President Trump yesterday spoke about Iran, Barack Obama, artificial intelligence and Herbert Hoover.
He also talked about immigration, drugs, Ebola, “lunatic” Graham Platner, Californias electricity problems, Ukraine and Joe Biden hiding from the press. Â
He also said the 2020 election was “rigged.”
He said Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is a good but “very scared woman.”
And he complained about “fake news,” said the media have “so little credibility,” singling out CNN and the New York Times, and calling ABC “horrible” and NBC and CBS “terrible.”
For more than an hour, from the, the president of the United States kept on talking, some of it rambling or stream-of-consciousness, and ending with a joke that had some truth to it.
When Foxs Peter Doocy asked why he wasnt attending Fridays deal signing in Switzerland, Trump said he might but that the plan was to send JD Vance.
“If it works out, Ill take the credit,” Trump said. “If it doesnt work out, Im blaming JD!”
This was striking because , who opposed the agreement behind the scenes and is a possible 2028 rival to the vice president, has remained strikingly silent about the deal for two days.
Before I get to the substance, I have to point out one thing.
For all the repetitions and boasting â did you know that our country was a laughingstock two years ago and is now widely respected? Trump showed an extraordinary command of the material. It was extemporaneous, with the president only occasionally glancing at notes.
I mention this because of the recent focus on Trump turning 80 and sometimes closing his eyes or briefly nodding off in meetings. I know this because in our last hour-long interview, he also handled whatever I threw at him. So lets cut the dementia chatter.
Trump was on the defensive about the memorandum of understanding. He said if Iran doesnt behave, “well hit them with Patriots.”
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In a presser devoted to a path to peace, he was again threatening to bomb his new partner. Trump said the final two days of combat were “brutal” because he had dropped $200 million worth of bombs on the terror state, and believes thats what persuaded the Iranians to sign the memo, prompting him to cancel the third day of bombing.
Pressed by reporters on whether the war had achieved his ambitious goals, Trump explained that he had accomplished regime change â which hes recently claimed wasnt his goal â by killing the first two levels of Tehrans leadership.
But the greatest friction was about money. The idea that Iran would receive has not previously been disputed by the White House. This has driven the most negative political attacks and media coverage, across the ideological spectrum, that Ive seen since the final days of Watergate.
“Were not putting up 10 cents,” Trump insisted.Â
But this was mere semantics. The U.S. has frozen $300 billion in Iranian assets, so Trump says its “their” money and should be returned.
He also said that hes not concerned with Iran having ballistic missiles, because other countries have them and therefore it would be unfair to deprive the Iranians. Keep in mind that other countries dont kill tens of thousands of their own people and fund terror groups that have murdered hundreds of thousands of others.
Republicans have led the charge against putting off talks about Irans longtime goal of building nuclear weapons. Trump said Iran has agreed to never develop such weapons, but, of course, the Iranians are known for lying, cheating and breaking agreements.
Critics also say that reopening the Strait of Hormuz just gets us back to where things were before the war.
Only “stupid people” would say he should have continued bombing, the president proclaimed. He said he had avoided an “economic catastrophe” and that “we stopped a holocaust.”Â
Iran had endured $2 trillion in damages, Trump said, and it would take 15 to 20 years to r
