Bloomberg Twitter screen grab
This is vintage Donald Trump….
He goes after Barack Obama…
Reviews Iran’s past actions of terrorism…
He goes after Iran with threats of even MORE pressure against them…
A little thing to watch?
Trump mentioned NATO….
Does THAT mean Trump STILL wants to withdraw American forces from Iraq, which is what Iran actually WANTS?
And he DID offer a small olive branch at the end of his presser…
He walked out with his nation security people at his back?
He DID make sure American’s understood the media noise about a war was NOT an issue…
Above ALL….
This was Trump centric….
And as he does?
Was ALL over the place…
More on this coming….
I’m looking for a full transcript of the remarks. From what I have seen reported and the quotes provided by all the major news networks, it seems like he said the right things and passed the “test.” He certainly could have been far more smug if he wanted to. Who knows what he might Tweet in an hour or two though?
As much as we dislike him being President, let’s hope he can get this right at least.
ok, the full transcript shows that the “Trump centric” is valid. He said things he did not have to say at that specific time. Still, it could have been far worse rhetorically, and the overall message was correct.
I don’t agree with “doubling down.” He could have taunted them but openly de-escalated and appealed to them for peace. I hope he doesn’t actually think that something else might not still happen.
He repeated the lie that Iran was “given 150 billion in cash”.
“High-end estimate.”
https://www.politifact.com/facebook-fact-checks/statements/2020/jan/07/facebook-posts/facebook-claim-wrongly-states-obama-gave-iran-150-/
Maybe he could have been extra cautious and said 1 billion or 2 billion. It was still a huge mistake.
It’s bullshit and you know it.
Repeating Trump’s lie about Obama. Like a good little Republican
https://www.factcheck.org/2019/03/obama-didnt-give-iran-150-billion-in-cash/
They should of course strive to present the correct dollar amount.
Irregardless, the Obama policy was wrong and is deserving of criticism,
Trump said MORE sanctions….
THAT IS doubling down….
…
On the money?
I posted this back during the Obama process…
Iran PAID the US for delivery of aircraft that where impounded and never delivered…
They WERE OWED the money….
Trump UNDERSTANDS THAT…
But as soon as U mention Obama oked the repayment?
He forgets…
I thought sanctions were better than war.
‘Soft Power’ inn this day and age IS WAR….
Iran’s economy is so bad there where bloody protests last summer…
Those protest worry those in charge…
Trump has used the same ‘soft power’ in the form of import taxes around the world…
It IS something he can get his small brain to grasp and YES…
It hurts other countries….
And it doesn’t have images of American soldiers hurt in battle…
You seem to be saying you would prefer a land war in Iran to economic sanctions. That’s a pretty undesirable thing to favor in my view.
If economic pressure causes the people of Iran to overthrow the tyrannical terrorist theocracy, that would be a good thing.
I believe NO such thing…
There will be NO land war with Iran….
Economic hurt works good enough…
Then you shouldn’t be upset about sanctions being put on Iran.
They should not have been given that money. It was going to go for terrorist pursuits.
Whatever one thinks of Trump, in a wide array of areas, you are going to find that fewer and fewer people are going to be willing to defend the Obama/Biden approach to Iran.
Obama did the RIGHT THING….
In exchange for the nuke deal he gave Iran back the money they where owned…
Of course ‘the debt king’ Trump would have tried to keep the money
Very few people believe the “Iran Deal” was a good thing. Clearly, after the past couple of weeks, the folly of it is very apparent.
It’s going to be an issue for Biden moving forward in this campaign too.
Actually I disagree with u on the Iran Deal…
Trump doesn’t give a shit….
It’s the Obama part that I think burns his ass more…
Trump announces new sanctions on Iran after attacks on U.S. military in Iraq
After Iran’s overnight missile attacks directed at U.S. forces in Iraq, President Trump said he would impose additional economic sanctions on Tehran but made no commitment to further military action, which he threatened only days ago….
More…
Trump HAS doubled down on the thing that is WORST for Iran (and Iraq)…
The Iranian economy….
Which incidentally is EXACTLY what Obama did…
Trump IS doing exactly what he has failed to do with China, North Korea and even in American domestic politics…
He goes HARD looking to get his adversary weak…
Then try to cut a ‘deal’….
It IS my view that Donald Trump has FAILED to get a opinion g to make a ‘deal’ with Iran…..
The goal for Iran has ALWAYS been to grab MORE territory for their muslim sect…
Bush I and II started things helping Iran by invading Iraq in the first place…
Iraq was a natural power counter to Iran until America changed things…
There is NO prospect of a out and out war….
And this just plays to Irans asymmetrical efforts in the region…
Again?
Donald Trump gets no help from lined up ‘yes’ staff people and he fucks up…
The rest of this of course is just revisionist nonsense.
Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. We spelled out our mission and kept it limited. Everyone knows why we felt we had to go in later on. The world is a better place without Saddam Hussein and Solemaini.
And now we have a weak Iraq that Iran wants and that we had American die trying keep from the Iranians, eh?
Iran is the country that looks weak now.
Weak yes…
Dangerous?
Even more so….
Remember they have proxy fighters outside their borders…
They seem considerably less dangerous is this is truly the extent of their “response.”
on Iraq and Kuwait the feeling is that the US didn’t Saddam would actually invade …
I expressed my feeling that Trump has no idea what he is doing in foreign affairs including Iran and Iraq…
He is leaving little wiggle room for Iran’s leaders which is nonproductive
BTW?
There ARE back channel contacts thru the Swiss it is reported…
“wiggle room?”
Don’t attack America is all the “wiggle room” they need. There is plenty to despise about Trump. His taking the general out though, for now, looks like it was a success. One can be glad about that and still despise Trump as part of the “regular programming.”
Diplomacy means sometimes helping the other guy get to where u want him…
The Iranians telegraphed their attack…
Giving Trump wiggle room…
Not continuing to bomb them is giving them “wiggle room.”
Dead people can’t wiggle.
Yes….
A wek Iraq is N OT in America’s intrest…
Trump doesn’t care…
But the US Military does…
Trump wants out of Iraq and that makes him different than all the Democrats that want his job how…?
No, doubling down would mean that we are going to bomb them in retaliation, etc.
The sanctions are working to put pressure on Iran. Iran needs to have the pressure tightened.
We heard non-stop about Iraq, “Well, why didn’t we let the sanctions work longer? Why didn’t we increase the sanctions instead of going to war….”
Well, here we are… for now.
Iraq is just the prize….