Trump misled by bogus AI video – plus three key insights from his recent events
Trump’s Iran Claims
Donald Trump stated that dialogue with the Iranians is ongoing, yet could not specify who he is communicating with or what a potential deal would entail.
Investors reacted with concern following Trump’s remarks, leading to a decline in defense stocks amid uncertainty over US-Iran relations and Middle Eastern stability.
Trump emphasized the importance of the Strait of Hormuz in his recent conversation with the UK Prime Minister, with discussions expected to continue.
Briefing summary
President Trump confirmed ongoing dialogues with Iran, stating, “They want to make a deal.” However, he provided no details on the nature of these discussions, mentioning that previous contacts are now deceased.
During a phone call with UK Prime Minister Starmer, Trump emphasized the need for decisive action regarding the Strait of Hormuz without waiting for team deliberations, implying he questions the necessity for lengthy consultations.
Trump disclosed his recent learning about Lebanon’s geographical and political complexities, expressing surprise that people reside in conflict-ridden areas such as Lebanon and Ukraine, illustrating gaps in his foreign policy awareness.
Full reading: Trump fooled by fake AI video – and three other takeaways from his latest appearances | US News
There are plenty of things that could be highlighted from Donald Trump’s latest public appearances.
Here are four:
Inconsistencies over discussions with the Iranians
The US president has said a few times over recent hours that dialogue with the Iranians is ongoing.
“They want to make a deal,” he said on the plane back to Washington DC on Sunday night, repeating it again on Monday.
But when asked the obvious questions – “Who are you talking to that wants to make a deal?” and “what does a deal look like?” – the president couldn’t answer.
Instead, he said that all the people they had been talking to were now dead. He’s said this before, attributing it, bizarrely, to the military operation being so successful.
He also mused whether he would actually want to make a deal with the Iranians even if they wanted to. These musings were peppered with “they want to make a deal”.
Trump looks at a model aircraft commemorating the US bombing raid against Iran’s nuclear facilities. Pic: Reuters
Artificial Intelligence
The president revealed that he had seen a video (presumably on social media) which showed the US aircraft carrier, the Abraham Lincoln, under attack and on fire.
He then revealed that he’d called his generals and asked: “What’s with the Abraham Lincoln? Looks like it’s on fire.”
He was then told it was fake.
This raises serious questions about the sort of content the president is absorbing and believing on social media.
The Starmer call
The president and prime minister spoke by phone on Sunday. The “readout” of the call from Downing Street was thin and revealed very little. A source later told me that the call was “good” and that there was a “clear shared interest in keeping the Strait of Hormuz open”.
I am told that any public frustration shown by the president was not reflected in the call.
The president has now revealed a further window into that call.
“You know the prime minister of UK – United Kingdom – yesterday, told me, ‘I’m meeting with my team to make a determination’.”
“I said, ‘you don’t need to meet with the team. You’re the prime minister. You can make your own… why do you have to meet with your team to find out whether or not you send some mine sweepers to us…'”
Learning about Lebanon
In another moment of conscious thought, he revealed that he’d only recently been told about the geographical power structure in Lebanon – something that’s vital to understand given the Israeli military operations the US is supporting there right now. In the same sentence, he also expressed surprise that people lived even in Ukraine or Lebanon.
This is the verbatim transcript of that moment: “…substantial person, wealthy person, whose parents live in Lebanon. I said: ‘Really, how do you live in Lebanon? Your parents? Oh, yeah, they live there. And over the years, they’ve gotten used to the fact that it’s being bombed.’
“But they explained to me that it’s really a different section of Lebanon. It’s the section where Hezbollah is, and they get used to it, I guess… I mean people live in Ukraine.
“You would think they wouldn’t live in Ukraine, but they live in Ukraine. I don’t know that I’d do that, but they live in Ukraine. They live in Lebanon.”