Trump's Trials - Breaking down Trump's approach to Israel/Iran and the chance of US action

Episode Date: June 18, 2025

President Trump once distanced himself from Israel's military action in Iran. Now he's taking some ownership, and he's pushing back against political allies who oppose U.S. involvement. NPR's Franco Ordoñez reports. Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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Now, he's taken some ownership. The president is talking in terms of we, when he discusses Israel's war against Iran. He's even saying the United States could take out his words, the Supreme Leader of Iran, calling Ayatollah le Khamenei an easy target who is only safe for now. The president has faced some pushback from his own political allies

who oppose American involvement. MPR White House correspondent Franco Ordonez has been covering this. So Franco, President Trump spent the afternoon yesterday with his national security team in the Situation Room. What are the chances of deeper united states involvement here? Yeah, a that's the big question and that was being debated in the situation room You know the future of us action in this conflict. I mean trump has repeatedly said all options are on the table

He's drawn a red line if soldiers are targeted But he's also signaling the u.s Is already more involved than the White House previously led on. Just as Steve was pointing out, he's boasting that quote, we now have total complete control the skies over Iran. He's saying we know where the Supreme Leader is. I mean, he's repeatedly using that word, we, blurring the line between Israel's objective

and US objectives. You know, and taking that kind of ownership has really raised more concerns of the US getting more involved into another foreign conflict. Yeah, so that's interesting because some of the people who are most concerned about foreign involvement are allies of President Trump. So tell us more about this friction. Yeah, for someone who has such dedicated supporters,

it's really notable that some of Trump's longtime backers are questioning his judgment here. Trump of course has long been known for his America First message and some key conservative allies such as former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Trump's former White House aide Steve Bannon see Trump straying from America First

and are pressing him to stay out of this fight. Here's Carlson explaining his position on Bannon's podcast War Room. My interest is really simple. I don't want the United States enmeshed in another Middle Eastern war that doesn't serve our interests. Now Trump campaigned on ending long wars, peace through strength, he would say. I also spoke with Brett Bruin, who served as the White House Director of Global Engagement in the Obama administration. He said Trump's supporters thought they were getting a president who was going to disentangle the U.S. from overseas commitments.

What they're seeing, however, is a president who is getting pulled back in to a foreign crisis that another country started and that the U.S. interests remain somewhat questionable. Okay, so how is President Trump responding to these criticisms? Well, he's pushing back, especially against Carlson. Trump posted on social media, quote, "'Somebody please explain to Kuki Tucker Carlson that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.'" No, you know, you mentioned in Richmond,

I remember like a few weeks ago, Trump had actually been talking about a deal right before the most recent strikes. So does this latest stance mean that that diplomacy is now completely over? Yeah, I mean right now Trump doesn't appear to be interested in diplomacy. He told reporters he's not in the mood to negotiate. What we don't know is whether at the same time this tough talk is part of his strategy to further pressure Iran. Because he's also said he may send Vance and special envoy Steve Witkoff to negotiate

Though perhaps not right now. All right, that's the White House correspondent Franco Ordonez. Thanks a lot. Thanks, A And before we wrap up a thank you to our NPR plus supporters who hear each show without Sponsored messages and of course who help protect independent journalism. If you are not a supporter yet, you can visit plus.npr.org to find out how you can get a ton of podcast perks across dozens of NPR shows, like bonus episodes, exclusive merchandise, and more. Again, that's plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detro.

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