“I don’t care about the midterms” is an odd position for any American president to take, especially one whose party increasingly looks like it will be the victim of an electoral bloodbath in November.
But Donald Trump’s need for an offramp from the conflict that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ignited on 28 February is now so urgent that on Wednesday, the US leader was even willing to send that agonising message to Republicans on Capitol Hill who are seeking re-election.
Trump’s comment came during his latest made-for-TV Cabinet meeting at which he declared himself “not satisfied” with the latest Iranian proposals. Observing that the Iranians think America’s electoral calendar may be on their side, the President sought to warn the regime that their calculations are incorrect and that he is willing to “finish them off”.
Shorts
“Their whole economic system is broken down … they’re negotiating on fumes,” Trump assured the sycophantic members of his inner circle crowded around the Cabinet table. “They thought they were going to outwait me. You know, ‘we’ll outwait him, he’s got the midterms.'”
