Trump’s ‘art of the deal’ is nowhere to be seen with Iran | Mohamad Bazzi
Center Left
The self-proclaimed master dealmaker can’t seem to stop sabotaging his own negotiationsFor weeks, Donald Trump has tried to find a way to end the war he started with Iran – a deal that would allow him to declare victory and move past the conflict before it causes severe damage to the global economy and sinks Republican chances in the US midterm elections. But the self-proclaimed master dealmaker can’t seem to stop sabotaging his own negotiations or to acknowledge that Iran is now in a better position to demand concessions than it was before the war.Over the Memorial Day holiday, Trump skipped his eldest son’s wedding in the Bahamas and canceled plans to spend the weekend at his New Jersey golf club. The last-minute changes heightened speculation that Trump was ready to unveil a deal to end the war. Trump then announced that he would hold a cabinet meeting on Wednesday at Camp David, the presidential compound in Maryland that has been the site of historic diplomatic summits and pronouncements. But that meeting was moved back to the White House, as it became clear that Trump had not been able to close a deal he could announce with great fanfare at Camp David. Continue reading...
A Republican strategist predicted that Trump wants to remain in his GOP kingmaker role even more than a third term."I'm not a person who believes he's going to run for a third term," Republican strategist Liam Donavan told journalist Ezra Klein in a video opinion piece. "But could he continue to exert enormous power over the Republican Party by continuing to intervene in primaries all over the country? I think he absolutely could, and you can be the kingmaker even when you're not the king." Trump endorsements have ousted established GOP senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and John Cornyn (R-TX) as well as state lawmakers in Indiana. For Trump, "he is less worried about a world where Democrats have power than he is about a world where Republicans feel empowered to abandon him," Donovan argued."I think just his impulses are to flex his muscles and have Republicans do what he wants," Donovan said.
President Trump floats hosting a massive MAGA rally for the nation's 250th anniversary after several artists pulled out of planned Freedom 250 concert events.
President Trump asked for several amendments to the deal his envoys reached with their Iranian counterparts during a Situation Room meeting on Friday, according to a senior administration official and a second source briefed on the issue. Why it matters: Trump wants the deal and expects to finalize it soon, but is keen to strengthen several points that are important to him — particularly around Iran's nuclear material, two U.S. officials said. Trump's request has launched another round of back-and-forth between the parties that could last several days.The intrigue: Trump announced on Friday that he'd be convening the Situation Room meeting on the deal, and seemed to suggest he was leaning toward accepting.A White House official told reporters after the meeting that Trump "will only make a deal that is good for America, satisfies his redlines and makes sure Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon."Iranian officials told state media they also had not approved the final text, though two U.S. officials claimed earlier in the week that Tehran was prepared to sign and it was all down to Trump.Behind the scenes: According to the two sources, Trump asked his team to make changes to the draft on clauses regarding Iran's nuclear program.In its current form, the memorandum of understanding includes a commitment from Iran not to pursue a nuclear weapon, but no specific concessions beyond that.It states that there will be a 60-day window to negotiate on nuclear commitments from Iran and sanctions relief from the U.S., with the first issues on the docket being how to dispose of Iran's enriched uranium stockpile and limit further enrichment.Zoom in: Trump wants to try to amend that part. "It's more specifics about how the U.S. gets the material and the timing," a senior administration official said, referring to the enriched uranium.The second source said Trump also wants to amend some of the wording around the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.The U.S. official said Trump was told it would take around three days before the Iranians get back with a response. "They're literally in caves and they're not using email," the senior administration official said. What they're saying: "There will be a deal. The imminence of it, we'll see. We're willing to wait so the president gets what he asks for. It could be a week. It could be less. It could be more. At the turn of the week, we hope to have something," the senior administration official said.Iranian state media has reported that a deal is close but not final, and claimed Iran would receive billions in frozen funds. The White House denies that.The White House didn't respond to a request for comment.
His changes to the proposed deal were potentially designed to speed up the process by putting pressure Iran to accept the current framework, one official said.
Donald Trump lit up Truth Social on Saturday afternoon with a stream of posts that left onlookers across the political spectrum questioning his state of mind, ranging from a drone port rendering on top of the White House to an AI image of himself appearing to blow his nose on an American flag.The spree drew immediate reaction from all corners of social media sites. "Trump's Truth Social posting over the last hour or so is completely bats--- insane," independent journalist Aaron Rupar wrote on X. "Get a load of this nonstop nuttery."In a later post, Rupar declared, "Trump’s behavior on social media today is so unhinged even by his standards that I can’t help but wonder what the doctors really told him the other day. This is a deeply unwell person."Among the posts, Trump shared attacks on judges, criticisms of musical performers who bailed on his event, and a rendering of what he called a "DronePort" on the roof of his proposed White House ballroom. Regarding the latter, Bill Kristol, the veteran Republican commentator, noted the structure would also include a bunker underneath. "It's not just a childish extravagance," Kristol wrote. "It will be a kind of military encampment. All the more reason, obviously, for Congress to stop it."Trump also posted a meme depicting Rep. Lauren Boebert and several other Republican lawmakers in a vehicle captioned "GET IN LOSER, WE'RE GOING LOSING" — this despite the fact that Boebert had recently pushed for the release of the Epstein files, a cause popular with the MAGA base.Separately, Trump posted an AI-generated watercolor image of himself clutching the American flag to his face in a pose that critics immediately compared to using it as a tissue.He also reshared an old post of himself declaring, "I just want to stop the world from killing itself," which prompted the PatriotTakes account to reply: "Says the guy who bombed a girls elementary school."Political analyst Molly Jong-Fast offered a dry summary: "He's probably fine, right?"Former Ambassador Dan Shapiro kept it simple: "It's a beautiful day in Washington. Wish he would go outside and touch grass."Spanish-language commentator Dr. Mario Muñoz offered a blunt diagnosis of the afternoon's activity. "The gentleman with dementia who lives in the White House is bored," he wrote on X, according to a translation.Melanie D'Arrigo, a progressive activist and former congressional candidate, similarly connected the dots between the posting spree and broader questions about Trump's fitness for office. "When a President is posting insane stuff like this, it really doesn't matter how many dementia tests he passes to tell that he's not mentally fit for office," she wrote.
Business leaders and industry groups are waiting for clarity and follow-up from the Trump administration on promises it made during the China summit earlier this month, according to new reporting. The White House assured that a "board of trade" would help relieve Chinese and American tariffs, but it's still "ironing" out the plan, "a signal the clarity industry is searching for is unlikely to come all at once," Politico reported. Ed Brzytwa, an executive for the Consumer Technology Association, said industry groups don't know what kind of products will see reduced tariffs. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer "hasn't been clear about it, neither have the Chinese," he told Politico. Trump has "three and a half months to get this thing up and running," Wendy Cutler, a former senior U.S. trade negotiator, told Politico. She was looking ahead to Chinese leader Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to Washington in September. "There will be pressure to show progress, given how few deliverables came out of this last summit meeting," Cutler said. An anonymous White House official told Politico, "further details to come" on the plans that came out of the summit. "The administration looks forward to engaging more with the business community on this historic policy that reflects our commitment to better manage trade between the U.S. and China," the official said, according to Politico.
Three-page memo released by White House provides overview of 79-year-old president’s medical checkup – key US politics stories from Saturday, 30 May at a glanceUS President Donald Trump’s doctor said he was in “excellent health” but has advised him to lose weight, according to a memo released by the White House after the 79-year-old underwent a routine medical check.“President Trump remains in excellent health, demonstrating strong cardiac, pulmonary, neurological and overall physical function,” said Trump’s doctor, US Navy captain Sean Barbabella. Continue reading...
Donald Trump's Saturday Truth Social spiral drew swift mockery from critics across the political spectrum, with a prominent journalist declaring the president was "really crashing out" and a former Republican congressman summing it up in three words.Trump said Saturday:"We should have a giant MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN RALLY, for 250, instead of having overpriced singers, who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain. Cancel it, just like I canceled my involvement with the failing and unsafe to be in Kennedy Center, because a Highly Conflicted, Crooked Federal Judge, said that I should not be allowed to spend my time and money in order to MAKE THE CENTER GREAT AGAIN, actually, far greater than it ever was before! It would have also been nice to see a Republican/Democrat union bring it back to life. The Kennedy Center is broken, unsafe, and $busted, and has been for many years! Judge Cooper also stated that the highly prestigious Board of the Center was not authorized to add on the name 'TRUMP' despite the fact that hundreds of millions of dollars of my time and money will be necessary for its successful reincarnation. So now, the Kennedy Center will collapse, both structurally and financially. Judge Cooper and his wife, Amy Jeffress (obfuscation anyone?), should be ashamed of themselves. Judge Cooper, like numerous other Crooked Judges on my cases, should be IMPEACHED."Aaron Rupar, who has built a large following tracking Trump's online behavior, quoted Trump's lengthy rant calling for a MAGA rally to replace the America 250 concert and his threats that the Kennedy Center would collapse without him. "Holy s---, Trump is really crashing out," Rupar wrote.Adam Kinzinger, the former Illinois Republican congressman who voted to impeach Trump and has since become one of his most outspoken GOP critics, had a shorter take. Quoting Rupar's post, Kinzinger wrote simply: "Such a baby."Author Jennifer Erin Valent chimed in, "His notorious self obsession has reached the stage of derangement, and still, no one seems inclined to do a thing about it. The dereliction of duty in our time is truly staggering."Academic Karen Piper said, "This is called a narcissistic injury."The posts came as part of a broader meltdown that included Trump unveiling a drone port rendering for the White House roof, posting an AI image of himself appearing to use the American flag as a tissue, calling Republican allies "losers," and demanding that Judge Christopher Cooper be impeached after the jurist ordered Trump's name removed from the Kennedy Center.
