough.

As an added indignity, we learned that Noem had potentially exposed herself to blackmail when those gaudy photos of her cross-dressing husband surfaced.

Now there are newspaper reports that Trump may dump Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who’s been accused of an improper relationship with a security staffer, misusing public funds and workplace drinking. Several top aides have resigned, and her husband is barred from the building after an accusation of sexual assault.

Trump is also weighing a pink slip for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who often freelances on his own. Lutnick was untruthful about visiting Jeffrey Epstein on his Caribbean island, years after he claimed to have cut off contact.

Trump has been asking aides about sacking Tulsi Gabbard, the national intelligence director, but seems to have dropped that idea for now. He doesn’t want headlines about a full-scale housecleaning.

“She’s a little bit different in her thought process than me, but that doesn’t make somebody not available to serve,” he told reporters the other day. 

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A judge has also blocked a subpoena for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, the subject of a DOJ criminal probe related to cost overruns for the agency’s renovation of its 89-year-old headquarters.

Cabinet shakeups are occasionally used as quick fixes. In 1979, Jimmy Carter demanded that all members resign, and wound up dropping Health Secretary Joe Califano, Treasury Secretary Michael Blumenthal, Energy Secretary James Schlesinger, Transportation Secretary Brock Adams and Attorney General Griffin Bell. It didn’t help.

For Trump, it’s almost always a question of loyalty, and for those who fall into disfavor, no amount of butt-kissing is ever enough.

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So we have the president fiddling with his political lineup and potential replacements even as he is fighting a war against Iran. You might think that would be put on hold as American warplanes are shot out of the sky.

But Trump is the ultimate multi-tasker. He’s even found time lately to complain about his planned White House ballroom and filed an emergency appeal, citing national security concerns, of a court ruling that has blocked construction.

Whether the president is dealing with Pam Bondi or Mohammad Ghalibaf, he does what he wants, when he wants to do it. And leaves the consequences for another day.

The suspect who allegedly shot a New Hampshire police officer has been killed in a gunfight with authorities, officials said Sunday.

Matthew J. Masse, 38, allegedly opened fire on family members and the responding officer Saturday afternoon in Raymond, sparking a massive manhunt that included road closures and a shelter-in-place order.

“There was an exchange of gunfire between Mr. Masse with his rifle and the officers,” the state Attorney General’s Office said. “Following that exchange, Mr. Masse was found deceased by officers when they approached his location.”

An autopsy has been scheduled for early this week to confirm his cause and manner of death, the office added.

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The incident erupted shortly after 1:30 p.m., when Masse reportedly shot his relatives with a long gun and then fired at responding police. A Nottingham Police Department officer was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.

The suspect — described as a middle-aged white male who is 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighs 202 pounds — reportedly had active felony warrants for attempted arson at his family’s home on Thursday.

After the shooting, Masse fled into a wooded area, triggering a large-scale manhunt, officials said, and K-9 units were deployed and officers were “working feverishly with other agencies” in an all-hands-on-deck search.

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New Hampshire State Police found Masse around 10:06 p.m., hours after residents near Ham Road had been told to shelter in place, authorities said.

During the attempted arrest, an exchange of gunfire broke out. Authorities later found Masse dead at the scene, with his long gun recovered nearby.

No other officers or civilians were injured, and authorities said there is no further threat to the public. 

The names of the officers involved are being withheld pending formal interviews, per protocol.

Fox News’ Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.

Three people were killed, including a 10-month-old girl, after high winds toppled a tree in Germany during an Easter egg hunt on Sunday morning, according to authorities.

Around 50 people from a nearby residential facility for new mothers, pregnant women and children were attending the egg hunt in a wooded area near the town of Satrupholm at about 11 a.m. when a 100-foot tree fell on top of them, police said in a statement.

Four people became pinned under the tree, police said.

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First responders arrived at the scene and first began treating a 21-year-old woman and a 16-year-old girl, but both died at the scene.

The woman’s 10-month-old daughter also later died at the hospital.

An 18-year-old woman sustained serious injuries and was rushed to the hospital in a helicopter.

The residential facility is part of the state-funded child welfare system, supporting pregnant women and new mothers who need help, according to its website.

Grief counselors were sent to the scene after the fatal incident on Sunday.

Pictures from the scene showed several Easter eggs scattered on the ground as two of the victims were seen covered in white sheets.

The German weather service had put the area under a high winds warning.

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Officials from the Schleswig-Holstein region, where the facility is located, said they were “deeply shaken” by the Easter tragedy.

“Our thoughts are with the family members of the dead, with the injured, and with everyone who had to experience this terrible occurrence,” regional Governor Daniel Günther, Interior Minister Magdalena Finke, and Youth and Families Minister Aminata Touré said in a joint statement to the dpa news agency.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.