Posted on 06/18/2026 5:51:19 PM PDT by Miami Rebel
President Donald Trump told Marc Caputo of Axios on Thursday that the U.S. had bombarded Iran into “unconditional surrender.” His remarks came a day after he signed a memo of understanding meant to end the current war.
Pundits and politicians from across the political spectrum have panned the deal as being too lenient on Iran. Some of the loudest criticisms have come from the right.
Fox News host Mark Levin called it “unthinkable,” while his Fox colleague Trey Gowdy said the deal will make Iran “richer.” Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said Trump is getting “very poor advice.”
The arrangement, which could ultimately end the war, contains 14 provisions, which require Iran to allow ships to travel freely through the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. to cease its naval blockade of the country, and Iran to have access to at least $300 billion in financing.
In the interview, Caputo asked Trump what he had learned about presidential power:
CAPUTO: What have you learned about, not just the exercise of power, but the limits on your power as a result of the conflict?
TRUMP: There are no limits.
CAPUTO: No limits?
TRUMP: No, none. I haven’t learned that lesson yet. I know there are. But you know, there are no limits. We defeated them totally militarily.
[…]
CAPUTO: At the beginning of the conflict, you had talked about, you only wanted unconditional surrender. And–
TRUMP: Well–
CAPUTO: The [memorandum of understanding] doesn’t look like unconditional surrender.
TRUMP: Well, it really probably is unconditional surrender.
CAPUTO: It is?
TRUMP: I think so.
Unconditional surrender is when one or more parties in a war surrender without receiving anything in exchange and fully submit to the other side.
On Thursday, Vice President JD Vance, who helped negotiate the deal, offered a stinging rebuke to the agreement’s critics, particularly those in the Israeli government, which launched the war with the U.S. in February.
“Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time, Vance said. “And he happens to be the head of state of the world superpower. If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world.”
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Sadly, he believes it.
Yeah, but does he stand with the MOU and the extension of Iranian Sovereignty to Hezbollah?
Trump never had the support of the left. I state the obvious.
But he did have considerable support from swing voters. And of course, great support from the right.
Many swing voters now are drifting away from Trump because of inflation. And some conservatives are as well, due in part to the confusion around Iran.
Does any of this matter, given Trump cannot run again? Yes, because for the good of the country MAGA should become a permanent thing. That is now in doubt.
Well the Japanese got to keep their emperor, so “unconditional” doesn’t mean without conditions. Ha ha.
Oh relax. The whole “deal” is Trump having a veto or anything that happens. That’s how this needs to be viewed because I think that’s exactly how Trump is viewing it.
Why don’t you make an effort to ask Sen. Paul that on X? @RandPaul
No, he doesn't.
He thinks we do though. And many probably do.
And he won the war 37 times.
A whirling dervish of spin.
what alternate universe did that happen in?
it is nearly the opposite here in the real world
> The whole “deal” is Trump having a veto or anything that happens. <
Agreed. But here’s the thing. You are talking logically here. The great mass of American voters (including conservatives) act on their own personal perceptions. Those perceptions are often flawed.
These folks are drifting away from MAGA. I see that among my conservative friends. Trump needs to address this.
Or at least be much more careful with his statements. Remember his statement from the other day, that he doesn’t care about inflation?
Just today he’s calling a bunch of his supporters stupid.
Coming from an 80 yr. old man; and so it goes.
Wrong term. You can’t surrender from a military intervention. You just beg for mercy contractually. You surrender to war, This wasn’t a war. But since Iran doesn’t mean it does it really mean they care?
wy69
It’s all fake news nonsense. They did about a week about Trump doesn’t care about inflation and then they spent the whole day talking about how Trump caved because he’s afraid of crashing the economy. If you aren’t a political junkie you’re only going to care about gas prices and maybe you’ll have an opinion on trannys. I have no doubt, none, that Trump would win again if he ran. The bigger problem is the Fact that Repukes in Congress do nothing and stand for nothing. If they lose it’s because they hate Trump so much they don’t want to see America win.
I don’t think so Tim.
“It’s all fake news nonsense.”
Tell us what is fake about an interview with President Trump.
And do you think Americans are so oblivious to foreign affairs that they don’t understand or care about a months-long war that cost $50 billion in military expenditures, $100s of billions of indirect costs, plus 13 dead and 400 wounded US servicemen?
Trump got an ayatoilet to agree to negotiations.
I would call that a win.
They had no choice because they got bombed and their source of income squeezed.
I’d call that a win too.
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