Reckoning with the ‘Binary Choice,’ After Trump’s Iran Capitulation

National Review ^ | June 20, 2026 | Andrew C. McCarthy

[animal172]

‘Look, it’s a binary choice.” That’s how I’ve somehow rationalized voting — not once but three times — for Donald Trump, whose second term amounts to the worst presidency of my lifetime. I still think it’s true that a presidential election is a binary choice, even if that may paradoxically be self-delusional.

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TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: andrewcmccarthy; nationalreview; whatsandysfrnick; whatshisfrnick

[animal172]

Andrew seems to be very upset with his vote for Trummp.

[WashingtonSource]

Poor widdle Andy has her panties in a twist.

[Leaning Right]

> Donald Trump, whose second term amounts to the worst presidency of my lifetime <

How old is this guy, 2?

Biden lets in millions of illegals, many of whom are violent.
Obama sets race relations back at least a decade.
George W. Bush botches the Afghanistan war with his “nation building”.

I could go on.

[Tench_Coxe]

"whose second term amounts to the worst presidency of my lifetime. "

Who knew Andrew McCarthy was born after January 20, 2025?

[Da Ninja]

Andy is finally out of the closet with his anti Trump hate.

I hope he feels better.

I noticed Fox no longer has him on for commentary.....very telling.

[Gen.Blather]

I’m afraid most elections come down to the least bad candidate. The candidates’ conservatives would like mostly lose in the primary because they take principled positions. They answer hard questions. The ones who don’t take positions, who don’t give definitive answers are the ones who win primaries. That way the voter can project onto that candidate whatever the voter’s preference is.

However, not voting is actually a vote for the Democrat. Invariably the Democrat locks us into a cycle of overall bad policies. A really “good” Democrat locks in enough patronage to ensure his reelection, or the reelection of his party.

We can always hold onto our principles and wait for a likeminded candidate to survive the primaries. That would be a one in fifty chance. By not voting for the least bad candidate, we put joy into the Democrat’s hearts.

[ComputerGuy]

...deeply flawed...

[chajin]

whose second term amounts to the worst presidency of my lifetime

What mushrooms has he been smoking.

[MtnClimber]

What Andrew fails to comprehend is that this is likely a tactical pause before the midterm elections. The MOU is a ceasefire to enable negotiations to take place.

After the midterm elections, where Trump certainly knows the Iranians will not have abided by the ceasefire and likely many other temporary MOU agreements, Trump will be free to block Iranian ports until the IRGC is fatally damaged. Trump will be able to say that he gave them a chance and they decided to throw their path to peace away.

[sam_whiskey]

“Worst presidency of my lifetime” is hyperbole in the extreme, but I think it is valid to lose some faith in DJT after this Iran fiasco…

[Williams]

Stopped reading at worst presidency.

What a self impressed idiot.

Every moron who thinks we have to subjugate Iran for them in one easy step.

[Leaning Right]

> think it is valid to lose some faith in DJT after this Iran fiasco <

Time will tell if it’s a fiasco or not, but it kinda looks that way now.

Striking the Iranian nuclear facilities back June of 2025 in was probably a good idea. Then came, I think, mission creep that was too optimistic.

[Apparatchik]

Paywalled, but here’s a comment on the article:

I actually read through half of this expecting to get to some sort of assessment of what Trump might be up to with Iran. No, instead this was all about Andrew, all. Not a thing of substance. What a waste of time.

Shame on NR for publishing this self-indulgent drivel. WFB is probably spinning in his grave right now.

[MMusson]

Every president since Carter has done nothing but let Iran arm up and create plutonium. Finally Trump bombs their plutonium factories destroying centrifuges and killing nuke technicians. He sinks the navy, destroys the air force and decapitates the IRG.

AND he did it without ever putting boots on the ground

[I want the USA back]

I support Trump 100%. He is the great negotiator. Sometimes, when negotiating, you don’t get everything you want — but He gets the best deal that anybody could possibly get!

[Dan in Wichita]

McCarthy has always hated Trump. That he would write such a scathing attack is no surprise, but when he says the second Trump presidency is the worst presidency of his lifetime, he flushes whatever credibility he had left down the toilet.

[joshua c]

he has been drinking that NR kool aid

[alloysteel]

Not a “capitulation”, the arrangement we now have with Iran is a work in progress.

And progress it shall. Whether the final agreement is with the IRGC, or the ayatollahs, or some replacement regime that casts off all the old inhibitions and is willing to join the coalition of the willing, there shall be an enduring peace through the region, and the ENTIRE Muslim world may join the Abraham Accords, which is the ultimate goal.

[stanne]

‘Losing faith in Trump after this iran fiasco’

Would you please describe the terms of this so called fiasco? I would like to know what exactly I am supposed to be losing faith in Trump over

[equaviator]

Time will tell. History writes itself. Journalism only serves to impede the process.