President Donald Trump on Thursday dismissed criticism that he has not been tough enough on Iran, saying that those who think so are 'fanatics, bad people, or stupid.' According to the post and commentary by analyst Ben Yaniv (on a curated Israeli channel), Trump noted the stock market hitting all-time highs and oil prices falling as indicators of success. Yaniv assesses that Trump's reactive defensiveness signals weakness and may accelerate a return to military action.
President Donald Trump on Thursday pushed back against criticism that his nuclear memorandum of understanding with Iran is too soft, according to a post from a curated Israeli news channel. The president said those who think he was not tough enough on Iran are 'fanatics, bad people, or stupid,' pointing to record stock market highs and falling oil prices as proof of his approach's success.
Israeli analyst Ben Yaniv, whose commentary accompanied the post, offered a different assessment. Yaniv argues that Trump's quick and defensive response indicates the president feels like a 'loser' politically and that continued criticism may drive him to resume bombing Iran sooner rather than later. Yaniv also claims Trump does not fully understand the document he signed and was told what he wanted to hear by his negotiators — Witkoff, Kushner, and Vance.
As The Zioneer previously reported, this is part of an ongoing thread: Trump has oscillated between threatening military action (June 10: 'furious, stalling, threatens attack') and defending a deal he says was necessary to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and avert economic disaster (June 17: 'anyone who wanted us to keep bombing is stupid'). Thursday's remarks continue that pattern, with the president seeking to frame critics as unreasonable while his own analyst class warns the deal may not survive.
2 developments
- StrongTrump: Iran's new leaders are smart, less extreme, and love their country
- DevelopingTrump says Iran fooled him, calls Tehran's deal confirmation 'weak and pathetic'
- ConfirmedTrump: Iran played 'very stupid' US presidents; deflects Turkey-Israel conflict question
- StrongTrump: Anyone who wanted us to keep bombing Iran is 'stupid'
Source and signal
- Internal intake