When it comes to the biggest foreign policy obstacles of his presidency — a trade deal with China, a nuclear agreement with North Korea and the ongoing standoff with Iran — the often restless Trump has invoked the same retort again and again, trying to project patience when pressed about the progress of his high-profile negotiations.
On Friday, Trump reiterated his “no rush” approach with Iran, revealing publicly for the first time that he called off strikes on three sites in the country at the last minute because he was told 150 people would die. The operation, he said, wasn’t “proportionate to shooting down an unmanned drone,” as Iran did this week.
“I am in no hurry, our Military is rebuilt, new, and ready to go, by far the best in the world. Sanctions are biting & more added last night,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
The “no rush” refrain is more than a rhetorical tic, according to people close to the president. It’s both a negotiating strategy and an effort to paper over the slow progress of negotiations, current and former administration officials said.
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