President Donald Trump has threatened renewed military action against Iran, voiced anxieties over the actions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and weighed in on his potential 2028 successor in a wide-ranging new interview, which offered blunt assessments of allies and adversaries alike.
Trump also dismissed Republican concerns about the midterm elections this November and claimed to “study” Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, both of whom are rumored contenders for the White House in two years.
“They’re both very talented,” Trump said. “I like them both, and I like them together, you know, it would be great. I don’t know how you beat them if they’re together.”
The president’s interview, with New York Post columnist Miranda Devine on her Pod Force One podcast, comes at a fraught moment in his second term.
U.S. negotiations to end the Iran war have yet to yield results, domestic gas prices remain elevated and Trump’s approval rating is hovering near record lows.
open image in galleryTrump hints at further military action in Iran
Much of the roughly 45-minute interview, aired Wednesday, centered on the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, which has engulfed other parts of the Middle East and sent global fuel prices soaring. With diplomatic talks and a ceasefire remaining fragile, Trump hinted that he is weighing further military action.
“Now, I have to make a determination,” Trump said. “Do we sign a deal or do we do it the other way? And the other way is not nice.”
Pressed by Devine on what that alternative would entail, Trump replied: “Certainty.”
“It would be over,” he continued. “There wouldn’t be any bull****. There wouldn’t be any talking. There wouldn’t be any delays. But, you know, I’d rather do it the nice way, from a humanitarian standpoint.”
Multiple recent polls indicate Americans are broadly opposed to the conflict. In an Ipsos survey released last month, 61 percent of respondents said attacking Iran was a mistake, while 36 percent said it was the right decision.
open image in gallery‘Perturbed’ by Netanyahu
During the on-camera interview, Trump said he has become “perturbed” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his handling of the war.
Devine asked the president to respond to an Axios report earlier this week that said Trump tore into Netanyahu during an expletive-laden phone call after Iran threatened to suspend negotiations over Israel’s ongoing attacks on Lebanon.
“You’re f****** crazy. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your a**. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this,” Trump reportedly said on the call, according to Axios.
Devine, a conservative columnist for the New York tabloid, asked whether Trump spoke in those terms.
“I did,” the president responded. “I wouldn’t say angry. I was a little bit perturbed at his constant fighting with Lebanon, you know. Some point, I said, Bibi, we gotta stop this, we gotta stop it.”
But the president said he maintained a “very good relationship” with the prime minister, and went on to claim: “If there wasn’t me, there would be no Israel right now.”
Devine then asked Trump to respond to those who say Netanyahu “tricked” him into attacking Iran. This accusation was levied by Joe Kent, Trump’s former counterterrorism chief, who resigned from his post in protest of the war in March.
“Well, they’re just you know the enemy,” Trump replied. “They’re just, you know, the ‘Dumacrats’… These are people that don’t know what they’re doing.”
‘Every single person I endorse wins’
Devine asked Trump whether the fallout from the Iran war has left Republicans vulnerable heading into the midterms.
“Well, I don’t know,” he said. “I mean, everybody I endorse wins. I mean everybody. You saw that right, last week? Every single person I endorse wins.”
Trump appeared to be referring to recent statewide contest results that suggest his grip on the GOP remains strong. In Kentucky, Trump ally Ed Gallrein defeated Representative Thomas Massie, a vocal critic of the president, in the GOP primary for Massie’s seat on May 19. One week later, Trump-endorsed state Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated incumbent Senator John Cornyn in a runoff election in Texas for Cornyn’s seat.
However in Iowa on Tuesday night, Representative Randy Feenstra — endorsed by Trump just days earlier — lost the GOP gubernatorial primary to businessman Zach Lahn.
Trump told Devine that he remains laser-focused on Iran, not upcoming elections.
“Again, this is a very important moment in history,” he said, referring to the Iran war. “We can’t let this happen, what was going on for 47 years. This should’ve been done for 47 years.”
Later, he repeated his baseless claims that the 2020 election was “rigged” and that no other country in the world uses mail-in ballots. Dozens of nations permit mail-in voting in some form, according to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.
Vance or Rubio?
The president later touted both Vance and Rubio as potential presidential candidates in 2028 as he has done repeatedly in the past year.
“They’re both very talented,” Trump said. “I like them both, and I like them together, you know, it would be great. I don’t know how you beat them if they’re together.”
He didn’t say which candidate he would prefer at the top of the ticket.
Trump also noted that he likes to “study them as they’re with each other,” adding: “I find it very interesting.”
Both Vance and Rubio, who are close friends, have remained tight-lipped about their White House ambitions. Rubio said last year that Vance would make a “great nominee,” adding: “I hope he intends to do it.” Several recent polls of GOP voters indicate the pair remain more popular than other potential candidates.
However, Trump — who has previously teased running for an unconstitutional third term — underlined that 2028 is a long way off.
“We have more than two-and-half years, substantially more than two-and-a-half years,” he told Devine.
Blanche will likely be tapped as AG
Towards the end of the podcast, Trump indicated that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche could be nominated to serve in the position with Senate confirmation.
Blanche, Trump’s former personal attorney, replaced Pam Bondi when she was fired in April after her handling of the Epstein files drew bipartisan outrage. Trump also publicly raged against the Justice Department’s failure to prosecute his perceived political adversaries under her leadership.
“Todd’s doing a very good job at DOJ,” Trump told Devine.
When she asked whether Blanche will be nominated to serve as attorney general, Trump said: “I think he will.”
“I wanted to see how he’s received. You know we put him as acting. And he’s done a very good job, but I’ve known him a long time,” Trump added.
The columnist then pressed Trump on whether he had reached a decision or if another contender — namely, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis — was up for consideration.
“Ron’s very good,” the president said, noting that DeSantis signed legislation earlier this year to rename Palm Beach International Airport after him. “No, I never thought… Ron never talked about it, you know, he’s a governor, doing a good job.”