White House Reveals Trump Strategy as Iran Ceasefire Hangs in Balance — AC15

[0:01] Caroline, could you tell us how long the president is willing to extend the ceasefire in order [0:11] to reach a deal? And does he believe that a deal can be struck while the U.S. blockade [0:15] is still in place? Great questions, and I will answer them. Let's level set on where [0:19] we are. As you all saw yesterday, President Trump announced an extension of the ceasefire. [0:24] He's maintaining and generously offering a bit of flexibility to a regime who has been [0:29] completely tarnished because of Operation Epic Fury. There's obviously a lot of internal [0:34] division. This is a battle between the pragmatists and the hardliners in Iran right now, and the [0:39] president wants a unified response. And so as we await that response, there's a ceasefire with [0:44] the military and kinetic strikes. But Operation Economic Fury continues, and the effective and [0:51] successful naval blockade continues as well of ships and vessels that are moving to and from [0:57] Iranian ports. We are completely strangling their economy through this blockade. They're losing [1:04] $500 million a day. The Karg Island is completely full. They can't move oil in and out. They can't [1:09] even pay their own people as a result of this economic leverage that President Trump has inflicted [1:14] over them. So he's satisfied with that as we await their response. And we will see. The president has [1:19] not set a firm deadline to receive an Iranian proposal, unlike some of the reporting I've seen [1:25] today. Ultimately, the timeline will be dictated by the commander-in-chief and the president of the [1:29] United States. [1:30] Are there then who is in charge in Iran and who the administration is even negotiating with? [1:36] Well, we obviously know who we're negotiating with because our negotiating team has sat down [1:40] with those individuals in person. But obviously, there's a lot of internal fraction and internal [1:45] division, which again, just proves the effectiveness of Operation Epic Fury in the first place. Their [1:50] regime and many of its leaders for nearly five decades have been wiped off for the face of [1:57] planet Earth. So again, the president's offering them a little bit of flexibility because we want [2:01] to see a unified proposal to the president's very strong proposal. And he's made his red lines [2:07] very clear. Again, the United States maintains control over this situation, leverage over the Iranian [2:13] regime. Not only have they been significantly weakened and obliterated militarily, but they are losing [2:19] economically and financially every single moment that passes with this blockade. So the president [2:24] is going to continue to lead the free world, to run the United States of America as we await the [2:30] Iranian response. [2:30] Thanks a lot, Caroline. Two questions. What's the ultimate goal of this blockade? Is it indefinite? [2:38] And is the ceasefire that's in place right now also indefinite? [2:42] Look again, I'm not going to set a timetable for the president. He has not done that. And I won't. I know [2:48] there's been some anonymous sourced reporting that there was maybe a three to five day deadline. That [2:54] is not true. The president has not set a deadline himself. Ultimately, he will dictate the timetable. [3:00] And again, he is satisfied with the naval blockade. And he understands that Iran is in a very weak [3:06] position. And the cards are in President Trump's hands right now on the issue of Virginia redistricting. [3:14] If he weighed in this afternoon, concerns about why didn't he campaign more actively against this [3:21] referendum? Why? Why not spend time on true social encouraging people to vote no before the [3:28] vote than raise concerns? That's a question that's political by nature. As you know, I'm not part of [3:35] the president's political team anymore. I do sit here at the White House as a government employee. [3:40] Look, the president has a lot on his plate, a lot on his schedule. He did host a telephone call [3:46] prior to the election the night before. But he's made his position on the result of this election [3:51] clear to all of us. Mary Bruce. The president is not setting a deadline with this ceasefire right [3:57] now. But this war has already gone on longer than he said it would initially. How long should [4:01] Americans be prepared for this war to go on? Look, I think President Trump ultimately will [4:06] dictate the timeline and he will do so when he feels is in the best interest of the United [4:11] States and the American people. [4:12] Thank you very much. So in the same day, the president said that he doesn't want to extend [4:18] the ceasefire and the bombs would start falling after the end of the ceasefire. And unilaterally, [4:24] he declared that the ceasefire would be extended indefinitely. Iranian state media are openly mocking [4:30] mocking the president of the United States and saying we didn't even request the extension [4:34] of the ceasefire. What's the response from the president of the United States? [4:39] The response is you guys all see a lot of different messaging coming out of Iran, [4:44] a lot of different rhetoric and language from them. I would caution you to take anything that [4:50] they say at face value. What we've seen is that what they say publicly is much different than what [4:54] they concede to the United States and our negotiating team privately. I've said that repeatedly to all of [4:59] you in the news media and you should take our word on the topic. There's been some reporting about a [5:04] possible bailout for Spirit Airlines. Can you update us on those talks and why does the administration [5:09] think it's a good investment to buy into a bankrupt airline? Well, I understand the airline is [5:16] bankrupt because the previous administration blocked the merger, which was probably not a wise move. [5:21] Obviously, this is something the Commerce Department and the president are tracking. I don't [5:25] have any updates or announcements, but the aviation industry is very important to this president and [5:30] this White House. Millions of Americans depend on it. We want to see the best possible outcome, [5:35] but I don't have any announcements. [5:39] Thank you so much, Caroline. So how long is the president willing to wait for the Iranians to come [5:45] to the table? And does he trust the Iranians to come to the table? Again, I've now been asked this [5:50] question a few different times, a few different ways. I'm not going to set a deadline. [5:56] A lot of the negotiations or it seems public statements that we've seen from the president [6:00] come on true social and the Iranians on X, a lot of back and forth there. Did the president's [6:05] true social post throughout the day ahead of these negotiations have a negative impact on the negotiations? [6:11] I think look at where we are right now. The president chose to extend the ceasefire because [6:15] it's Iran who needs to get their acts together. The United States and President Trump have been [6:20] very clear in our demands and our red lines and what we need to see in the best interest of the [6:25] American people in our country and our allies from the very beginning. So the short answer to your [6:30] question is no. Does the White House have an understanding at this point of who inside of Iran [6:36] will have the final sign up? The White House and our intelligence community certainly has a good [6:44] understanding. However, we want to see a unified response and a unified proposal. To the previous [6:51] question's point, you see a lot of different messaging on social media from many people within [6:56] the regime and a lot of that public nonsense is not what we hear from them privately. But again, [7:01] we want a unified response and that's what the president is awaiting. I'll leave our intelligence [7:08] community and the president to decide. Nick, go ahead. Thank you Caroline. Does the White House have a [7:12] response to the DOJ's indictment of the SPLC as well as the allegations that it was, you know, [7:18] donated funds were used to actually fund the very hate groups and racist groups that it denounced? [7:24] Yeah, I saw the indictment yesterday. I saw the acting attorney general and FBI director [7:29] do a press conference on it. It was quite shocking to me to learn of the egregious violations of the [7:34] law of the Southern Poverty Law Center was committing. And I think that's a story that should be on the [7:39] front page of every newspaper in this country because they've obviously been duping their supporters [7:44] and the American taxpayers for far too long. It's a criminal organization, clearly, and that's not our DOJ [7:50] saying that. [7:56] You [7:58] You [8:00] You [8:02] You [8:04] You [8:06] You [8:08] You [8:10] You [8:12] You [8:14] You [8:16] You