Iran Feels They Have the Upper Hand (?)
Trump's Iran rhetoric fundamentally misunderstands Iran
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April Fools❓: I thought this was April Fools, but apparently not — hat tip to Status for reporting
🤦CNN’s Jake Tapper is hand-designing merch (pocket squares, tote bags and phone wallets) for the White House Correspondents’ dinner weekend.
This is the first time Trump is coming.
Since Tapper’s book club show worked out so well, maybe merch designing is his best chance at a second career.
Dude 44✈️: Who knows if the coming movie about the Good Friday and Easter Sunday shootdown rescue will use the plane’s call sign “Dude 44” as its title, but it should.
‼️This weekend was America at its best — hundreds suited up, flying low into enemy airspace to rescue a single downed flyer.
Worst take👎: Those on the Left and in Europe commented on the costs
💥Two MC-130Js and a few Little Bird helicopters were destroyed by American forces as they retreated.
🤦They simply don’t get it.
Best take👍: Former CENTCOM commander retired Gen. Frank McKenzie: “It takes a year to build an aircraft — and 200 YEARS to build a military tradition where you don’t leave anybody behind.”
Inside the mission📺: Watch tonight — Jay Humphrey flew the rescue helicopters used to go get the pilots, and Aaron Love rescued downed flyers during his time as an Air Force pararescueman.
Back to the Stone Ages 🔙
💣Once again today, President Trump threatened to bomb Iran back to the “Stone Ages” unless they made a deal with him
Remember‼️: If the regime survives, it wins.
Iran plans to put human shields around their power plants.
‼️It shows a fundamental misunderstanding of Iran.
🗣️As Bill O’Reilly told us last week, Trump is nearly desperate for a deal — that’s a bad position to be in with people who view suffering as a feature.
🔙Iranian leadership lives in the Stone Age — i.e., they are still fighting the same war to expand Islam and kill the infidels waged by Muhammad.
To be fair⚖️: They mix in some Marxist ideology.
Plus➕: They know America bombing power plants and bridges earns them sympathy
The New York Times started complaining that bombing power plants is a war crime.
Be smart🧠: Israel spent the past three years doing to Gaza what Trump could only dream of in Iran — yet Hamas won’t surrender.
Bad deal ‼️: In fact, Hamas agreed to lay down their arms — kind of like a deal with Iran, and Hamas keeps breaking their deal.
Game change‼️: If Trump wants to win, he must find a way to change the Iranian regime’s calculus.
🛢️Iran controls oil prices — it gives them enormous leverage.
Iran’s leaders don’t care about their people’s suffering.
Answer‼️: A popular uprising or at least the credible threat of one.
The only true threat to Iran’s leadership comes from within.
So far, we (the U.S. and Israelis) have utterly failed to produce one.
Terrifying😬: The regime in Tehran would be much more afraid of Trump promising to arm and finance a revolution in Iran than they are of bombing power plants.
Watch tonight📺: Bill O’Reilly on whether Trump needs to go back to the strategy at the start of the war.
Plus➕: Retired Brig. Gen. John Teichert explains Trump’s military options and how to start the revolution.
Brokeback Politics
‼️Democrats thinking about their 2028 run or even their future prospects would be wise to watch the 2005 film about forbidden love, “Brokeback Mountain”
“I wish I knew how to quit you,” said one of the main characters to his lover.
🤦Democrats can’t quit being woke.
They can’t get past the love of 2020, when identity politics was everything.
Insanity 🫨: Democrats keep underpaying to save America
Rhetoric🗣️: This is our last chance to stop Trump and MAGA from ending the republic
Policy📃: We won’t give up any of our sacred cows — boys must play in girls sports
🤦New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdami just announced a “racial equity plan”
Choices👀: What’s more important: Keeping the republic or making sure boys don’t play in girls sports?
🤦Reminds me of the Republican pro-life movement that demanded Republicans pass insane purity tests on abortion policy — it didn’t work.
Alarm bells🚨: CNN reports Democrats are running behind in key swing states!
CNN Harry Enten🎤: “Net favorability. Party ahead at this point. Midterm years with a GOP president. In 2018, dems were up by 12. In 2006 on net favorability, which party do you like more, dems were ahead by 18. Republicans are actually ahead on net favorability at this point by 5 points. So, Democrats are, just simply put, running behind their previous benchmark and they need to be running well ahead of them if they want to take back the United States Senate.”
Explanation✏️: “Rahm Emanuel is latest Dem to bash his party’s lunatic obsessions”
Rahm Emanuel: “We lost the plot. We as democrats nationally from Latinx to defunding the police to police organizations are all racist to bringing a set of cultural wars to our schools. We are on the losing side of those cultural wars, full stop.”
Running away🏃: Axios reports that 2028 campaigns of prominent Democrats are trying to abandon their 2020 positions, writing:
✏️“Leaders and would-be leaders in the party have shifted their views on border security, DEI, crime, climate change, COVID-era lockdowns and more — all with an eye on this year’s midterms and the 2028 presidential election.”
Bad news: The internet never forgets.
Worse headline🗞️: The New York Times headlines, “Enough With the Nepo Candidates, Democrats”
Watch tonight 📺: Democratic strategist Madeline Summerville and former political adviser Mark McKinnon