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President Donald Trump’s recent interview with Marc Caputo on “The Axios Show” elicited a broad range of insightful comments from the president amid his administration’s preliminary deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The memorandum of understanding, signed this week, has sparked a 60-day negotiating period between the United States and Iran as the two nations work toward cementing a long-term peace deal.
The president’s interview with Caputo touched on Iran, Israel, his relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the realities of utilizing American power.
“Well, I think you have to do it judiciously,” the president said, via a transcript of the conversation. “I think that experience is good. I always say that potential is far more important. In other words, having ability is far more important than experience. But having both is very good. And I learned a lot during the first administration.”
The president also addressed a viral moment from the recent G7 Summit in France, where he walked into a room of world leaders and facetiously remarked, “I’m the boss.”
Caputo asked the president how many of those leaders “believe” that he’s really the boss.
“All of them,” Trump replied. “But I was just being funny.”
On the possibility of having to resume combat operations in Iran, President Trump expressed distaste with those who have suggested that he needs to escalate attacks against the regime.
“The only way I can get tougher is if I go in there for another two or three weeks and continue to bomb the hell out of ’em. Right? But what does that get us? The Strait of Hormuz will not be open,” he remarked.
He said he had “lost respect” for “hardliners” who are cheerleading the annihilation of Iran. The president said, “I’m not looking to kill people.”
Another point of interest discussed during the president’s comments to Caputo was the relationship between the United States and its junior military partner in this war, Israel.
An integral point of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran revolves around the hostilities perpetrated by Israel against Lebanon as it pursues the terrorist group Hezbollah, RSBN previously reported.
Caputo asked President Trump about what his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was like.
“It’s good, but we have to keep him a little bit sane,” President Trump replied.
Caputo pressed the president on whether he would be able to keep Netanyahu and the IDF from continuing to attack Lebanon.
“Yeah, I will be,” President Trump said. “…They have a lot of respect for me, and they do as I say.”
In remarks delivered on Friday at Joint Base Andrews, President Trump mentioned Netanyahu, praising him as a “warrior prime minister” and noting that people should “give him credit.”
“We’ve really fought hard with Israel,” Trump said.
