Trump’s Inner Circle & Use of Military Power — The War Cabinet (full documentary) — FRONTLINE (PBS)

[0:03] The United States has launched defensive strikes in southern Iran. [0:07] Iran's armed forces said any new aggression will be met with a far more severe response. [0:11] President Trump working overtime to hammer out a deal with Iran. [0:14] Amid the fallout from the war with Iran, examining the president's inner circle. [0:19] They see it as their obligation to enable him to achieve his desires. [0:24] The people that a president trusts for the most sensitive roles in our national security apparatus, [0:29] those people put their mark on history. [0:31] The wars they've helped initiate. [0:33] We will find you, we will hunt you down, and we will kill you. [0:36] This is a president of action. If you don't know, now you know. [0:39] Essentially the factor is you mess with us at your own peril and you'll find out. [0:43] And the consequences. [0:45] They have systematically dismantled the guardrails that have existed since World War II. [0:51] Now on Frontline. [0:53] The people around him are not only his inner circle, but they probably have way more power [0:56] between them than we've really seen concentrated in a long time. [1:00] The War Cabinet. [1:05] And I'm proud to be the first president in decades who started no new wars. [1:12] That's very good. [1:16] No new wars. [1:18] Instead, I brought our troops back home. [1:20] No new wars. [1:21] As Donald Trump campaigned for his second term, a promise. [1:25] No new wars. [1:27] No new wars. [1:28] They said, his personality will create wars. [1:30] They said, no, my personality is going to keep us out of wars. [1:32] Look at him. Listen to him. He's going to start a war. [1:36] Listen to his rhetoric. [1:39] They thought I was going to start a war. Let me tell you something. I'm going to stop World War III. [1:44] And at his inauguration, he vowed to keep his promise. [1:50] My legacy will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars that we end, and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into. [2:01] My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. [2:09] That's what I want to be, a peacemaker and a unifier. [2:13] Inside the White House, he formed a team of loyalists. The would-be heir, the seasoned opportunist, the military hawk, the war skeptic, the enforcer, the gatekeeper. [2:32] They'd help chart a different direction than the one he'd promised. [2:36] President Trump just announced precision airstrikes in Somalia. [2:41] The number two leader in ISIS had been killed in a drone strike in Western Iraq. [2:44] At least 70 targets in Syria and multiple strikes. [2:47] One show of force after another. [2:49] U.S. air and naval assets hit dozens of Houthi targets in Yemen. [2:53] Operation Midnight Hammer targeting three Iranian nuclear sites. [2:57] A path of war. [2:59] A dramatic escalation in the U.S. military confrontation with Venezuela. [3:03] I think we're just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country, okay? We're going to kill them. [3:09] U.S. carried out large-scale strikes on Venezuela overnight. [3:14] Nicolas Maduro has been captured and flown out of the country. [3:17] The United States has removed another country's leader. [3:21] A fateful decision. [3:23] A short time ago, the United States military began major combat operations in Iran. [3:31] Now, the president who promised peace has become a wartime president, enabled and empowered by his own war cabinet. [3:46] In the early days of the administration, a test. [4:03] The president of Ukraine on his way for a high-stakes meeting with President Trump. [4:07] The war in Ukraine. [4:08] Today's Oval Office sit-down could set the stage for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. [4:13] A war Trump claimed he would end on day one. [4:16] We're anticipating a really big meeting today with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Trump. [4:21] It's Friday 28 February in the year of our Lord 2025. We are live from the Patriot Mobile headquarters. [4:28] Historic day for President Trump and the MAGA movement. [4:32] We cover it live. We were kind of on this from the very moment that it pulled up. [4:38] Okay, there we go. President Trump actually outside. [4:42] You see the Marine Corps roll. [4:44] There's President Donald J. Trump, the 47th President of the United States, in a historic day for him. [4:50] And then when he showed up, the thing I noticed, Zelenskyy was in his military garb. [4:56] He's all dressed up today. [4:57] I immediately kind of see the president. I just said, hey, I'm not so sure this is going to go that well. [5:03] He's not showing respect. My understanding was a kind of a fiasco from the very beginning. [5:09] The president's inner circle was there. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. [5:22] Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Longtime aide Stephen Miller. [5:27] Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. And Vice President J.D. Vance. [5:32] They're in front of cameras. Zelenskyy, Trump, Vance. [5:38] There's all these microphones dangling in front of them. [5:41] What is understood to hang on this conversation is the posture of the U.S. towards Russia, Europe, and the Ukraine war. [5:50] If you notice, J.D. Vance is getting a little antsy. You know, it's been going on for a while. [5:58] The cameras are in there. And the point that Vance wanted to make, it seemed like hadn't come up yet. [6:04] And he kind of jumps in. [6:06] Mr. President, Mr. President, with respect, I think it's disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media. [6:13] You should be thanking the president for trying to bring it into this conflict. [6:17] I think Vance was the guy who was supposed to slap Zelenskyy around, and he did. [6:24] And to humiliate him and embarrass him and to badger him the way that they did. [6:29] Have you said thank you once this entire meeting? [6:31] No, in this entire meeting, have you said thank you? [6:34] One of the reasons Vance was chosen was because he was combative, that he was sort of a troll, [6:39] that Vance does things that most traditional vice presidents you wouldn't expect. [6:44] He knows what Trump likes. [6:45] ...offers some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who's trying to save your country. [6:53] I mean, Vance seems to relish the bullying that Trump relishes, [6:59] so he's a mini-bully when Trump is the big bully. [7:04] You're right now not in a very good position. You've allowed yourself to be in a very bad position, [7:09] and he happens to be right about it. [7:10] From the very beginning of the war. [7:12] You're not in a good position. You don't have the cards right now. [7:16] With us, you start having cards. [7:17] I'm not playing cards. [7:18] But right now, you're playing cards. [7:20] We gave you, through the stupid president, 350 million. [7:24] Our jaws were just on the floor. We were watching this. I think that was the reaction, [7:28] from what I know, from basically, you know, all U.S. allies, foreign diplomats. [7:33] No one could believe what they were seeing. [7:36] And Ukraine's ambassador to the United States kind of put her head in her hands [7:40] in the middle of the meeting, just couldn't help herself. [7:44] I think J.D. jumped in there, the vice president jumped in there, [7:47] and kind of very appropriately kind of laid things out. [7:50] And let's go litigate those disagreements rather than trying to fight it out in the American media [7:55] when you're wrong. We know that you're wrong. [7:57] Vance brought that righteous indignation to that meeting. [8:02] For a lot of the people on the so-called new right or the national populist or the [8:07] hardcore MAGA base or people who really want to see change in American foreign policy, [8:12] and I'm one of them, it was the coup de grace of a new generation of approach. [8:17] Kurt Mills, the editor of the American Conservative, [8:21] is a prominent voice of the new right and has known Vance for years. [8:25] In some ways, it was the high watermark of Vance's political career to that point. [8:30] I think it was very important that J.D. was in the room. [8:33] Obviously, he was picked for vice president, I think, because he kind of represented a new [8:38] and different aspect of the MAGA movement. [8:44] If you think about the people who we know called Trump on behalf of J.D. Vance, [8:50] it's Don Jr., it's Tucker Carlson, it's Steve Bannon. [8:57] Carlson was lobbying very aggressively in 2024 for Trump to select Vance as his vice president. [9:05] Carlson very consciously positions Vance as a future leader in the party and invites him on his show. [9:11] One of the smartest voices in what is becoming a new movement within conservatism, [9:16] we're always happy to have him here. J.D. Vance, thanks a lot for coming on. [9:19] Thank you. We need people who actually are fighting to save an American way of life for [9:24] the next generation. That's why I'm doing this. [9:26] What J.D. Vance represents is a kind of ideological faction inside of the White House [9:31] that is opposed to America getting more and more entangled overseas. He is opposed to military [9:38] adventurism. He is opposed to foreign entanglements. [9:41] I think it's ridiculous that we're focused on this border in Ukraine. [9:45] I got to be honest with you, I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another. [9:49] Let's focus on the problems that are closer to home, solve those first, [9:54] and then we can go and worry about the rest of the world. By the way... [9:57] To be Carlson's guy, Bannon's guy, means that you're carrying forth the America First project, [10:03] the kind of hard nationalist core of Trumpism as vice president. That's often the project he's trying to [10:10] defend. And that's what Vance was doing in the Oval Office, trying to limit the U.S. role in the [10:17] war between Ukraine and Russia. All right, I think we've seen enough. What do you think? [10:25] This is going to be great television, I will say that. [10:30] One member of the inner circle was not laughing at off. [10:33] As this terrible meeting is going on, Marco Rubio is sitting very quietly deep into the couch, [10:45] sinking lower and lower into that couch with every passing second. His face is absolutely ashen, [10:53] and he's saying nothing. The secretary of state is trying everything he can to disappear. And I don't [11:03] blame him. I don't blame him, but he's trying to disappear. He doesn't want to be there. It's awful. [11:09] It's all over his face. [11:10] RUBIO HAD BEEN A STRONG SUPPORTER OF UKRAINE, AS WERE MANY OTHER REPUBLICANS. [11:16] Here we're seeing this mismatch between someone like Rubio, who was more of a traditional GOP [11:25] foreign policy guy. And it seemed in some ways like a bad fit with the America First version, [11:33] the MAGA version. [11:34] RUBIO HAD FAMOUSLY CLASHED WITH TRUMP IN THE 2016 REPUBLICAN PRIMARY. [11:39] Don't worry about it. Don't worry about it, little Marco. [11:42] Gentlemen, let's hear it. [11:43] Little Marco, little Marco. [11:45] He's always calling me little Marco. Have you seen his hands? They're like this. [11:52] And you know what they say about men with small hands? [11:54] He was once President Trump's arch nemesis on the campaign trail. [12:01] Look at those hands. Are they small hands? And he referred to my hands. If they're small, [12:09] something else must be small. I guarantee you there's no problem. I guarantee. [12:13] Marco Rubio was a much more mainstream traditional Republican from Florida. [12:20] I will never stop until we keep a con man from taking over the party of Reagan [12:26] and the conservative movement. [12:29] He spent his entire career advocating essentially the opposite of what President Trump claims to want. [12:34] He was a Reagan Republican. He believed in human rights, [12:39] and aggressive foreign policy abroad. That's what Marco Rubio stood for, always. [12:44] Rubio was a defender of President Bush's war in Iraq. [12:47] And George W. Bush enforced what the international community refused to do, [12:52] and again, he kept us safe, and I am forever grateful to what he did. [12:55] While Trump did the opposite. [12:57] Obviously, the war in Iraq was a big fat mistake, all right? [13:02] We should have never been in Iraq. We have destabilized the Middle East. [13:07] Trump's anti-war message resonated with voters that year, even in Marco Rubio's home state of Florida. [13:14] I mean, this map just tells the story. I've got to show it to you. See, this purple, that represents Marco Rubio. [13:20] All that red, that's Donald Trump. [13:22] So basically... [13:22] I think Marco Rubio spent a couple years after that defeat wavering over what course to take. [13:30] He believed Donald Trump was a dangerous force in the world. [13:35] He believed what he was doing was antithetical to American interests. [13:39] But then he looked at what happened to those Republicans who spoke out against Donald Trump [13:45] and essentially ended their own political careers. And Marco Rubio's political career, he didn't want it to be over. [13:54] Rubio has to remake himself into a populist. He's never been a populist. [14:01] So he writes a book, and it's a very angry book, declaring he's basically a populist. [14:08] America is not going to be saved by those clinging to the pre-Trump Republican Party. [14:12] When I was reading this book, I was going, I can't believe Marco Rubio wrote this. [14:16] He talked about being changed by Trump's policies. [14:19] His journey has been one of the most significant journeys. [14:22] By the time Trump ran again in 2024, Rubio's conversion was complete. [14:29] My fellow Americans, the only way to make America wealthy and safe and strong again [14:36] is to make Donald J. Trump our president again. [14:39] The biggest change for Marco is from being the most diehard, looked like the next generation of neocon, [14:49] to being, I think, closer akin to us today than anybody that's made that journey so far. [14:55] And it's quite significant. [14:56] His chameleon-like ability to adapt to Trump more than made up for all the harsh words that he and [15:05] Trump had exchanged on the podium in 2016. And Trump by then saw him not just as a loyalist, [15:12] but a pretty skilled loyalist. And so we get full circle. Rubio becoming Trump's secretary of state. [15:21] So Marco, go ahead. [15:23] Well, Mr. President, first of all, everyone's made this comment already and needs to be echoed. [15:27] Again, you were elected as the president of working Americans, the peacemaker in chief. [15:31] Think about it, how fortunate we are as Americans to have a president who's made peace a priority. [15:37] They all swore loyalty when they joined the cabinet. Unlike in the first Trump administration, [15:44] this administration has been groomed to fall in line and do what the president says. [15:51] This is just such a great opportunity really to recognize your leadership as a true champion for working people. [15:58] It was a much different dynamic than his first term. [16:01] The president had secretary of state and Rex Tillerson, multiple secretaries of defense, [16:12] chiefs of staff who were actively obstructing and undermining the agenda the American people elected him on. [16:20] Alexander Gray served on Trump's national security council during that first term. [16:26] You had unelected appointed officials who took it upon themselves, in some instances, [16:32] to literally steal documents off the desk of the president of the United States, [16:37] not because they were unlawful, but because they disagreed with a policy outcome. [16:41] He had thought about bombing cartels in Mexico, but he had been restrained by some of his advisors, [16:51] including his then defense secretary. [16:53] People demand justice for George Floyd and call for an end to racial inequality. [16:59] When Black Lives Matter protests emerged in 2020, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Joint [17:05] Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley resisted Trump's efforts to invoke the Insurrection Act [17:11] and send in federal troops. [17:13] You want to talk about coups, right? That is an extraordinary, [17:17] kind of silent coup against the democratic process. [17:20] Other members of the administration at the time saw it differently. [17:25] Nobody was trying to make the decision for him. [17:28] They were trying to make sure he was making an informed decision. [17:31] And I think that process frustrated him. [17:35] John Bolton, a longtime Republican foreign policy official, [17:39] eventually had a major falling out with Trump. [17:42] I mean, my title was national security advisor, [17:45] which implies I ought to give advice, which I tried to do. [17:48] That's not thwarting him. It's trying to back him off to give him a chance to get another perspective [17:55] and to make the most well-informed decision. [17:59] Bolton had been part of what some called the adults in the room. [18:03] This idea of being the adults in the room, of course, that was the projection from the outside. [18:07] But what they spent most of the time was trying to stop terrible things from happening. [18:12] Fiona Hill is an expert on Russian and European affairs. [18:16] She served on Trump's National Security Council. [18:19] I often thought of it as being, you know, the firefighters and all the engineers and technicians [18:23] at Chernobyl when you were in the middle of a meltdown. [18:26] And, you know, you were the people who were trying to contain the fallout or build the sarcophagus around it. [18:31] What President Trump very deliberately and methodically created as he mounted his comeback [18:43] to the White House was to remove people who saw themselves as guardrails, [18:48] to eradicate any possibility of having people who were going to act as brakes on his desires. [18:54] From the troops directly, which they ask me to say all the time, [18:57] thank you for your leadership, for your boldness, for your clarity, [19:01] for providing a shield for the rest of us to put America first and to apply peace through strength. [19:08] We're in the strength business. That's our job. [19:09] Trump's new Secretary of Defense was just the kind of person he was looking for. [19:14] Pete Hexiv, who Trump really likes because he's, you know, straight out of central casting. [19:21] Trump likes his people, the way he likes them to look like they're out of central casting, [19:24] he wants them to sound like that as well. [19:26] Oh, there we go. This is a new era of the Department of War [19:31] that is focused on winning wars, not just perpetually defending. [19:35] Make sure more than any other Secretary of Defense, he is a showman. [19:41] He understands theater and image and message. [19:45] We're restoring the warrior ethos. We're not interested in your woke [19:55] garbage and your political correctness. [19:57] Hegseth has said his views were formed the hard way during the worst days of the Iraq War [20:06] in a unit that later earned an infamous nickname. [20:09] He was formerly in the National Guard. He was deployed to Iraq. [20:14] He was in a quite notorious unit called the Kill Company, which had various prosecutions. [20:21] And Trump really got to know Hegseth when he used his weekend show as a Fox anchor to lobby for the [20:29] pardoning of people who had patently abused their role as American soldiers to kill civilians. [20:37] These are the good guys. These are the war fighters. They're not war criminals. They're warriors. [20:41] Trump liked his combativeness. He liked his aggressiveness. He liked what he said. [20:46] You train someone to go fight and kill the enemy. Then they go kill the enemy the way someone doesn't like. [20:51] And then we put them in jail or we throw the book at them. [20:54] Trump is looking for people who can communicate ideas, complicated ideas, and make them accessible to the American people. [21:00] The rules, the bureaucracy, the rules of war get twisted in certain ways where now war heroes are being prosecuted like criminals. [21:06] He is someone who approaches most issues in the Department of Defense through the grunts-eyed view. [21:16] That he is looking at how a policy is implemented through the eyes of the people that are ultimately going to have to implement it. [21:25] Unlike Rubio or Vance, Hegseth is a figure who comes into the administration without any native political base, without real connections on the Hill. [21:40] The only way he gets this job is that Donald Trump as the president selects him for it. [21:45] I think the choice of Hegseth is extremely easy to explain. [21:50] Trump wanted someone in defense who would be totally supportive to him, whom he could trust to do what he told to do. [21:58] Hegseth established early on that the military had to be loyal to Trump. [22:02] Major changes are happening at the Pentagon after a string of firings over the weekend. [22:07] He starts this campaign to purge the generals that he thinks are disloyal or didn't get promoted for the right reason. [22:15] The nation's top-ranked military officer among several who were fired last night. [22:19] He fires the Joint Chiefs Chairman, who's black. [22:22] He fires the Chief of Naval Operations, who's a woman. [22:26] Any general that was involved, general, admiral, whatever, that was involved in any of the DEI, whoa, has got to go. [22:33] It wouldn't be the first time that a president fired a lot of generals and admirals. [22:37] Those generals and admirals, first and foremost, serve at the president's behalf in executing his authorities as the top elected official representing the American people. [22:47] Hegseth would also target the military's top lawyers, the Jags. [22:52] The firings at the Pentagon are now reaching the top lawyers, Judge Advocates General. [22:58] Pete Hegseth hates military lawyers. He calls them Jag-offs. [23:04] Jag-offs. There are some good ones out there, but most spend more time prosecuting our troops than they do putting away bad guys. [23:11] He tells a story in his book about how one of the Jag officers spoke to his company to advise them about the rules of engagement. [23:19] And the lawyer said, you can't shoot them just because they're walking with a weapon. [23:24] And when the lawyer went away, Hegseth gathered his troops together and said, [23:30] I will not allow this nonsense to filter into your brains. [23:34] Men, if you see an enemy who you believe is a threat, you engage and destroy the threat. [23:40] That's a bull rule that's going to get people killed. [23:43] The current civilian leadership of the military has embarked on what I've called a road to lawlessness. [23:50] Stephen Leper was one of the top Air Force Jags. He retired before Trump came to office. [23:56] If you want to send a message that the law and lawyers don't matter, [24:01] what better way than to decapitate the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the military services? [24:08] To demonstrate what he wanted, Hegseth summoned the top brass, hundreds of them. [24:15] Pete Hegseth is calling U.S. generals and admirals around the globe away from their posts. [24:20] This is a rare and urgent order sent to commanders around the world. [24:23] He calls every general and admiral and every senior enlisted person from all over the globe to come to Quantico, Virginia, the Marine Base, so he can give them a lecture in person. [24:36] As you have seen, I have fired a number of senior officers since taking over. [24:42] We've done our best to thoroughly assess the human terrain. [24:46] The new compass heading is clear. [24:49] Out with the Chiarellis, the Mackenzies and the Millies. [24:52] I heard about it when a reporter I know called me up. [24:57] She told me that my name had been mentioned. [25:00] And I voiced a large element of surprise. [25:06] General Peter Corelli was second in command of the Army during the Iraq War. [25:11] And he called out specifically General Corelli, who had been a very fierce proponent of ensuring that civilians were protected, [25:21] ensuring that international norms were upheld, rules of engagement were maintained. [25:26] I believe when you injure civilians, you're putting your service members in more danger than when you avoid that. [25:34] You just make enemies. [25:37] Hegseth is warning those, like General Corelli, people who have minds of their own, [25:43] are prepared to say that they would not obey unlawful orders, that those people are for the trash can of history. [25:52] Now, of course, we're going to disagree at times. [25:54] But when civilian leaders issue lawful orders, we execute. [25:58] He wants loyalists. [26:01] This is a new regime here. [26:04] We want absolute loyalty. [26:06] And we will not tolerate deep state meddling. [26:10] The words I'm speaking today are making your heart sink? [26:14] Then you should do the honorable thing and resign. [26:18] I think that was an important one. [26:22] As we say in the military, come to Jesus' session to say, look, focus in on the mission. [26:26] If you can't do that, you do the honorable thing and resign and leave. [26:30] We have a professional responsibility to execute our duties, [26:35] not with any personal enemies or political shadows. [26:38] In all, more than a dozen of the nation's most senior officers would be fired. [26:44] Others would retire. [26:47] I think Trump really revels in the fact that he has at his disposal the most powerful military in the world, [26:54] and that, at his command, they will do his bidding. [27:00] Within weeks of taking office, Trump was presented with a choice about whether to use this military power. [27:08] A surge of attacks from Yemen's Houthi rebels continues to disrupt the global supply chain. [27:15] Houthi militias showing no sign of backing down. [27:18] The Houthis have attacked more than 250 commercial and naval ships trying to pass through the Red Sea. [27:24] President Trump redesignated the Houthis as a terror organization. [27:28] Beginning of March, I got a signal request, a connection request from somebody named Michael Waltz, the national security advisor. [27:39] Michael Waltz added you to the group. [27:43] Jeffrey Goldberg's invitation was a mistake. [27:46] He's a journalist, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. [27:49] Signal is a secure messaging app, a commercial messaging app, non-secure from the government's perspective. [27:56] I thought it was a disinformation operation or some elaborate spoof. [28:01] And the next thing I know, I was added into something called the Houthi PC Small Group. [28:06] The members of this group were most of the highest officials of the United States. [28:10] The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the head of the CIA, Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence. [28:18] Basically everyone was in the chat. [28:21] Michael Waltz, team, establishing a principles group for coordination on Houthis. [28:29] The senior most officials of the United States government were using Signal to talk about upcoming bombing campaigns. [28:34] And inadvertently invited a journalist. [28:39] I've never been involved in anything this absurd or surreal. [28:43] Michael Waltz, we will work with DOD to ensure COS, OVP and POTUS are briefed. [28:51] It is a window into their internal conversations. [28:55] And in some ways to me the most interesting one is J.D. Vance. [28:58] J.D. Vance, I think we are making a mistake. [29:02] The strongest reason to do this is, as POTUS said, to send a message. [29:07] But I'm not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now. [29:12] That was an extraordinary show of his politics. [29:16] It is a reminder that there are different politics at play in this administration. [29:22] J.D. Vance, there is a strong argument for delaying this a month. [29:26] Hegseth, by contrast, is kind of what you would expect from Hegseth. [29:32] Pete Hegseth, we are prepared to execute. [29:35] And if I had final go or no go vote, I believe we should. [29:38] They're debating whether the United States should bomb the Houthis in Yemen at this particular time. [29:44] J.D. Vance was very much opposed. [29:47] J.D. Vance, I just hate bailing Europe out again. [29:50] As the vice president laid out in the Signal group chat, it's, you know, basically a European problem. [29:56] Pete Hegseth, we are the only ones on the planet who can do this. [30:01] Nobody else even close. [30:03] I think we should go. [30:04] Then what happens in the chat, which I think was interesting in and of itself, [30:08] is Stephen Miller comes in, kind of like the president's enforcer and says, [30:12] I heard the president say that he wanted to do this, so we're doing this. [30:16] Stephen Miller, as I heard it, the president was clear. Green light. [30:21] Then everybody shuts up, including the vice president of the United States. [30:28] That was very revealing, I think. [30:31] Stephen Miller is the deputy White House chief of staff. [30:33] The idea that he's telling the secretary of defense and the vice president of the United States [30:38] what has been decided is pretty astounding. [30:41] Stephen Miller had been around Trump longer than almost anyone. [30:44] Miller's rise to power has been quite simply meteoric. [30:49] He began, really, as a low-level communications staffer in the Senate. [30:54] Miller earned a reputation for being on the extreme right-wing end of the party. [31:00] In the first term, he was a top White House advisor. [31:04] In Trump 1, I think Miller proved his indispensability to Trump, [31:09] in large part by showing his loyalty above all. [31:13] He was one of Trump's longest-serving aides. Trump trusted him. [31:17] After the January 6 attack on the Capitol, Miller continued to stay close to Trump. [31:22] Did Donald Trump, God forbid, did he surrender? [31:25] He fought. He fought with everything he had. [31:29] I think the world of Stephen Miller, [31:31] and I even think the world of Stephen Miller's bedside manner, [31:34] he's never going to back down an inch. [31:38] In nine days, your rescue is coming. [31:41] In nine days, your salvation is at hand. [31:44] In nine days, Donald J. Trump is going to go back to the White House. [31:49] I call him sometimes, teasingly, the prime minister. [31:53] Stephen's taking a very big role in, I think, national security and foreign affairs. [31:59] That was on full display in the signal chat. [32:01] He was being very clear that the president had made a decision, [32:06] and when he makes a decision, you execute. [32:10] Stephen Miller weighs in, and everyone's like, [32:13] oh, yeah, like, Stephen says to do it, [32:15] and then the bombing campaign launches. [32:18] Pete Hegseth, 1215 Eastern Time, F-18's launch. [32:26] Pete Hegseth put in the time the planes were launching [32:29] and where they were going and all kinds of information [32:32] that I had never seen shared so recklessly before. [32:38] Pete Hegseth, 1345, F-18, first strike window starts. [32:44] 1536, first sea-based tomahawks launched. [32:50] That's information that is too dangerous [32:52] to have out there in the wild. [32:54] It's so extremely stupid that this even happened. [33:00] It just betrayed an inexperience, a recklessness, [33:03] a kind of a show-off equality. [33:06] Stephen Miller, great work all, powerful start. [33:10] Michael Waltz, fist bump emoji, American flag emoji, fire emoji. [33:15] Steve Witkoff, prayer emoji, prayer emoji, muscle emoji. [33:20] President Trump was watching the strikes from his home in Mar-a-Lago. [33:28] For Trump, it's a way of chest beating and saying how tough we are. [33:32] We're really taking him out and everything. [33:34] Tough is big when it comes to Trump. [33:37] This is the height of his foreign policy aspirations [33:41] is to be tough, to look tough. [33:43] It's not a lot more subtle than that. [33:44] Despite having promised to avoid foreign wars, [33:48] Trump was reveling in the one he just initiated. [33:51] Tremendous damage has been inflicted upon the Houthi barbarians. [33:55] They will be completely annihilated. [33:57] Trump likes to say that that operation against the Houthis [34:01] was a complete success, [34:03] and that the Houthis were beaten into submission. [34:06] The Houthis want peace, [34:08] because they're getting the hell knocked out of them. [34:10] The attack was unbelievably successful that night, [34:13] and it has been... [34:14] It's not even close to true. [34:16] That war went on for 52 days, [34:21] achieved almost nothing, [34:23] except the expenditure of billions of dollars. [34:26] The Houthis are still there. [34:28] I think he was persuaded that if he went on much longer, [34:32] he would be a loser. [34:33] So he's never a loser, [34:34] so he just stopped and declared victory. [34:36] We will stop the bombings, [34:40] and they have capitulated. [34:44] It kind of set the playbook. [34:47] You do a quick, decisive strike of some kind, [34:50] you declare victory. [34:51] Ideally, you have a dramatic video to go with it. [34:55] Oops, there will be no attack by these Houthis. [34:59] That's what Trump likes, [35:01] and that's what he has decided is the blueprint. [35:04] And then you get out, [35:05] and people just kind of move on. [35:08] Potentially dangerous [35:11] and without a doubt embarrassing [35:13] breach of national security. [35:15] That signal chat group [35:17] that accidentally included a journalist. [35:20] Whatever the result of the operation, [35:22] the chat about it would become a scandal. [35:25] Signalgate. [35:26] The only administration official [35:28] taking responsibility for anything [35:30] is national security adviser Mike Waltz. [35:33] Mike Waltz, he got removed from that job [35:37] and sent to the UN in New York, [35:40] which in Trump's world [35:42] is like being banished to Siberia. [35:44] National security adviser Mike Waltz is out. [35:47] The new vacancy in the White House [35:49] was an opportunity for Marco Rubio. [35:52] For Marco Rubio, of course, [35:53] it's much more important [35:54] to be the national security adviser. [35:56] Be right there next to the president [35:58] than it is to be, you know, [36:00] way over in exile in the State Department. [36:04] Trump really cares about what happens [36:07] in and around the Oval Office in the West Wing. [36:11] Rubio had an influential ally on his side, [36:14] Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. [36:16] Susie Wiles comes from Florida, [36:18] just like Marco Rubio. [36:19] They have a history there in Republican politics. [36:22] She has been, it seems like, [36:24] you know, an ally for Rubio [36:27] at helping him be successful. [36:29] Anybody who wants to be an effective member [36:32] of Trump's inner circle has to be right with Susie. [36:36] There's no question about it. [36:38] Chris Whipple wrote a profile of Susie Wiles [36:40] for Vanity Fair. [36:43] He interviewed her 11 times during that first year. [36:46] It's very important for everyone, [36:47] Marco Rubio included, [36:49] to be on Susie's good side. [36:51] In my mind, Susie Wiles is the most fascinating person [36:57] in American politics today. [37:00] She's the first female White House Chief of Staff. [37:06] She has a kind of magic with Trump [37:11] that none of her predecessors had. [37:16] It goes all the way back to her childhood [37:19] with her father, the famous football player Pat Summerall, [37:23] who became the voice of the NFL as a sportscaster [37:28] and who was an alcoholic. [37:33] One of the first things Susie Wiles told me [37:35] is that Donald Trump has an alcoholic's personality, [37:39] which is odd because we all know [37:42] that Trump famously does not drink. [37:45] What she meant was that he had this larger-than-life, [37:51] unrestrained personality. [37:57] So she looks at Trump the way she looks at her father. [38:00] How do you manage a kind of volatile personality, [38:04] a guy who can just lash out at any minute, [38:06] who can be unpredictable? [38:09] And she describes that as her main skill as Chief of Staff. [38:13] President Trump said he is naming Secretary of State Marco Rubio [38:18] to serve as acting National Security Advisor. [38:21] The first time someone has shared these two positions [38:23] since the Nixon administration. [38:25] On paper, Rubio was the most powerful American diplomat [38:28] since Henry Kissinger, who also was the National Security Advisor [38:32] and the Secretary of State. [38:34] Nobody since then. [38:35] Kissinger won a Nobel Prize. [38:37] He went all over the world. [38:40] He did arms control of the Soviet Union. [38:42] He tried to negotiate peace in the Middle East. [38:46] He did the diplomatic opening to China. [38:50] That's not the way Rubio looks to me. [38:56] He comes across as kind of a support staffer for the president. [39:01] The real power in Rubio's job is his proximity to the president. [39:08] Most days he's in the White House. [39:11] He sees the president every day that the president's in the White House. [39:15] That's the real power there. [39:19] You've got the president's ear. [39:20] Donald Trump treats even the most senior officials [39:25] of the U.S. government as courtiers. [39:28] It's the sort of Trump 2.0 version of the adults in the room. [39:33] People like Susie Wiles and Marco Rubio [39:37] essentially have a sort of shoulder-shrugged, [39:40] you know, what-can-you-do kind of version [39:42] of playing the adult in the room. [39:44] Maybe they have different opinions than the president, [39:46] but in the end, they're not gonna really do anything [39:50] to stop him from doing whatever he wants. [39:52] The talks are set to kick off in Washington [40:05] in just a matter of hours. [40:07] In those early months of Trump's presidency, [40:09] another visit from a foreign leader. [40:12] Israel's prime minister meeting with President Trump today. [40:15] You see President Trump there standing outside, [40:17] ready to receive the... [40:19] This time, it would be a friendlier reception. [40:21] It was Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu. [40:24] Trump has always been pro-Israel. [40:27] All evidence is that Trump is extremely close [40:30] with Benjamin Netanyahu. [40:32] It's an honor to have a very, very special person. [40:37] I've dealt with him for a long time, [40:39] Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister... [40:41] Key members of the War Cabinet were there [40:44] as Netanyahu laid out a plan of attack [40:46] to deal with his mortal enemy, Iran. [40:49] We're both united in the goal [40:52] that Iran does not ever get nuclear weapons. [40:55] Whatever happens, we have to make sure [40:57] that Iran does not have nuclear weapons. [40:59] There is a huge showdown. [41:03] Will Trump allow Israel [41:05] to conduct a campaign against Iran? [41:10] And then will the United States join that war, [41:13] because it's the only country that has the capability [41:16] to drop the massive bunker-buster [41:19] ordnance penetrators [41:21] that can get to the underground nuclear facilities? [41:23] The War Cabinet had strong feelings [41:26] about Israel and Iran, [41:28] the self-described Secretary of War. [41:31] Happened to believe that we can't kick the can [41:34] down the road any longer [41:36] in trying to prevent Iran [41:38] from getting a nuclear bomb. [41:40] The Secretary of State. [41:41] The greatest challenge facing Israel today [41:43] is the threat of a nuclear Iran, [41:45] and we need to stand with Israel [41:47] and provide diplomatic, military, [41:49] and economic support in its defense of its territory. [41:52] But the Vice President viewed it differently. [41:54] Our interest, I think, very much [41:57] is in not going to war with Iran, right? [41:59] Right. [42:00] It would be a huge distraction of resources. [42:02] It would be massively expensive to our country. [42:04] Vance doesn't really like foreign military action. [42:08] His instincts are to avoid engagement overseas, [42:12] including and maybe especially in the Middle East. [42:15] It was a position forged during his time [42:18] as a Marine in Iraq. [42:20] Vice President Vance, just like every other member [42:23] of the administration who deployed to Iraq, [42:26] was shaped by that experience. [42:28] Dan Caldwell was a senior Trump Pentagon advisor [42:32] and, like Vance, an Iraq veteran. [42:35] He has talked about how the Iraq War was a mistake [42:40] and how he wants to ensure that we don't make that mistake again. [42:44] Saddam Hussein is a homicidal dictator [42:48] who is addicted to weapons of mass destruction. [42:51] I made the mistake of supporting the Iraq War. [42:56] I saw when I went to Iraq that I had been lied to, [43:01] that the promises of the foreign policy establishment [43:05] of this country were a complete joke. [43:08] The Vice President viewed Iraq [43:10] as the fundamental foreign policy failure [43:12] of the foreign policy elite in Washington. [43:15] And that, I think, has been a galvanizing moment [43:19] for how we view the limits of American power [43:22] and the importance of having a humble foreign policy, [43:26] not a foreign policy that shapes... [43:28] that seeks to shape and remake the world. [43:30] All eyes were on Trump. [43:33] Would he join Israel [43:34] to try to take out Iran's nuclear program? [43:37] You know, it's not a complicated formula. [43:40] Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. [43:43] That's all there is. [43:44] You can't have it. [43:45] Right now, we have... [43:46] There were some signs that Vance [43:49] was a little bit reluctant about the Iran strikes. [43:52] And certainly, his ideological allies [43:54] were very opposed to striking Iran. [43:56] I really don't. [43:57] I just don't want my country [43:59] to be further weakened or destroyed [44:01] by another one of these wars. [44:03] And boy... [44:04] The Iran thing really, really divided [44:06] the American right. [44:08] And it threatened major cleavages [44:12] with core supporters [44:14] like Steve Pan and Tucker Carlson. [44:16] This is exactly the same pitch as the Iraq War. [44:19] Weapons of mass destruction. [44:20] Oh, I know. [44:21] You have to get it. [44:22] So they understand one thing. [44:24] They think the playbook works. [44:26] This could suck us into a war [44:28] that make Iraq and Afghanistan [44:30] look like a Sunday afternoon picnic. [44:32] You're talking about a major country, [44:35] an ancient civilization, 90 million people. [44:38] The Persians, these are the same folks [44:39] the Romans fought, and the Greeks. [44:42] In the inner circle, Vance wasn't alone. [44:45] Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, [44:49] also an Iraq combat veteran, [44:51] shared Vance's views. [44:53] She is somebody who does not believe [44:55] that it is in our interest [44:56] to get sucked into another endless conflict [44:58] anywhere in the world. [44:59] Before supporting Trump, [45:01] Gabbard had run for president as a Democrat [45:04] and had been a longstanding opponent [45:06] of armed conflict with Iran. [45:08] I've said for a long time [45:10] that going to war with Iran [45:12] would make the war in Iraq [45:14] and even Afghanistan look like a picnic. [45:17] It will be far more costly and devastating. [45:20] Iran itself triggers a pretty direct confrontation [45:24] with that question of whether we are still [45:27] the regime change guys [45:29] or whether we've set that aside. [45:30] Iran is the specific issue [45:33] on which figures like Gabbard or Vance, [45:36] to whom it's important both personally [45:38] and politically, [45:39] that they differentiate themselves [45:40] from that project. [45:41] That's the issue on which they are going to say, [45:43] you know what, like, this is not cool. [45:46] This is not something that you should be involved, [45:48] that we should be involved with. [45:50] Gabbard was popular with the MAGA base, [45:53] and Trump had put her in charge of the CIA, NSA, [45:57] and 16 other agencies. [45:59] As intelligence chief, [46:02] she was challenging the case for war in public. [46:05] The IC continues to assess [46:08] that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon, [46:10] and Supreme Leader Khomeini [46:12] has not authorized the nuclear weapons program [46:14] that he suspended in 2003. [46:16] This second Trump administration [46:18] has been hell-bent about [46:20] everyone stays on message, [46:21] and Tulsi Gabbard was not doing that. [46:23] As Gabbard and the MAGA voices made their case, [46:27] Netanyahu went ahead without Trump. [46:29] Israel attacked Iran. [46:35] There is a new war in the Middle East. [46:38] Israel decided it could wait no longer. [46:40] More than 200 Israeli aircraft striking [46:42] more than 100 targets, [46:44] its largest military operation since 1967. [46:48] The Israeli military, and Godspeed to them, [46:51] is doing a massive favor [46:53] to the entire civilized world. [46:55] The Fox cheerleading squad [46:57] got so up on that Friday morning, [46:59] and it was like the greatest military thing in history. [47:03] This was amazing. [47:04] Israel's air campaign, [47:05] it has been a massive success. [47:07] When the strike appeared [47:09] extremely tactically successful, [47:11] I think the president himself was attracted [47:13] to the glamour of it. [47:14] What Netanyahu was doing [47:16] is showing he is a man of the moment, [47:18] and he has come through at a time [47:20] where he had a lot of naysayers [47:21] and a lot of doubters. [47:22] Trump wants in on it. [47:23] He wants in on the action, [47:25] because he doesn't want to see them, [47:27] you know, basically get sole credit for it. [47:30] He had made up his mind, [47:31] but first, Trump had to deal [47:34] with the dissent in his ranks. [47:36] What intelligence do you have [47:37] that Iran is building a nuclear weapon? [47:39] Your intelligence community has said [47:40] they have no evidence [47:41] that they are at this point. [47:42] Well, then my intelligence community is wrong. [47:45] Who in the intelligence community said that? [47:47] Your director of national intelligence, [47:49] Tulsi Gabbard. [47:50] She's wrong. [47:51] Later, Gabbard insisted [47:56] she was on the same page as Trump, [47:58] but the damage had been done. [48:00] She clearly was not in sync [48:03] with where Trump was going. [48:05] She's sort of one of these zombie officials [48:07] who's still, in theory, in office, [48:08] but doesn't seem to be much of a player. [48:10] That leaves her washed up [48:12] and isolated within an administration [48:14] that does not invite her [48:16] to certain meetings anymore. [48:18] That job, which short for which is DNI, [48:21] director of national intelligence, [48:23] the joke in the White House [48:24] became it's do not invite. [48:27] From the vice president, deference. [48:31] People are right to be worried [48:33] about foreign entanglement, [48:34] but I believe the president [48:36] has earned some trust on this issue. [48:38] He's the vice president. [48:39] He knows his place, [48:41] and he would not speak out [48:43] against the president, [48:44] partially because it would be [48:45] political suicide for him to do so. [48:47] The number one rule in Trump world [48:51] for survival is don't openly [48:53] contradict the president. [48:54] I think Vance has learned the lesson [48:57] of people who did that [48:58] and doesn't want to do it. [48:59] Vance's political livelihood [49:02] and his political future [49:03] depends on keeping the coalition together [49:05] and rallying support for whatever [49:08] Trump has done and continues to do. [49:10] The president had made the decision [49:14] to attack Iran. [49:15] A short time ago, [49:16] the U.S. military carried out [49:19] massive precision strikes [49:20] on the three key nuclear facilities [49:23] in the Iranian regime. [49:25] Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities [49:29] have been completely [49:30] and totally obliterated. [49:32] He's a winner. [49:34] He's always a winner. [49:35] He has the bunker busters [49:37] being successful doing exactly [49:39] what they were designed to do, [49:41] and he can go out and announce it. [49:43] There's no criticism, [49:44] and then he's done. [49:45] God bless Israel [49:47] and God bless America. [49:49] Thank you very much. [49:50] Thank you. [49:51] The catastrophe predicted [49:54] by Vance and Vance's crowd [49:57] do not pass. [49:58] That diminishes a little bit [50:01] the standing of Vance. [50:03] That diminishes the standing [50:05] of the restrainers. [50:06] You keep telling me [50:07] that there's going to be [50:08] these terrible things. [50:09] This was great that I did this. [50:10] The strike on Iran, [50:11] I think, emboldened it. [50:12] I think it's holding, [50:13] ha, okay, I can do this, [50:18] and we can have these kind [50:20] of military operations, [50:22] and it didn't lead to the great disaster [50:25] that everybody predicted it would. [50:26] Emboldened, Trump would now turn [50:32] to another foreign affair, [50:34] one championed by Marco Rubio. [50:38] Marco Rubio told President Trump [50:40] when he was offered the job, [50:42] Latin America, [50:44] I want to do Latin America. [50:46] That's the region I know. [50:47] It's what I care about. [50:48] I'm fluent in Spanish. [50:49] My parents are from Cuba. [50:51] It's natural for him. [50:53] It's in Latin America [50:54] where Marco Rubio [50:55] gets to be Marco Rubio. [50:56] Marco Rubio is a son [51:04] of Cuban exiles [51:06] who came before Castro. [51:09] Basically, he's a Miami Cuban. [51:12] The Miami Cuban community [51:13] is staunchly anti-communist. [51:15] It's very patriotic, [51:16] very pro-American. [51:17] Hates Fidel Castro. [51:19] Hates the regime in Cuba [51:21] above and beyond [51:22] everything else. [51:23] But before Cuba, [51:25] Rubio had another target [51:26] in the region, [51:28] Venezuela [51:29] and its dictator, [51:30] Nicolas Maduro. [51:31] Marco Rubio [51:33] looks at Venezuela [51:34] as both an enabler of Cuba [51:36] and, in effect, [51:37] a modern-day successor [51:38] to the threat [51:39] that Castro's Cuba [51:40] had often seemed to be [51:41] for the United States. [51:42] He was opposed [51:43] to the Maduro regime [51:45] for a lot of reasons, [51:46] but principally because [51:47] it wasn't a democracy. [51:48] Violent protests have erupted [51:50] in Venezuela [51:51] over allegations [51:52] that the presidential election [51:53] was stolen [51:54] by the country's [51:55] authoritarian leader, [51:56] Nicolas Maduro. [51:57] He has very strongly held beliefs [52:00] from a very young age [52:02] about left-leaning dictatorships [52:04] in Latin America, [52:06] and there is also a sense [52:07] that if Venezuela can fall [52:09] and there can be regime change [52:10] in Venezuela, [52:11] then Cuba might be next. [52:13] Rubio began building [52:26] the case for action. [52:28] Rubio understands [52:29] that talking about [52:31] free and fair elections [52:33] for the Venezuelan people [52:36] is not going to move Trump. [52:38] It's just not. [52:41] That is not what animates [52:42] Donald Trump. [52:43] For help, [52:45] Rubio formed an alliance [52:47] with Stephen Miller. [52:48] Their interests [52:49] were aligned. [52:50] Stephen Miller wanted [52:52] to stop the flow of migrants [52:54] to the southern border [52:55] at all costs. [52:56] Rubio wants a democratic change [52:58] in Venezuela. [52:59] Miller's got a kind of [53:02] different goal in mind. [53:03] It has to do with demonizing [53:05] immigrants from Latin America. [53:06] It has to do with, [53:08] you know, playing up [53:09] the ravages of drugs [53:12] and overdose in the United States. [53:13] You know, [53:14] those are his interests. [53:15] They changed the argument [53:18] to drugs. [53:19] That was a big deal. [53:21] The president is underratedly [53:25] prudish about drugs. [53:27] He is a teetotal himself. [53:29] I think it's a very underexplored [53:31] element of his psyche. [53:33] His older brother died of alcoholism. [53:37] That was a richer vein [53:40] to persuade the president. [53:41] Rubio, Miller, and other advisors [53:47] met with the president. [53:48] Rubio goes up to the president [53:51] and he has Stephen Miller [53:53] and they say, [53:55] you know, Nicolas Maduro, [53:56] there's a reason that drugs [53:58] are flowing into this country. [53:59] They talk about cocaine. [54:01] They talk about fentanyl. [54:03] There is no fentanyl in Venezuela, [54:05] but details, details. [54:07] They say to the president, [54:09] if you want the drugs [54:11] to stop flowing into the United States, [54:13] we got to take Maduro out. [54:15] That was a winning argument [54:16] with the president. [54:17] They came up with a plan [54:20] to send a message to Maduro [54:22] about what was in store. [54:24] They would start taking off, [54:31] one by one, [54:32] these small drug trafficking vessels. [54:34] They had a couple of people on them, [54:36] blow them up, post the videos [54:38] in this made-for-TV reality show [54:40] kind of way. [54:41] Please let this serve as notice [54:43] to anybody even thinking [54:44] about bringing drugs [54:45] into the United States of America. [54:47] Beware. [54:48] The White House sharing [54:50] this dramatic video [54:51] of a U.S. strike [54:52] blasting that boat. [54:54] A dramatic escalation [54:55] in the U.S. military confrontation [54:57] with Venezuela. [54:58] The Trump administration [54:59] is cracking down [55:00] on drug cartels at sea. [55:02] Miller very much supported [55:05] the idea of launching [55:07] these boat strikes as a show, [55:09] as a raw show [55:10] of the president's power. [55:12] In charge of running the show, [55:15] Pete Hegseth. [55:16] We smoke the drug boat [55:18] and there's 11 narco-terrorists [55:19] at the bottom of the ocean [55:20] and when other people try to do that, [55:22] they're going to meet the same fate. [55:23] Trump loves the visuals. [55:26] Hegseth, you know, [55:28] he's getting great TV. [55:29] I remember he is like so many people [55:32] who work for Trump [55:33] from the TV world. [55:35] President Trump is willing [55:36] to go on offense [55:37] in ways that others have not been. [55:39] You want to try to traffic drugs? [55:40] It's a new day. [55:41] It's a different day. [55:42] We will track them, [55:43] we will map them, [55:44] we will network them [55:45] and we will hunt them [55:46] and kill them. [55:47] So it fits in [55:49] with Hegseth's understanding [55:50] of what he's doing [55:51] as Sec Def. [55:52] It may fit in with some [55:53] of what Miller wants to do, [55:54] I think, [55:55] in terms of immigration. [55:56] But it mostly fits in [55:57] with Trump's self-image [55:59] as a super tough guy president. [56:02] This is the most popular [56:05] foreign policy action [56:07] of Trump's second term. [56:09] Trump just said to America, [56:11] I hear you. [56:12] Watch this. [56:13] Boom. [56:14] Another vessel [56:15] and its lethal contents destroyed. [56:18] But former military Jags [56:20] were concerned. [56:21] Engaging in boat strikes, [56:24] killing civilians, [56:26] is a violation of international law [56:29] and it's a violation of U.S. law. [56:31] It's basically murder. [56:32] These boats did not pose [56:34] an armed threat [56:35] to the United States. [56:37] We have been violating domestic law [56:40] because taking the lives of civilians [56:42] is murder. [56:43] That wasn't the position [56:46] of the Pentagon, however, [56:47] where Hegseth had purged [56:49] the most senior Jag officers. [56:51] I worry that if you don't have [56:54] legal advice where Jags feel free [56:58] to give their opinion based on [57:00] their reading of the law [57:01] or reading of regulations, [57:03] that we'll get ourselves [57:05] into situations [57:06] where violations will occur. [57:08] The White House now confirms [57:10] a double-tap strike was carried out [57:12] on a suspected drug boat. [57:14] Second strike was ordered [57:16] after the first failed [57:17] to kill everyone on board. [57:19] The White House is insisting [57:20] that it was legal. [57:21] If you don't have the law [57:26] constraining a military, [57:28] you are now on the road [57:30] to creating a force [57:32] that is not only going to [57:33] not do the right thing, [57:35] but the illegal things [57:37] that it will be asked to do [57:39] are going to become easier [57:40] for it to do. [57:41] The administration said [57:45] the strikes were lawful [57:46] military actions, [57:48] protecting Americans [57:49] against narco-terrorists. [57:51] We will treat you [57:53] like we have treated [57:54] al-Qaeda. [57:55] We will find you, [57:56] we will map your networks, [57:58] we will hunt you down, [58:00] and we will kill you. [58:01] I think they both see [58:02] themselves as, like, [58:04] aggressive men. [58:05] Like, oh, yeah, [58:07] I'm going to get some [58:08] for this, but that's just [58:09] how it is when you're [58:10] a real man. [58:11] I think they see themselves [58:12] that way. [58:13] I think we're just going [58:14] to kill people that are [58:15] bringing drugs into our country. [58:17] Okay? [58:18] We're going to kill them. [58:19] You know? [58:20] They're going to be, like, [58:21] dead. [58:22] Okay? [58:24] The president gave a lawful [58:25] order. [58:26] I was in the Navy for 26 years. [58:27] What would I have done? [58:29] I don't know. [58:30] Would have pulled the trigger [58:32] on those individuals. [58:33] Lawful order, designated, [58:35] got the authority, boom. [58:37] If you're against it, [58:38] you sound like a lawyerly, [58:40] whiny, effeminate weasel. [58:42] You're going to have to [58:43] choose a side. [58:44] Are you going to be on the [58:45] side of the cartels, [58:46] or are you going to be side [58:47] of the American people? [58:48] Blowing up these boats [58:49] and getting criticized for it [58:50] and having a bit of a hubbub [58:51] at first, and then it [58:52] becomes routine, and we've [58:54] sort of all forgotten about [58:55] it at this point almost, [58:56] right? [58:58] It's pretty amazing that he [58:59] got away with that. [59:00] And I think it taught him, [59:01] I can just get away with [59:02] being a tough guy. [59:06] By the end of 2025, [59:08] a total of 35 boat strikes [59:10] would kill more than 115 [59:12] people. [59:15] But Maduro was not budging, [59:17] and Rubio pushed [59:18] for more action. [59:19] They start imposing [59:20] more sanctions. [59:21] They start taking [59:22] other measures. [59:23] They started building [59:24] this pressure campaign [59:26] to try to weaken Maduro [59:28] as much as possible. [59:35] Certainly not at all [59:37] interested in leaving power. [59:39] Alerta! [59:40] Alerta! [59:41] So the patients in the White [59:44] House from Trump, from [59:46] Rubio as well, wears more [59:48] and more thin. [59:49] There's a sense that Maduro [59:52] is not taking their threats [59:53] seriously. [59:54] He's not understanding just [59:55] how serious the president [59:56] is. [59:57] Trump hates being disrespected. [1:00:01] Maduro responded to the [1:00:05] threats by hosting rallies [1:00:07] and dancing and so forth. [1:00:09] Trump sees a video. [1:00:12] He sees that and he says, [1:00:15] who does this guy think he [1:00:16] is? [1:00:17] Trump thinks Maduro [1:00:20] is mocking him. [1:00:21] It might look like [1:00:25] background sort of optics. [1:00:27] Really important in how [1:00:29] Trump thinks of things. [1:00:30] That's the kind of thing [1:00:31] that would enrage Trump. [1:00:33] That's why I think it [1:00:35] shifted to Plan B. [1:00:38] The moment that he feels [1:00:39] games are being played [1:00:40] or that he's getting [1:00:41] tapped along, you're gonna [1:00:43] go to Plan B. [1:00:44] It would be the most [1:00:46] audacious military move yet. [1:00:48] Trump and much of the war [1:00:51] cabinet gathered at Mar-a-Lago. [1:00:53] For Trump to order this [1:00:56] raid on Venezuela is [1:00:58] incredibly risky because [1:01:00] it's not just sending [1:01:01] missiles into targets far [1:01:03] away. [1:01:04] It's sending American troops [1:01:05] on the ground. [1:01:06] And if it happened bad, [1:01:07] it's on his watch. [1:01:09] For Pete Heksheth, [1:01:11] a way to demonstrate [1:01:12] his warrior ethos. [1:01:14] Anything can go wrong [1:01:16] in the fog of war. [1:01:17] If a single U.S. service [1:01:20] member loses their life, [1:01:22] the helicopter lands [1:01:24] 10 inches the wrong way, [1:01:26] you can have a Blackhawk [1:01:27] down situation. [1:01:28] For Marco Rubio, [1:01:31] a golden opportunity. [1:01:33] Himself obviously being [1:01:34] the son of Cuban immigrants, [1:01:35] he had a really, [1:01:36] really big stake in this. [1:01:38] It's important to remember [1:01:39] that he sees this as part [1:01:40] of a bigger whole, [1:01:41] as this axis of evil [1:01:42] in the Western Hemisphere. [1:01:44] These regimes that are, [1:01:46] in his view, really [1:01:47] anti-democratic. [1:01:48] The other thing is [1:01:51] who wasn't in the room, [1:01:52] and that's Vice President [1:01:53] J.D. Vance. [1:01:54] He had been in [1:01:55] South Florida, [1:01:56] but was not there. [1:01:59] He was the one guy [1:02:00] on a screen. [1:02:01] At the moment when [1:02:03] Rubio's big, [1:02:05] consolidating achievement [1:02:07] is happening, [1:02:08] he's gonna take Maduro [1:02:09] from power, [1:02:10] Vance is just quietly [1:02:12] walking away. [1:02:13] This isn't his fight. [1:02:15] The fight to remove [1:02:16] the vestiges of communism [1:02:18] from Latin America [1:02:21] is not something [1:02:23] intrinsic to his politics. [1:02:25] It belongs to [1:02:26] a different arm [1:02:28] of the Republican Party, [1:02:30] of the President's [1:02:31] administration. [1:02:32] It's just not his fight, [1:02:34] and so he's gone. [1:02:35] Also missing, [1:02:37] Tulsi Gabbard. [1:02:38] Trump's director [1:02:39] of national intelligence, [1:02:41] you would expect [1:02:42] her to be there. [1:02:43] And there was this [1:02:44] kind of comical moment [1:02:45] where she posted [1:02:46] before the raid [1:02:47] this photo of her [1:02:48] in a sunset in Hawaii, [1:02:49] you know, aloha. [1:02:50] And at the same time, [1:02:52] most of her colleagues [1:02:53] are preparing [1:02:54] this really massive operation. [1:02:55] On a screen [1:02:56] at Mar-a-Lago, [1:03:09] they watched the action [1:03:10] in real time. [1:03:11] The Delta Force guys [1:03:16] entered the palace. [1:03:17] I think when they got [1:03:18] to Maduro, [1:03:21] he and his wife [1:03:22] were trying to close the door. [1:03:23] And they got in [1:03:25] and extracted their man. [1:03:26] It was flawless. [1:03:27] They didn't lose [1:03:29] a single guy. [1:03:31] Put him on a helicopter [1:03:33] and then got out of there. [1:03:34] The Delta Force guys [1:03:38] are good. [1:03:39] I mean, they're incredibly good. [1:03:40] It really couldn't [1:03:42] have gone better. [1:03:43] And, you know, [1:03:44] you've got to give him [1:03:45] credit for that. [1:03:48] For a president, [1:03:49] launching a kinetic operation, [1:03:50] this was just a dream, [1:03:52] I think. [1:03:54] It was over really [1:03:55] before dawn, [1:03:56] before most Americans [1:03:57] had woken up. [1:03:58] The breaking news this morning, [1:03:59] the U.S. carried out [1:04:00] large-scale strikes [1:04:01] on Venezuela overnight. [1:04:03] Quite stunning. [1:04:04] The United States [1:04:05] has removed [1:04:06] another country's leader. [1:04:08] We just saw [1:04:09] a regime change operation. [1:04:11] A daring operation [1:04:13] in the pre-dawn hours [1:04:14] to snatch [1:04:15] Nicolas Maduro. [1:04:17] What a brilliant move [1:04:18] by President Trump. [1:04:19] This is [1:04:20] an historic night. [1:04:22] Trump did seem [1:04:24] pretty fired up. [1:04:25] Nicolas Maduro [1:04:26] on board [1:04:27] the U.S.S. Iwo Jima. [1:04:29] What you're looking at [1:04:30] right now [1:04:31] is our first pictures [1:04:32] of Nicolas Maduro. [1:04:33] What an incredible picture. [1:04:35] Mr. President. [1:04:43] Good morning. [1:04:44] That morning, [1:04:45] at what could have been [1:04:46] a victory lap [1:04:47] for Rubio's [1:04:48] Latin America Democracy Project, [1:04:50] Trump switched gears. [1:04:52] Mr. President. [1:04:53] Mr. President. [1:04:54] Mr. President. [1:04:55] Mr. President. [1:04:56] So who's in power [1:04:57] right now? [1:04:58] Well, we're going to be [1:04:59] running it with a group, [1:05:00] and we're going to make sure [1:05:01] it's run properly. [1:05:02] We're going to rebuild [1:05:03] the oil infrastructure, [1:05:04] which will cost billions [1:05:05] of dollars. [1:05:06] It'll be paid for [1:05:07] by the oil companies [1:05:08] directly. [1:05:09] Oil. [1:05:10] You know, he's probably [1:05:11] said the word oil [1:05:12] about 30 or more times. [1:05:15] We're in the oil business. [1:05:16] We're going to sell this [1:05:17] to our country. [1:05:18] In other words, [1:05:19] we'll be selling oil. [1:05:20] We find out what's [1:05:21] really important. [1:05:22] And no, it's not the drugs. [1:05:23] And no, it's not democracy. [1:05:24] It's the oil. [1:05:25] So we'll be selling [1:05:26] large amounts of oil [1:05:28] to other countries. [1:05:29] That's what drives him. [1:05:31] And it's so different [1:05:32] than Marco Rubio, right? [1:05:33] What Rubio really wanted [1:05:36] in Venezuela was regime change. [1:05:39] Regime change is not [1:05:41] what's happened. [1:05:42] Maduro change has happened. [1:05:43] Maduro is gone. [1:05:44] But Maduro's vice president, [1:05:46] Delce Rodriguez, [1:05:47] is currently in charge [1:05:48] of the country. [1:05:49] The whole apparatus [1:05:52] of the Venezuelan [1:05:54] kind of criminal state, [1:05:55] i.e. the military, [1:05:56] the drug running, [1:05:57] all that, [1:05:58] it's in place. [1:05:59] It's still in place. [1:06:00] She'll run the country. [1:06:02] She ain't going to make [1:06:03] it a democracy. [1:06:04] And I think for Rubio, [1:06:05] that's got to hurt. [1:06:08] You have a vice president [1:06:09] who's been appointed [1:06:10] by Maduro. [1:06:11] She had a long conversation [1:06:12] with Marco, [1:06:13] and she said, [1:06:14] we'll do whatever you need. [1:06:18] I think she was quite gracious. [1:06:20] If I were Marco Rubio, [1:06:22] I would be deeply pained [1:06:24] and distressed [1:06:25] by the course of events [1:06:27] in Venezuela. [1:06:28] You have to wonder [1:06:30] what rationalizations [1:06:31] he's telling himself [1:06:33] to justify what's just happened. [1:06:35] He's finally now gotten [1:06:36] the result he wants [1:06:38] in removing Maduro from power, [1:06:40] but none of the reasons [1:06:42] why he believes Maduro [1:06:43] should be removed from power [1:06:44] are actually being respected [1:06:46] on the merits. [1:06:47] The Maduro regime persists. [1:06:49] There's this explicit claim [1:06:51] made about the value [1:06:52] of extracting oil [1:06:53] from the country. [1:06:54] You know, [1:06:55] you basically have now [1:06:56] the Chavista regime [1:06:57] in power in Venezuela, [1:06:59] but answering to the Americans. [1:07:01] I mean, [1:07:03] it's a pretty tangled situation [1:07:04] for someone like Rubio [1:07:05] on the ideological merits [1:07:07] to defend. [1:07:08] Publicly, [1:07:10] Rubio clung to the democracy agenda [1:07:12] and praised the president. [1:07:14] This is a president of action. [1:07:16] Like, I don't understand yet [1:07:17] how they haven't figured this out. [1:07:18] And now, [1:07:20] if you don't know, [1:07:21] now you know. [1:07:22] Don't play games [1:07:23] with this presidents in office [1:07:24] because it's not going [1:07:25] to turn out well. [1:07:29] Trump is on a roll, [1:07:30] and I think he knows [1:07:31] he's on a roll. [1:07:32] He believes he's on a roll. [1:07:33] With me, [1:07:34] we've had a perfect track record [1:07:35] of winning. [1:07:37] We win a lot. [1:07:38] With me, [1:07:40] you've had a lot of victory. [1:07:42] You've had only victories. [1:07:43] You've had no losses. [1:07:44] I think the Venezuela operation [1:07:47] emboldened Trump [1:07:49] to believe that he could do [1:07:51] these very effective [1:07:53] one-shot missions. [1:07:55] Go in. [1:07:56] Do what you need to do. [1:07:57] Destroy what you need to destroy. [1:07:58] Get out. [1:07:59] Done. [1:08:00] No consequences. [1:08:01] Thank you very much. [1:08:04] One factor that people [1:08:12] don't talk about enough [1:08:13] is luck. [1:08:14] So far, [1:08:16] Donald Trump is one [1:08:18] of the luckiest people [1:08:19] in the history of the planet. [1:08:20] He sends American troops [1:08:25] into the middle of Venezuela, [1:08:26] pulls it off. [1:08:27] He practically destroys the [1:08:30] Iranian nuclear program [1:08:31] without losing a plane [1:08:32] or a pilot. [1:08:33] Luck is a factor, [1:08:36] and momentum is a factor [1:08:37] in all of this. [1:08:38] It's luck. [1:08:41] It's roll of the dice. [1:08:43] It's the pure expression [1:08:46] of power. [1:08:47] Just one day after Venezuela, [1:08:53] on Air Force One, [1:08:54] Trump announced another target. [1:08:56] We need Greenland [1:08:58] from a national security situation. [1:09:01] It's so strategic. [1:09:03] Right now, Greenland... [1:09:04] He begins to feel [1:09:05] his oats more, right? [1:09:06] Success begets success. [1:09:07] And so he thinks, [1:09:08] now I need, [1:09:09] now I'm hungry for Greenland. [1:09:11] Trump appears to have [1:09:13] set his sights [1:09:14] on another territory [1:09:15] after the successful operation [1:09:17] in Venezuela. [1:09:18] Greenland, [1:09:19] which is part of Denmark, [1:09:20] a NATO ally. [1:09:21] Any military action [1:09:22] against Greenland [1:09:23] by the United States [1:09:24] would mean the end of NATO. [1:09:25] The president seems [1:09:26] to be making a push [1:09:28] for a new world order. [1:09:29] This is what makes [1:09:31] understanding the Trump era [1:09:33] so difficult. [1:09:34] Every week, [1:09:35] it seems like [1:09:38] there's a new incident, [1:09:39] a new outrage, [1:09:41] a new pushing of the limits. [1:09:43] I believe that he is [1:09:45] a president in a hurry, [1:09:47] in a hurry to put [1:09:49] his stamp on events. [1:09:51] Soon after the Greenland comment, [1:09:54] David Sanger [1:09:55] and his colleagues [1:09:56] from the New York Times [1:09:57] arrived at the Oval Office [1:09:58] for an interview. [1:09:59] So when my colleagues [1:10:00] and I went in [1:10:02] to see the president, [1:10:03] what I said to him was, [1:10:05] why do you need to own this? [1:10:07] This is basically [1:10:08] one of the few places [1:10:09] in the world [1:10:10] you can install [1:10:12] whatever military facilities [1:10:13] you want. [1:10:14] And he looked at me [1:10:15] and he said... [1:10:16] Because that's what I feel [1:10:18] is psychologically needed [1:10:20] for success. [1:10:22] You're going to ask him [1:10:23] to buy it. [1:10:24] Psychologically important [1:10:25] to you or to the United? [1:10:26] Psychologically important [1:10:27] for me. [1:10:28] Now maybe another president [1:10:29] would feel differently, [1:10:30] but so far I've been right [1:10:33] about everything. [1:10:34] to me. [1:10:36] And that's what it is. [1:10:37] That's what it's all about. [1:10:38] It's not about security. [1:10:39] It's about his own [1:10:40] psychological desire [1:10:41] to have Greenland, [1:10:43] to be somebody [1:10:44] who made Greenland [1:10:45] part of the United States. [1:10:47] When I talk about [1:10:48] the foreign policy doctrine, [1:10:49] it's the me, me, me [1:10:50] foreign policy doctrine. [1:10:51] For Donald Trump, [1:10:52] there's another factor, [1:10:54] and that is the glory [1:10:55] of Donald Trump. [1:10:56] It seems so incredible [1:10:58] that a great nation [1:10:59] of 350 million people [1:11:01] could actually be acting [1:11:02] in the world [1:11:03] because of the whims [1:11:04] and interests [1:11:05] of one guy [1:11:06] who wants to pursue [1:11:07] his self-aggrandizement. [1:11:08] Do you see any checks [1:11:10] on your power [1:11:11] on the world stage? [1:11:12] Is there anything [1:11:13] that could stop you [1:11:14] if you wanted to? [1:11:15] Yeah, there's one thing. [1:11:16] My own morality. [1:11:18] My own mind. [1:11:19] It's the only thing [1:11:20] that can stop. [1:11:21] Not international law. [1:11:22] I don't need [1:11:24] international law. [1:11:27] Trump is, [1:11:28] if nothing else, [1:11:29] a believer [1:11:30] of the powerful [1:11:31] do what they can [1:11:34] and the weak [1:11:35] do what they must. [1:11:36] Part of the appeal [1:11:40] with President Trump [1:11:41] is that he is going [1:11:44] to reshape the world [1:11:46] in a way that outlasts him, [1:11:48] that there will be [1:11:50] a pre- and post-Trump world. [1:11:52] Part of what he wants [1:11:55] his legacy to be [1:11:56] is to be able to say, [1:11:58] I did what nobody else could. [1:11:59] That winter, [1:12:02] Israeli Prime Minister [1:12:04] Benjamin Netanyahu [1:12:05] returned to the White House [1:12:07] with fresh concerns [1:12:08] about Iran [1:12:09] and another plan [1:12:10] for attack. [1:12:11] Netanyahu comes [1:12:13] to the White House [1:12:14] for a meeting [1:12:15] on February 11th. [1:12:16] There's very little fanfare. [1:12:20] They do not do [1:12:21] a media availability [1:12:22] afterwards, [1:12:23] as is their custom. [1:12:25] No press conference. [1:12:26] No gaggle. [1:12:27] Nothing. [1:12:29] They have a long [1:12:30] three-hour meeting. [1:12:31] There was none [1:12:32] of the usual banter [1:12:33] between the two of them [1:12:34] who kind of have [1:12:35] this old buddy's rapport. [1:12:37] And they immediately [1:12:38] went into potential plans [1:12:40] for what was going to be [1:12:42] a joint operation [1:12:44] to once and for all, [1:12:47] in Netanyahu's phrasing, [1:12:49] end the threat [1:12:50] of a nuclear-armed Iran. [1:12:51] One of the things [1:12:54] that Netanyahu has realized [1:12:55] is that this is [1:12:56] a very different president. [1:12:57] He's fully in legacy mode. [1:12:59] And the way to get to him, [1:13:02] the way to really make him [1:13:03] want to take some of these [1:13:04] pretty risky decisions [1:13:06] is to frame it [1:13:07] in terms of his legacy. [1:13:08] Netanyahu's pretty canny [1:13:11] at saying, [1:13:12] you'll be one of the great presidents. [1:13:14] You know, you'll be like Reagan [1:13:15] or Lincoln [1:13:16] or Roosevelt [1:13:17] if you do something substantial. [1:13:20] No other president [1:13:21] has been able to handle [1:13:22] the Iran portfolio. [1:13:23] You know? [1:13:24] Carter, Reagan, H.W., [1:13:25] Clinton, Obama, W., Biden. [1:13:28] And you can just solve it. [1:13:29] He said, [1:13:31] you get the ayatollahs out, [1:13:33] you bring about regime change [1:13:35] in Iran, [1:13:36] and school books [1:13:37] will write about you. [1:13:38] History books [1:13:39] will write about you. [1:13:40] Just think of [1:13:42] the generations to come. [1:13:43] Who will be talking about you? [1:13:45] Netanyahu also warned Trump [1:13:48] that once Israel struck, [1:13:50] Iranian missiles [1:13:51] would hit American targets [1:13:52] in the region, too. [1:13:53] The president came [1:13:55] to the realization [1:13:56] that the head of the snake [1:13:57] has to go, [1:13:58] and we have to change [1:13:59] the way we engage [1:14:00] with Iran now, [1:14:02] or presidents [1:14:03] five decades from now [1:14:05] will still be stuck [1:14:06] playing whack-a-mole [1:14:07] in the Middle East. [1:14:08] Now, once again, [1:14:13] the president was [1:14:14] on the precipice [1:14:15] of launching yet another war. [1:14:17] President Trump [1:14:20] takes this back [1:14:21] to his wartime cabinet, [1:14:23] and they all [1:14:24] are providing their opinions, [1:14:26] many of which say [1:14:27] that they don't agree. [1:14:28] There was a lot of things [1:14:30] that they put on the table [1:14:31] that could happen. [1:14:32] There were all of these risks [1:14:34] in terms of the global economy, [1:14:35] the ability of Iran [1:14:36] to wage a quite asymmetric war. [1:14:38] The one cabinet member [1:14:42] that was pretty gung-ho [1:14:43] was Secretary of Defense [1:14:44] Pete Hegseth. [1:14:45] He has just been so gung-ho [1:14:49] to carry out the president's [1:14:50] military adventurism [1:14:52] without question or pushback. [1:14:54] Even the sort of yes-men [1:14:57] that we've seen [1:14:58] around the president [1:14:59] have felt like Hegseth [1:15:00] has taken it a bit too far, [1:15:02] and that you do need [1:15:03] to be a lot more transparent [1:15:06] about the risks [1:15:07] that are involved [1:15:08] in a military operation. [1:15:10] And many people [1:15:11] we talk to around the president [1:15:12] are not really sure [1:15:13] that Hegseth does that. [1:15:15] If Hegseth wasn't [1:15:17] putting on the brakes, [1:15:18] there was another military man [1:15:21] that could, [1:15:22] General Dan Kane. [1:15:23] General Kane, [1:15:25] Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, [1:15:27] had deep reservations [1:15:28] about embarking on this war [1:15:30] with Iran [1:15:31] and had let other members [1:15:32] of the administration know [1:15:34] that he had doubts [1:15:36] about the efficacy [1:15:37] and the strategic objectives [1:15:39] of the mission. [1:15:40] And it was Susie Wiles [1:15:42] who pressed General Kane [1:15:44] to be more forthright [1:15:45] with President Trump, [1:15:46] feeling like some people [1:15:48] were holding back [1:15:49] on what they really assessed [1:15:50] were the precarious possibilities [1:15:52] of starting a war with Iran. [1:15:54] We saw Dan Kane really lay out [1:15:57] all of the risks [1:15:58] of what could happen. [1:15:59] One of the ones, [1:16:00] obviously, [1:16:01] the Strait of Hormuz. [1:16:02] This choke point, [1:16:03] the Strait of Hormuz, [1:16:04] they've been in every [1:16:06] Pentagon war game [1:16:07] over decades. [1:16:10] This should not be [1:16:11] a remote surprise [1:16:12] to anybody. [1:16:13] The military knew all this, [1:16:15] and Trump was definitely [1:16:16] briefed on it. [1:16:17] We know that. [1:16:19] Those who heard [1:16:20] about the deliberations [1:16:21] say Marco Rubio [1:16:22] didn't take a stand. [1:16:23] Marco Rubio [1:16:24] is a shrewd enough operator [1:16:26] that he kept [1:16:27] a very firm distance [1:16:29] from putting himself [1:16:30] in one camp or another. [1:16:32] He would present an analysis [1:16:35] in one direction [1:16:36] and in another direction [1:16:37] to help the president [1:16:38] come to his decision, [1:16:40] but he was someone [1:16:41] who really stayed clear [1:16:42] out of taking a firm stance. [1:16:43] The one that we know [1:16:45] who pushed back [1:16:47] was Vice President Vance. [1:16:49] J.D. Vance was one [1:16:50] of the fiercest opponents [1:16:52] of getting involved [1:16:53] in this conflict. [1:16:55] He said it might get us [1:16:58] into a situation [1:16:59] that it has spiraled [1:17:00] out of our control, [1:17:01] that we can decide [1:17:02] how wars start, [1:17:03] but we don't know [1:17:04] how they're going to end. [1:17:05] We've seen this happen [1:17:06] time and time again. [1:17:07] You rose to power [1:17:08] on this promise. [1:17:10] This will cause a rupture [1:17:12] with our own base. [1:17:14] If you break that promise, [1:17:15] it could be [1:17:16] a very serious rupture. [1:17:18] Vance knew his place. [1:17:23] Vance had said, [1:17:26] you know, look, [1:17:27] I think this is a bad idea, [1:17:28] but if you do it, [1:17:29] I'll support you all the way. [1:17:30] A source that I've spoken to [1:17:34] about this very issue [1:17:35] said doing anything more [1:17:37] than that would have been [1:17:38] political suicide. [1:17:39] He's not going to tell [1:17:41] the president, [1:17:42] no, you cannot do this. [1:17:43] His job is to advise [1:17:45] the president. [1:17:46] And that is very much [1:17:47] kind of in keeping [1:17:48] with how his current [1:17:50] cabinet operates. [1:17:51] President Trump [1:17:56] sees himself as a survivor. [1:17:58] Have you made [1:17:59] a final decision on Iran? [1:18:00] No, I haven't. [1:18:01] No, I haven't. [1:18:02] Well, we haven't made [1:18:03] a final decision. [1:18:04] We're not exactly... [1:18:05] Part of his persona [1:18:06] and part of his personality [1:18:08] is that there's [1:18:09] an aura of invincibility. [1:18:11] Is there a risk [1:18:12] that strikes could turn [1:18:14] into a long, drawn-out conflict? [1:18:16] I guess you could say [1:18:17] there's always a risk. [1:18:18] You know, when there's war, [1:18:19] there's a risk in anything, [1:18:20] both good and bad. [1:18:21] We've had tremendous luck [1:18:24] with myself. [1:18:25] Everything's worked out, [1:18:27] and then we do the [1:18:28] midnight hammer [1:18:29] and so many others. [1:18:30] Everything's worked out [1:18:31] and we want to keep it [1:18:32] that way. [1:18:33] He's still riding high [1:18:35] on his Venezuela mission [1:18:37] in January. [1:18:38] He viewed himself [1:18:41] as invincible. [1:18:42] Remember, [1:18:44] he was a convicted felon [1:18:45] and he avoided death [1:18:46] and he came back [1:18:47] from political [1:18:48] no-man's land. [1:18:49] He wanted to do things [1:18:51] that no one else has done [1:18:53] and believed that nothing [1:18:54] could stop him [1:18:55] because of everything [1:18:56] he had just lived through. [1:18:57] Netanyahu's promise to Trump [1:19:01] that you can really take them out. [1:19:03] You for the first time in 47 years [1:19:06] since the 1979 hostage crisis, [1:19:09] you can be the president [1:19:10] who gets this done. [1:19:11] Clearly that argument [1:19:13] outweighed the various skepticisms [1:19:16] that Trump was hearing [1:19:17] from other members [1:19:18] of his cabinet. [1:19:19] A lot of people [1:19:22] who have been with him [1:19:23] through the thick of it [1:19:25] look and say, [1:19:27] well, you know, [1:19:28] he's mounted these comebacks [1:19:30] that nobody thought [1:19:31] were possible. [1:19:32] He's participated [1:19:34] and authorized [1:19:35] all of these different excursions [1:19:38] overseas and come out on top. [1:19:40] And there's just kind of a belief [1:19:42] that in the end [1:19:43] things will work out. [1:19:46] So what you really see [1:19:47] in this war cabinet [1:19:48] is a group of people [1:19:49] who do not want to get [1:19:51] on the wrong side [1:19:52] of President Trump [1:19:53] and who don't see it [1:19:54] as their obligation [1:19:55] to stop him. [1:19:56] They see it [1:19:58] as their obligation [1:19:59] to enable him [1:20:00] to achieve his desires [1:20:02] and his professed [1:20:03] desired outcomes. [1:20:04] The president returned [1:20:05] to the situation [1:20:08] room at Mar-a-Lago. [1:20:10] President Trump [1:20:11] had such success [1:20:12] with the Maduro raid [1:20:14] that Trump believed [1:20:16] that he could replicate [1:20:17] the success [1:20:18] of this operation [1:20:19] in Iran. [1:20:20] They had set up [1:20:21] a makeshift situation [1:20:22] room inside of Mar-a-Lago. [1:20:25] He called in his closest, [1:20:26] most trusted group [1:20:27] of advisors, [1:20:28] the people he believed [1:20:30] he could count on, [1:20:31] authorized the strike. [1:20:39] The war began [1:20:40] exactly 365 days [1:20:42] after that traumatic [1:20:43] dressing down [1:20:44] of the Ukrainian president [1:20:45] in the Oval Office. [1:20:48] Operation Epic Fury. [1:20:51] Operation Epic Fury, [1:20:52] a joint attack [1:20:53] by the United States [1:20:54] and Israel. [1:20:55] A year of fighting wars. [1:20:57] President Trump's [1:20:58] approval rating [1:20:59] hitting a new [1:21:00] all-time low. [1:21:01] Now defining [1:21:02] Donald Trump's presidency. [1:21:03] Trump's one-time [1:21:04] close ally, [1:21:05] Tucker Carlson, [1:21:06] disgusted. [1:21:07] Tulsi Gabbard, [1:21:08] director of national [1:21:09] intelligence, [1:21:10] has resigned. [1:21:11] U.S. forces conducted [1:21:12] self-defense strikes [1:21:13] in southern Iran Monday. [1:21:14] New strikes against Iran [1:21:15] even as talks [1:21:16] may be moving forward [1:21:17] to end the war. [1:21:18] The question now [1:21:19] is could Cuba be next? [1:21:21] No new wars. [1:21:34] No new wars. [1:21:37] That's very good. [1:21:39] They thought I was [1:21:42] going to start a war. [1:21:43] Let me tell you something, [1:21:44] I'm going to stop [1:21:45] World War III. [1:21:46] For more on this [1:22:26] and other Frontline [1:22:27] programs, [1:22:28] visit our website [1:22:29] at pbs.org slash frontline. [1:22:31] Your cabinet is available [1:22:50] on Amazon Prime Video.