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'But — but Iran!' Trump's rigged-election rant hijacks Fox News war interview

Asked Thursday about bombing Iran's civilian water supply on Fox News, Donald Trump launched into a minutes-long rant about rigged elections instead.Brian Kilmeade, the Fox News host who fielded Trump's call-in, had framed the water strike in approving terms — describing the U.S. campaign as an "Anaconda" strategy squeezing Iran into submission. But when he pointed out that American strikes had hit a water facility serving a population already running out of water, Trump changed the subject.The strike Kilmeade referenced had, the night before, knocked out drinking water for roughly 20,000 residents in the southern Iranian town of Sirik — during a heat wave pushing temperatures above 113 degrees. Weapons experts told CNN the munitions appeared to be US-made GBU-39 precision-guided bombs. The New York Times reported the strike may constitute a war crime; the Geneva Conventions explicitly protect drinking water installations from attack.Trump had other priorities."'In 2020, I got more votes than anybody in history, Republican Party,'" he told Kilmeade. "'And we got more votes, but the election was rigged.'"From there, Trump pivoted to the California governor's race, where his endorsed candidate, Steve Hilton, had just secured a spot on the November ballot against Democrat Xavier Becerra. Trump claimed he personally forced California officials to "approve" Hilton after going "on a tear" about election fraud — a claim with no factual basis. PolitiFact rated Trump's broader assertion that California's ballot-counting pace proved cheating as "Pants on Fire." Hilton advanced because he got enough votes under the state's standard counting procedures."'But — but Iran!" Kilmeade interjected, but Trump kept going."'It's a rigged election. Okay,'" Trump said.Kilmeade muttered he shouldn't have brought up the election at all. Trump, apparently satisfied, finally relented."'Let's get back to Iran,'" he said. "'Much simpler. It's a much simpler situation.'"Whether bombing a civilian water supply in 113-degree heat qualifies as simpler is a question international law experts are now actively debating.

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'They're tired of this': Fox & Friends host delivers blunt warning about MAGA and Trump

A loyal Fox News booster of President Donald Trump told the network's own war correspondent Thursday that MAGA viewers were done with his war of choice.Ainsley Earhardt raised the alarm during a live Fox & Friends update from chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst, who had just gotten off a phone call with President Donald Trump — placed from the Situation Room as U.S. strikes on Iran were still underway."They're tired of this," Earhardt said, describing viewers who "love Donald Trump" and "trust him" but are exhausted by the conflict. "They see that the midterms are around the corner. They want our economy to get back on track and our gas prices to drop."The remarks are set against a backdrop of eroding Republican support for the war. A CBS News/YouGov poll conducted March 17-20 showed 84% of Republicans backed military action. By late March, that number had slipped to 77% in a Fox News/Beacon Research survey — with support among non-MAGA Republicans dropping to just 52%. An April Fox poll put overall support at 45%, with a majority of 55% opposing the conflict as it neared two months.CNN's analysis of the polling found the softness notable: even some Republicans who approved of the war thought it would make the U.S. less safe.Trump's own words on the Fox call did little to suggest a swift exit. Yingst reported that when he asked the president whether the ceasefire was over, Trump dismissed the premise entirely — saying it was "one of the worst ceasefires in history" because Iran had kept attacking throughout, including shooting down a U.S. Apache helicopter with an Iranian drone earlier this week.Asked what would happen if Iran refused to sign a peace deal, Trump was direct."'We'll bomb the s— out of them tomorrow night,'" Yingst quoted the president as saying.Trump also told Yingst that Iranian officials had called him twice during the overnight strikes — asking him to stop. The strikes included 49 Tomahawk missiles hitting targets as close as 40 miles from Tehran, with U.S. fighter jets targeting radar and air defense systems across southwest Iran.Yingst tried to reassure Earhardt's viewers on gas prices, noting Trump's secret operation to move oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz had helped stabilize prices. But the broader answer amounted to: not yet.With mounting costs eating into Americans' pockets, even some Republicans have grown concerned the war could hurt the party in the November midterms, where they are defending a razor-thin congressional majority.

Trump mocked on CNN for 'flat-out untrue' claim about 'secret' oil movements in Iran

President Donald Trump proclaimed on Wednesday that he executed a "secret mission" in the Strait of Hormuz that saw 100 million barrels of oil make safe passage through the crucial shipping artery — but ranking House Intelligence Committee member Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) cried foul on this on CNN, saying none of it made any sense.Following the clip, anchor Erin Burnett appeared genuinely confused about exactly what Trump was trying to say."Guess he's implying millions of their barrels that they are selling at, obviously, hugely inflated prices to finance the Iranian regime," she said, asking Himes what he had to say about Iran allegedly being unaware of the "100 million barrels that Trump says he's actually helped get through the Strait."Himes bluntly said that Trump's claim is "flat-out untrue.""Remember the record here, right?" said Himes, pointing out Trump had initially vowed the Iran war would be over in a couple of days, and that "for the last three months, the Iranians have been two or three days, or maybe a week or two weeks away from striking a deal," to hear it from the president."So let's just agree that the president has precisely zero credibility on anything that he says about the Iran war," he said.Furthermore, Himes added, "You don't need to be an intelligence expert to understand that the Strait of Hormuz, you're not moving anything in secret. With a good pair of binoculars on either coast, you can see what's happening — set aside the satellite imagery that people have access to."

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WSJ warns Trump he's 'dancing to Iran's tune' and needs a strategy shakeup

President Donald Trump has put himself in a "weak" position in his war against Iran, the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote in an analysis published on Wednesday."For nine weeks, the cease-fire has let Iran dictate events in the Gulf," wrote the board. The way things have progressed, they argued, Iran itself "gets to start each 'skirmish' — shooting at U.S. forces, U.S. allies, or commercial ships — and then decide when the exchange ends," all while attacking Israel through its Hezbollah proxies in Lebanon and using the conflict there as "an excuse to stall talks with the U.S."Through all this, the board wrote, Trump has downplayed Iran's offensives, calling fire on U.S. troops "a trifle," an Iranian bombing of a Kuwaiti airport “not a big deal,” and even saying something almost identical about the Iranian downing of an Apache helicopter.Ultimately, wrote the board, "Mr. Trump limited Israel’s strikes and previewed his own in public. When the U.S. says 'proportional,' Iran hears 'weak.' Offering the regime such forward guidance signals that Mr. Trump still fears a return to war" — all of which tells Iran they have wide latitude to continue violating the ceasefire with minimal to no response from the U.S. military."Mr. Trump won’t want to hear it, but he has been dancing to Iran’s tune," the board concluded. "He will have to break from it or go down as losing the war politically despite the early military gains."This comes as the latest round of talks to resolve the war fail, and new economic data shows inflation surging again as the Strait of Hormuz and much of the world's oil shipping remain blocked.

Trump wishes 'peace for the world' for his birthday minutes after vow to blow up Iran

In four minutes on Wednesday morning, Donald Trump promised to bomb Iran and wished for world peace.At 11:50, gathered in the Oval Office for the signing of a $70 billion immigration enforcement bill, President Donald Trump turned to reporters with a warning about Iran. "We hit them hard yesterday, and we're gonna hit them again hard today — in case you miss it, in case you don't turn on your television set," he said.Four minutes later, a reporter asked what Trump wished for himself ahead of his 80th birthday."Peace for the world," he said.The day's strikes follow the downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday night. Both crew members were rescued by an unmanned drone boat — the first such operation in U.S. military history.Trump posted on Truth Social Tuesday that the U.S. "must, of necessity, respond to this attack." By 5 p.m., CENTCOM had launched strikes on Iranian air defense and radar sites near the Strait — "a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression," it said. Iran hit back within hours, targeting U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan.Trump also declined Wednesday to rule out hitting civilian infrastructure. Asked about power plants and bridges, he replied: "I'm not gonna say that to you, but I could do that."He blamed Tehran for the collapse of peace talks, accusing Iran of running out the clock on a deal he called "fully negotiated.""They keep playing us for suckers," Trump said. "They dealt with some very stupid presidents."The war began February 28 with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranian military and government sites. It has now surpassed 100 days.