During a White House maternity event today focused on childbirth, fertility, population growth and policy support for families, mothers and children, President Trump took questions from the assembled press pool in the oval office. The question session begins at 34:04 of the video below, prompted:
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Delivering a message from his Truth Social account, earlier today President Trump rejected the latest proposal from Iran to settle the current embargo, sanctions and conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also appeared on U.S. media today with a lengthy broadcast interview on CBS 60-Minutes. The primary topic of the interview is the Iran conflict and Netanyahu’s perspective on what Americans should expect from this engagement.
Interestingly, one of the fatal flaws in the Tucker Carlson theory of Israel leading the conflict, is the position of the Arabs in the Middle East as it relates to the U.S. military confrontation with Iran. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Egypt all strongly support the U.S-led military effort to eliminate the threat Iran represents. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) does not want the U.S. to ease up on Iran.
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright appears on CBS Face the Nation to discuss the current status of the conflict with Iran. As supplemented by additional confirmation from President Trump, Secretary Wright notes the Iranian military apparatus has been defeated but the goal to end the Iranian nuclear ambition remains. VIDEO and TRANSCRIPT Below:
[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: We’re now joined by U.S. Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, good to have you here.
SEC. CHRIS WRIGHT: Great to be here. Happy Mother’s Day.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Oh, thank you for that. President Trump said that he expected a response from Iran. He said this yesterday. Has one been received and what is the U.S. going to do with it?
SEC. CHRIS WRIGHT: Not that I’m aware of, but I suspect we will get a response very soon. Things are tough for the leaders of Iran right now, and I think they’re- they get growing motivation to make it- make a deal, but we know where this is going to end. We don’t know the route to there, but at the end of the day, we’ll have free flow of traffic through the Straits of Hormuz, and we will have an end to the Iranian nuclear program. The end point we know. The route, we don’t.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio travelled to Rome, Italy, for discussions with the Pope and Prime Minister. Secretary Rubio holds a press conference following his diplomatic trip. The press questions cover the meeting with the Pope, foreign policy discussions and ongoing international relations between the United States, Italy and NATO allies.
Secretary Rubio notes President Trump is reevaluating current troop deployment throughout Europe and President Trump will make further decisions on troop levels based on a variety of factors. The previous “base denials” is one of the factors for decision-making. WATCH:
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The White House has published the official 2026 Counterterrorism Strategy with a foreword by President Trump. [SEE HERE]
Within the outline the White House breaks down the threats and strategies for each region. It is well worth reviewing the entire document which is written in plain language that avoids any misinterpretations.
Regionally, the White House outlines specific threats and policies. Given the current situation with drug and human trafficking cartels as well as regional conflict in the Middle East and vulnerabilities in Europe, each of these points of material interest should be highlighted (emphasis mine).
The issue behind the Saudi decision is not that complicated if you understand the longer-term background. However, the issue behind the Saudi decision also highlights a key ¹flaw in the Promethean analysis of the relationship (and the reason I caution everyone to sip slowly from this information source).
The cliff notes version is that Saudi Arabia and many of the Gulf States look at the negotiations between President Trump and Iranian interests with skepticism. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) wants a complete and final elimination of the threat Iran represents. They do not believe Iran can be negotiated out of that threat. The GCC view negotiations as an Iranian delay tactic.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salmon, the main voice in the GCC position, has clear eyes and a long historic view on the threat Iran represents. They accept the people in control of the Iran regime will do and say anything to pause or remove the military confrontation; but they will never stop building the arsenal for war. There is zero, absolutely zero trust in anything the Iranians say on this matter.
As a consequence, Saudi Arabia understands the intent of President Trump’s request to support ‘project freedom’, however Saudi Arabia is not going to accept continued missile attacks from Iran during this ‘humanitarian’ effort to reopen the Strait. [Remember, this is also a Muslim Brotherhood issue. The Brotherhood is the political network behind extremist Islam.]
President Trump is asking Saudi Arabia and the GCC states to view the continued Iranian attacks as small slights, small provocations, while he diplomatically tries to negotiate with the Iranian regime. MbS and the GCC are unwilling to take this position, to accept these continued attacks against their nations, simply to give President Trump the political benefit of his policy.
Again, the Saudi’s and GCC have been dealing with this extremist threat for decades. They are unwilling to compromise in order to give space for negotiations they view as futile. The U.S. can use all Saudi support venues to confront Iran militarily, but they are not going to support the political and diplomatic effort behind ‘project freedom’ while they are simultaneously expected to accept continued attacks from Iran.
I find it hilarious that Club for Growth ‘CONservative’ voices who pontificated through their x-ray specs for decades about the U.S. consignment as a “service driven economy” now mount their high horse in discussion of the opposite; about which they have zero knowledge.
President Donald Trump has seemingly unending patience for these air breathing pontificators who attempt to retain their status, while no one of any intellectual honesty pays attention to the Salem Media economic gibberish. That said, on the issue of Iran, Salem (GOPe) wants more intervention, and on the issue of Ukraine Salem wants the U.S. to assist Zelenskyy more. WATCH:
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Celebrating the Presidential Fitness Challenge, President Trump held a White House event today with kids and fitness at the forefront. During an Oval Office press availability to bring attention to the fitness event, President Trump delivered remarks and took questions from the assembled press pool.
The media questions come at 39:00 of the video below (prompted):
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appears on Fox News with Maria Bartiromo to discuss current geopolitical events and the ramifications for the U.S. economy. It is a rather lengthy interview and discussion that touches on numerous key points.
Bessent notes the upcoming meeting between President Trump and Chairman Xi of China is still on schedule and U.S. Operation Financial Fury against Iran is yielding good results. I had no idea the U.S. government has made $30 to $40 billion from the Intel backstop. WATCH:
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Six days ago, in Marsberg, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized the U.S. approach to Iran, saying Washington was being “humiliated by the Iranian leadership” and demanding the conflict end “as quickly as possible.”
Three days ago, President Trump responded with an announcement that U.S. troops in Germany would be drawn down, and there would be a 25% tariff on all imported European autos. {GO DEEP}
Suddenly, Friedrich Merz reverses his position:
Imagine that.
But seriously folks, when people argue that it’s not about the economics of the thing – remind them, it’s always about the economics of the thing.