Trump claims one thing while Iran claims the opposite. Since neither can be trusted what are we to make of Trump saying negotiations with a ‘trustworthy’ Iranian representative are almost to a point of ending the war while Iran denies ANY negotiations have taken place? I want to know what the hell, if anything is going on. Alas, the fact is we know very little. The one thing I take away from it is that Trump has belatedly realized he’s used the orange grease-paint he cakes on his face to paint himself into a corner. He created a mess in the middle east and needs an Off-Ramp. Now.
Here’s what we sort of know for sure. You can read plenty of details in this article from The Associated Press but let’s start with a big development which would be welcome IF Trump sticks to it. Trump announced (on Truth Social) he was extending his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by five days and would order any airstrikes on Iran’s power plants. (I can’t help but wonder if he wants to slip through the ships carrying at least one Marine Expeditionary Force but that’s a whole different topic) Of course, if Israel keeps up its own attacks Trumpty will wring his tiny hands in frustration – that may or may not be real. Well, at least we’ve got Trump publicly saying he wants to dial down the temperature:
Trump later told reporters that Iran wants “to make a deal,” and claimed U.S. envoys have been holding talks with a “respected” Iranian leader. He said his Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner conducted talks Sunday into the evening, and that the negotiations would continue.
Trump did not name any official or officials representing Tehran. He said the U.S. has not talked to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. Trump said if a deal is reached with Iran, the U.S. will move to take Iran’s enriched uranium critical to its disputed nuclear program.
Shortly after Trump’s social media announcement — hours before the deadline was set to expire — Iranian state television declared that the American leader had backed down “following Iran’s firm warning.”
As I said earlier the linked AP article includes plenty of relevant information everyone should be aware of. It also notes as I mentioned earlier that Israel is continuing strikes targeted not just at neighboring Lebanon (causing my inner jarhead to groan) but also Tehran. That alone, the fact that Trump can’t or won’t bring his pal Bibi Netanyahu to heel worries the hell out of me. I don’t see Iran stopping retaliation against Israel and allies in the region if Bibi won’t give his benefactors, the United States some breathing room.
It’s also worth questioning Trump’s motives because lo and behold the stock market jumped in joy today. I hope investigators have been keeping watch on Trump family members and friends in case they didn’t do a good job covering their use of insider knowledge to score some extra money from the rebound in financial markets. You know some of them put in trade orders over the weekend anticipating today’s market improving.
Still, part of me thinks Trump knows deep inside he created a giant cesspool and waded into it thinking the turds wouldn’t dare touch him, only to find himself covered in his own sh*t. MAGA, already bickering to the point of major cracks showing in the movement over Epstein is really, really unhappy about this war. Yes, they would have preferred that instead of wasting gobs of money using missiles on suspected drug running boats or snatching Maduro Trump had spent time at least trying to fulfill his promise to make their lives more affordable. Still, they could rationalize it with a ‘he’s kicking ass and taking names’ type of thinking.
This war with Iran is a whole different animal however. Talk of boots on the ground, a wider war that could be more costly in money and blood than Iraq isn’t going over well with an awful lot of MAGAs. Trump and his enablers are floating the idea of the very type of open-ended ‘forever war’ he so specifically campaigned against. MAGAs, like the rest of us are already pissed off about the cost of living and a full-on war with Iran, even if Trump can browbeat some allies into helping us fight will make them worse and by more than a little.
Trump I believe knows he needs an Off Ramp. Perhaps he’s even growing desperate to find one. Those days of the ‘ramp of death’ at West Point, having a General guide him safely down to level ground seem like the good old days. Trump’s problem of course is that he knows he’ll be mocked for ‘backing down’ if he pulls back from his Iran war and that’s a sh*t sandwich he wants no part of having to eat. At the same time he’s facing losing not only the House but even the Senate in the midterms. Even if impeached too many GOP Senators wouldn’t have the guts to convict him but if his failing body holds up until the end of his term Democratic control of Capitol Hill would be his worst nightmare turned real yet.
So yes, I believe Trump is ordering his minions to find him an Off Ramp that lets him save enough face to somehow at least keep control of the Senate. If he can’t and MAGAs actually fracture over this GOP Senators will do all they can to create distance. Even in the House Moses Mikey would lose control over his own slim majority. So that folks is the question of the day – can someone find or build Trump an Off Ramp this week? Stay tuned.
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IMHO, he is creating a fable to allow him to end this and claim victory. I don’t think there are any negotiations happening. One of the things he told the press that are in agreement is that Iran will “never ever have nuclear weapons”. As if this is new information, when Iran has been stating that all along. The flim-flam man is creating his way out of this mess, except like you say, Israel is showing no signs of slowing down.
Not to mention, in what universe does Drumpf think that a “deal” with Iran will allow the US to go in and “take” Iran’s “enriched uranium?” A “deal” typically requires BOTH parties to gain something from it and I can’t see Iran letting anyone just “take” the country’s enriched uranium without getting something absolutely as valuable to the country.
i don’t see bibi backing down. trump just needed one of many didtractions from epstein, bibi needs to remain wartime leader for as long as he can. if epstein had evidence of serious sex crimes by trump bibi may have that in hid possesion so we’ll see if he uses that to keep donnie in. or he may just see this as his best chance of beating iran. problem is that the uprising he wss expecting was never going to happen. that’s not how the iranians work.