Trump pushes shaky deal with Iran as Hormuz is shut again, but opponents give him no credit for progress

President Trump struck a ceasefire with Iran that didnt seem possible.

Doesnt matter.

Trump pressured Israel into halting its .

So what.

The stock market reached record highs as investors concluded the war is about to end.

Big deal.

No matter what the guy does, his opponents wont give him credit.

And when the murderous mullahs again shut down the –in retaliation, they say, for the U.S. of Iranian ports–you could practically hear the sighs of relief that the peace deal might be crumbling.   

Trump told ABCs Jonathan Karl yesterday that Iran has committed a “serious violation” of , but he was still confident about a deal: 

“It will happen. One way or another, The nice way or the hard way. Its going to happen. You can quote me.”

On X, Karl got hammered for–get this–calling the president for comment on a significant setback in the war.  

“Why compromise yourself as a journalist & post BS from a pathological liar?” one woman said.

“Jon, just stop,” said another female poster. “You know he doesnt have a clue so he just feeds you guys lies.”

After the Karl exchange, Trump tweeted: “NO MORE MR. NICE GUY1”

A banner headline on Drudge read “LEAK: TRUMP GRIPPED WITH FEAR.” This was tied to a Wall Street Journal piece about Trumps frustrations with the war, sometimes losing focus, and musing about awarding himself the Medal of Honor.

When Tehran fired on two Indian-flagged ships in the strait, it was a troubling sign. The speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mohammad Ghalibaf, says the two sides are far apart on a final agreement. Maybe thats a negotiating tactic.

The larger point is that most Democrats and wont acknowledge it when the president does something that turns out right. Because its Trump.   

Now some of this is rooted in Trumps decision, under pressure from Israel, to launch his war of choice, conduct airstrikes against Iran without so much as a nod to Congress or our supposed European allies.

Maybe that was a bad decision. It certainly wasnt a popular one.

Seven weeks later, a new Politico poll finds 38% of those surveyed support the strikes–and almost half say Trump spends too much time on global affairs rather than domestic issues.

The presidents inflammatory rhetoric hasnt helped, from “Close the F—in Strait” on Easter Sunday to vowing two days later that “a whole civilization will die tonight.”

So I understand those who have principled objections to the war, especially Trumps former acolytes in the conservative media.

But whether he was lucky or just stumbled into the right situation, he certainly deserves a belated bit of recognition.

Trump says his tough and sometimes erratic talk kept the Iranian leaders who survived the bombing off balance. And, of course, his latest delay in the bombing pause created the space for a expires Tuesday).

Come on: If President Biden had achieved a double ceasefire–with Iran and Lebanon–Democrats would be hailing him as a great commander-in-chief and powerful peacemaker. (And most Republicans would be critical.)

Trump, never one to deflect credit, posted Friday: “The Failing New York Times, FAKE NEWS CNN, and others, just dont know what to do. They are desperately looking for a reason to criticize President Donald J. Trump on , but just cant find it.”

Meanwhile, Trump hasnt lost his talent for stepping on his own story.

By posting that as Jesus, and a followup of Christ comforting him, the president angered many Catholic followers who viewed the images as blasphemous. Trump had to delete the first one within 12 hours, which he almost never does.

I know why he did it. Trump wanted to draw attention to his war of words with Pope Leo, and this guaranteed the topic would dominate the news for days. He even had , a converted Catholic, warn the American-born Pope to be careful about discussing theology.