Well, Neville, I have a higher  opinion than you of this column.  (Except, naturally, his predictable attack on  Former President Obama.)   Goldberg loathes Trump and  expresses himself well.  I think the "manfully " term was meant as satire, in reference  to Trump's constant boasting and threatening.
He makes clear that the one place Trump is really popular, Saudi Arabia, is about the most backward and authoritarian on Earth, which fits Trump's anti-democracy anti-human rights character.
IMO Goldberg's biggest flaw was in failing to catch the irony in Trump's praise of the Saudis over Iran. While Saudi Arabia remains mired in a witch's  brew of pre-medieval  backwardness, the brave Iranian People have just strongly  reelected the moderate Rouhani, a victory for democracy which is the fruit of Obama's efforts.
THE question is, "will the US reciprocate this positive sign with peaceful efforts of our own to help the Persian People free themselves from their own theocratic oligarchy?