President Donald Trump made his first big blunder on foreign policy Saturday, blurting to reporters that he wanted to “clean out” Gaza by transferring some its population to Jordan and Egypt.

Trump’s proposal might have represented a personal impulse more than a planned policy. But the offhand public statement astonished moderate Arab leaders who had been looking forward to working with him. Relocation of Palestinians could destabilize moderate Arab governments across the region. Trump enjoys being a disrupter, but this was closer to tossing a grenade.

One Arab official speculated Sunday that Trump’s plan might have reflected a real estate entrepreneur’s idea for business development, rather than a foreign policy initiative. “It’s literally a demolition site right now,” Trump said of Gaza. “I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing in a different location, where they can maybe live in peace for a change.”

Trump made his comments on Air Force One shortly after raising the idea at the end of a private conversation Saturday morning with King Abdullah II of Jordan. Like most foreign leaders, the Jordanian monarch wants to cooperate with Trump, but he can’t risk destabilizing his country with a new influx of refugees.

Reaction from the Middle East was quick - and sharply negative. Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, said that Jordan’s opposition to displacement of Palestinians was “firm and will not change.” The Egyptian Embassy on Sunday reposted a 2023 comment by its ambassador, Motaz Zahran, saying that “Egypt cannot be part of any solution involving the transfer of Palestinians into Sinai.”

Even Trump’s Arab supporters were dismayed. “We categorically reject the president’s suggestion that the Palestinians in Gaza be moved - apparently forcefully - to either Egypt or Jordan,” said Bishara Bahbah, chairman of Arab Americans for Trump. “We don’t need wildish claims or statements relating to the fate of the Palestinians.”

Trump’s offhand comment about relocating Palestinians amplifies a trend that has been evident since his election: his penchant for starting unnecessary fights over pet projects. He has picked a quarrel with NATO ally Denmark over Greenland, threatened to repossess the Panama Canal and trolled Canada repeatedly about its trade imbalance. He seems to forget that foreign policy isn’t a one-way street. Even superpowers need friends.

Disrupting the Middle East is especially unwise now, when the region is trying to recover from a shattering war. The Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal that Trump brags about helping facilitate is increasingly fragile, as Israelis reckon with the reality that they have failed to create an alternative governing structure in Gaza to replace Hamas.

The Lebanon ceasefire, another key to future stability in the region, is at risk because Israel hasn’t yet vacated the south and the Lebanese army hasn’t yet taken over fully from Hezbollah. If this deal falls apart, Lebanon will pay the price - but so will Israel in continued turmoil north of its border.

By lighting new fires in the region, Trump reduces his ability to dampen the flames already there. And as a president who prizes the appearance of independence, he risks appearing a captive of the most right-wing factions in Israel, who have been the among the few advocates of forcibly relocating Palestinians from Gaza.

Trump’s relocation comments illustrate a theme emerging after a manic first week of orders, purges and bans. With his omnidirectional barrage, Trump is starting more battles than he will be able to finish. The first directive in war is usually to concentrate fire rather than scattering it - and achieve your objectives one by one.

Trump has some good ideas for foreign policy, most especially in ending the Ukraine war in a way that doesn’t reward Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion. But he risks his good ideas by advancing a volley of bad ones, with an unfocused approach that increasingly looks like everything, everywhere, all at once.