Hi everyone!
Are we or are we not diving headlong into World War 3 with some kind of regime change war in Iran? Everyone wants to know what Trump is thinking and no one, it seems, can really put their finger on it. Trump was in Canada for the G7 but cut his trip short and went back to DC after dinner with world leaders on Monday.
"I don't want to talk about that," Trump told reporters in Canada when asked what it would take for the US to get involved in the war. On Sunday, however, he told ABC "We're not involved in it. It's possible we could get involved. But we are not, at this moment, involved."
On the plane on the way home, Trump answered reporters' questions about why he was heading home and what he was looking for in the conflict between Israel and Iran. "What specifically is better than a ceasefire? What are you hoping for here?" the reporter asked.
"An end," Trump said, "a real end, not a ceasefire, an end."
"So something that would be permanent?" the reporter asked.
"Yeah," Trump said, "or giving up entirely, that's okay too." When asked if it was "possible" in the next few hours, Trump said "it's certainly possible. Complete give up, that's possible, yeah."
When asked if he is "hoping to negotiate with the Iranians," Trump said "I don't know, I've been negotiating—I told them to do the deal, they should have done the deal. Their cities have been blown to pieces. They've lost a lot of people. They should have done the deal, I told them 'do the deal.' So I'm not too much in a mood to negotiate now."
The question isn't whether or not the US backs Israel, the question is will that support translate into adding American might to the material fight. Tucker spoke out against that when he went on Bannon's War Room yesterday, and when Trump was asked about Tucker's view on Iran he went off. “I don’t know what Tucker Carlson is saying. Let him go get a television network and say it so that people listen,” Trump said when asked about it.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said "Somebody please explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that, ‘IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!'"
Tucker had told Bannon that he thought the US would get involved in the conflict, saying "yes I do" in response to Bannon's ask if he thought that was possible.
"The point is, if you think that saying, 'Hey, let's focus on my country, where I was born, where my family's been for hundreds of years, that was the promise of the last election, please do it,' if you think that's hate, you know, you've really lost perspective, I guess, is what I would say," Tucker said.
"It's like, all of that is now ignored because a leader of a country who does not have majority support in that country ... wants a course of action that includes the United States and I just disagree," Tucker said on Bibi Netanyahu. "Anyway, I think it's going to happen. Who cares what I think."
Trump cared just enough to blast him on social media and move on, but the rift is right there on the horizon. "When people warn that regime change war would break up the MAGA Coalition, consider that is exactly what the neocons want," Jack Posobiec said. Charlie Kirk chimed in with "Moments like this I have full and complete trust in President Trump."
We got into all this and more on Timcast IRL last night, which you can check out here. But here are a few highlights, like when I said Gen X is super competent but it's all trauma response behaviors from a dysfunctional childhood, or when I said yeah, we pretty much have to trust the process.
Here's what's on my desk today:
US officials say US not joining Israel’s war against Iran as Trump returns early from G7
“American Forces are maintaining their defensive posture & that has not changed. We will protect American troops & our interests.”
UK gay male couple charged in death, sexual abuse of 13-month-old boy they sought to adopt
The child, identified as Preston Davey, was brought into the hospital unresponsive and was pronounced dead shortly afterward.
Former Coast Guard lieutenant who self-identifies as Antifa arrested and charged with threats to kill President Trump
Stinson is a self-identified member of the Antifa movement and used his X and Bluesky accounts to issue the threats.
53% of Hispanic voters back Trump’s mass deportation policy: LAW poll
Among voters aged 18 to 24, support stood at 49 percent.