From Bullying and Bombast to Utter Capitulation
Trump's Iran deal amounts to a surrender and further weakens his already declining position
Donald Trump surrendered to Iran in Versailles Wednesday, the place where a defeated and humiliated Germany surrendered in 1919 after World War I—a fact that the uneducated Trump likely does not know.
But anyone who saw the images of a bloated and stuporous Trump wandering around the meetings of the G7 conference this week—or who heard his blatant and patently ridiculous contradictions—would not be surprised to learn that he’s increasingly losing touch with reality.
He could (and did) say to the other G7 leaders, “I am the boss.” But that doesn’t mean that any of them hesitated to laugh at or mock him behind his back. They have witnessed his central role in accelerating America’s decline and have learned that they must plot their future without a once-reliable and credible ally.
The anger and disbelief directed toward Trump’s agreement is remarkable because these feelings are shared by people across the political spectrum, including the Trump-obedient who usually sing the malignant one’s praise no matter how deranged or depraved his actions are. “Ronald Reagan is rolling over in his grave,” Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) posted, describing the war and this outcome as the “worst foreign policy blunder in decades.”
It doesn’t take deep insight to grasp that the deal Trump signed is a surrender. This is the exclamation point punctuating the deadly foolishness of his unsupported, authorized war of choice. It also shows the hypocrisy of his years of attacks against President Barack Obama and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed in 2015 after detailed, high-level expert negotiations, which required no military strikes, spilled no Americans’ blood and wasted zero taxpayer dollars.
“What a rotten deal we made with Iran,” Trump tweeted when the JCPOA was first announced in 2013. “We get nothing (except laughter at our stupidity). They get everything, including delay and big cash!”
And what did Trump achieve? The 14-point memorandum of understanding with Iran fails to accomplish the unconditional surrender Trump originally demanded in the early weeks of the war. It does not reduce their nuclear material supply or end their possession of ballistic missiles, nor does it accomplish regime change or liberate Iranians from a rigid theocratic regime.
And not only does it waive sanctions on Iran’s oil exports and ensure that the Iranians may access some $300 billion to fund rebuilding efforts, this MOU leaves control of the Strait of Hormuz in their hands, including possibly charging carrier fees to pass through. So much for the previous freedom of navigation that the region’s gulf states assumed.
As for frozen assets, a focus of Trump’s hostility after Obama’s JCPOA returned some $1.3 billion of Iran’s money from a never-completed arms purchase, Trump was suddenly fine with doing the same. “We have taken a lot of their money,” he told reporters. “It’s not our money, it’s their money, and we froze it at a certain point in time. I guess we’re going to have to give it back, you know, if we didn’t give it back, nobody would ever invest in the dollar again.”
As for Trump’s demand to end its nuclear program, Trump was also suddenly soft-hearted. “It is a little hard, though, when you say that somebody wants it, other people have it, other, adjoining states have it,” he said. “And you're not letting them have it for purposes of electricity and things like that. It's always a little tough. You have to use a little common sense.”
And what about retaining ballistic missiles, rather than the total destruction of its military capabilities? “They have to have some, because other people have some. You got to have some,” Trump said, adding, “What am I going to do? Am I going to let Saudi Arabia have missiles, but they can’t have them?”
The whiplash of these statements is stunning in contrast with his earlier bullying and belligerence. But it makes clear—using Trump’s own phraseology—that he held no cards and that further delay would only worsen the condition of the U.S. and global economies as oil supplies continued to drop.
California Sen. Adam Schiff said it was “hard to imagine a more thorough capitulation,” adding, “Iran gets sanctions relief, the release of frozen funds, the ability to export oil and a $300 billion reconstruction fund. The U.S. gets a reiteration of the vague promise Iran won’t develop a nuke.”
The Times of Israel called the agreement a “catastrophic capitulation.” the Wall Street Journal echoed that sentiment by saying it will “formalise the extortion into a new, worse status quo" and empower Iran to "define the future administration of Hormuz.”
While sane people saw this deal for what it was—an abject failure that strengthens Iran and weakens the U.S. for years to come—Trump, of course, delivered his usual insults. “These fools, who think I haven’t been tough enough on Iran, when the Stock Market Just Hit A RECORD HIGH, and Oil prices are ‘tumbling’ down, are either jealous, bad people, or stupid,” he posted.
But his usual tactic of declaring victory after “fixing” a problem that he created won’t work this time, not when the wreckage he’s produced is obviously worse than if he had done nothing. And if things go bad in the weeks ahead? Trump pledged to use JD Vance as his fall guy, bluntly stating, “If it doesn’t work out, I’m blaming JD.”
The comment was characterized by many media observers as light-hearted and a joke. But there’s one thing we know for sure: Beneath his so-called joke lies a deeply insecure and thin-skinned man. And as his physical and mental abilities continue to decline, his usual bullying will fail to pummel every Republican into submission. His weakness will become more unavoidable as they face the coming bloodbath in the November midterms.
Maybe, just maybe, this humiliation will help convince Trump that his days are numbered. But we need not rely on his recognition of his mounting failures: It’s in our collective power to ensure that he and his GOP sycophants experience the kind of overwhelming defeat that they can’t spin away, laying the foundation for the accountability America so desperately needs.
One programming note: At noon ET today, Mary Trump and I will be in conversation on Substack Live. I hope you’ll join us.
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As always, well stated Steven. Like the Obama’s, I admire your eloquence.
Honestly, if this is what it takes to get Congress to remember that they actually have a job to do that is essential to the functioning of our democracy, then so be it. It’s a very heavy price for the country to pay but maybe, just maybe, the subjugation of Trump to Iran in what it looks like will be perpetuity will exact a real toll on America that awakens the fire of freedom we all long for. Maybe We, the People, don’t have to surrender. Maybe, finally, a metaphorical Liberty Bell will ring in echo of millions of our voices to rouse them from their Trump/MAGA stupor.
We can hope. As the Obama Center had its magnificent debut yesterday, we would do well to remember that, in spite of this disastrous moment, there is real hope. “Yes, we can.” Three little words that mean there is hope. Three little words that mean there is a future for each and all of us. Three little words that will carry the torch with its promises forward. Three little words that we know now by heart as a prayer of the heart. Three little words that ride on ideas that are bigger and more magnificent than almost any that have come before. YES. WE. CAN.