An interesting moment from Thursday night's Lara Ingraham exclusive with President Trump...
Q: Any regrets about Iran?
Trump: I don't believe in the word "regret."
Trump even commented to Ingraham that he would make the same decisions all over again if he had a chance.
The Fox show host had posed to the president, "If we hadn’t done Iran, you would be cruising to midterms victory right now" - and made reference to high gas prices.
Trump replied: "supposing we were cruising, and all of a sudden Iran has a nuclear weapon. They would use it."
Explaining that he doesn't believe in "regrets" and that he has none especially about launching the Iran war, Trump asserted: "If I had it to do again, I would do exactly what I did."
He further argued that if Iran had a nuclear weapon, its leaders wouldn't hesitate to "wipe out" Israel and the Middle East, and could go so far as to hit American cities.
In a separate brief interview with the press this week, President Trump was asked about reports that Vice President Vance and Secretary State Marco Rubio warned him of the possibility that the Iran conflict could persist for the remainder of his term...
Trump vehemently denied that there's so much as a chance of this, but didn't actually explain how he intends to wind down the war in a way favorable to the US and White House policy. Or in other words, the American public still awaits words on a realistic exit strategy.
On going into Iran "full" - Trump did underscore that the midterm elections makes this a bad idea. His administration has also repeatedly said there won't be boots on the ground in Iran.
Was this a quiet part out loud moment?
Among the most interesting parts of the interview came when he was asked about the young men in MAGA who are angry over the Iran war:
Q: What do you say to all the young men who supported you in 2024?
Trump: They still do.
Q: Some of them are demoralized.
Trump: I don't think they're demoralized. I think they're very proud of the fact I'm not letting Iran have a nuclear weapon.
Trump earlier this week insisted of Iran's position in the conflict, "I don’t know that they’re gonna be able to hold out," Trump said. “But it’ll get settled after the elections. Or maybe sooner. But it’ll get settled right after the election."
The reference to it'll "get settled" could have ominous meaning. It suggests Trump could ether escalate against Tehran dramatically, or else there could be the opposite: de-escalation. The world will find out within a couple months.