Trump, who campaigned on staying out of “endless wars” and wants to bring our troops home from the Mideast, also placed a key restraint on Iran policy by saying publicly he is not seeking regime change.
Plainly, Trump is not a warmonger. He’s a deal maker and his record is that of someone who uses our military might as a deterrent, unleashes it with discretion and only as a last resort.
He’s long wanted to talk to Iran’s leaders, much as he is trying to defuse the North Korean nuclear issue by talking directly to Kim Jong-un.
He has described his goal numerous times: a better deal than Obama’s, one that ends the terror networks and permanently bars Iran from getting nukes.
In a brief phone interview I had with him Tuesday, just hours before Iran launched its noisy, half-hearted missile attack, the president already was hoping for de-escalation. When I asked what he wished the Iranian response would be, he didn’t miss a beat, saying, “They should come back and negotiate.”
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