Welcome to "The Inner Circle with Rachael Bade," your afternoon look inside the buzz stirring Washington. In today's edition: Donald Trump, Susie Wiles, JD Vance, Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth, John Ratcliffe, Dan Caine, Bill Pulte, Jay Clayton, Tulsi Gabbard, Tom Cotton, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Kash Patel.
WHY THE IRAN DEAL WILL HOLD (FOR NOW) — President DONALD TRUMP set tongues wagging in Washington this morning after suggesting in France that the Iran MOU is “not final.”
His warning to Tehran: “If they don’t behave, we’ll be right back to dropping bombs in the middle of their head, okay?”
Given Trump’s well-known obsession with news headlines — plus the ongoing swirl of negative coverage — some were left wondering: Will POTUS get cold feet and walk away? Was he dropping hints of an MOU retreat?
But based on my conversations with sources inside Trump World, that’s unlikely. Despite GOP hawks melting down, and the barrage of bad press, Trump looks poised to drive forward. And not only that, but is embracing the plan — at least for now.
“Let’s call it the Trump deal!” the President told reporters just a few minutes ago during a news conference, putting his name — the ultimate stamp of approval — on the MOU.
To understand why, just look at the polling and the calendar. The midterms are less than five months away, and this war remains among the most unpopular in modern American history. Recent polling shows seven in 10 Americans want the war wrapped ASAP — two-thirds didn’t support the conflict in the first place. And the White House is well aware that voters aren’t sweating an imminent threat from Iran as much as they’re sweating their own bottom lines.
There’s also the economic calculus at play. There’s a clear understanding inside the administration that the longer the U.S. stays engaged in the region, the higher prices will rise at the pump. It’s why the president himself has been driving his team to find a way out, backed by senior staff like chief of staff SUSIE WILES.
Here’s the thing: Cut through all the noise in Washington — all the chatter about upset hawks — this White House is already getting what it wants: dropping gas prices. Consider headlines like this one at Bloomberg: “Oil Rebounds as Traders Await Signing of US-Iran Deal.”
While the D.C. pundit class is consumed with the GOP infighting and the details of the MOU, average Americans are laser-focused on one thing: Their wallet. They’re not in an uproar over the fine print of the MOU, which — despite all the attention it’s receiving — remains a Beltway obsession.
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WHERE’S THE CAVALRY? Some allies of the White House are privately admitting the rollout of the Iran deal has been a complete disaster.
The freakout from the GOP hawks reached a fever pitch yesterday. And yet, the only top administration official out there selling the deal has been Vice President JD VANCE, who happened to have a bunch of interviews lined up for his book rollout.
The lack of a clear plan has both Democrats and Republicans asking the same question: “Where’s Marco?” The Secretary of State and National Security Advisor is arguably the administration’s most effective communicator on foreign policy matters — yet has been conspicuously absent from TV. Allies note that he’s been traveling with Trump for the G7. And as my The Huddle co-host SEAN SPICER pointed out on our show this morning: “It’s not normal for the national security advisor to brief publicly while the president is abroad.”
But since when has this White House cared about protocol? There are plenty of TV cameras in France. It’s also strange that we haven’t heard from Defense Secretary PETE HEGSETH, CIA Director JOHN RATCLIFFE, or Chairman of the Joint Chiefs DAN CAINE, who could also be out there publicly bolstering the case for the deal.
The lack of plan seems to have surprised some Trump cheerleaders. Even Sean insisted this morning that there should have been a more thought-out strategy.
“In a normal scenario, a deal of this magnitude would have all hands on deck, a bunch of people sitting around, crafting a rollout strategy: Who are the surrogates? Who’s gonna be on TV the next day? What are you doing to amplify the message?” Sean said. “It just doesn’t look like this was handled well. There should have been a focus and a team that said: This is all we’re doing.”
There are two theories for the lack of plan:
Team Trump was caught flatfooted and distracted. They were, after all, planning a massive UFC cage match on the White House lawn, boarding Air Force One for the G7, and engaging in domestic fights overs FISA’s renewal and BILL PULTE’s new intelligence job.
Some suspect nefarious intentions: After all, Rubio, Hegseth, and Ratcliffe were reportedly skeptical of the deal. Was the plan to let Vance take the heat from the hawks, while others kept their distance from an agreement many doubt Iran will ultimately honor?
Rubio is “not talking because he doesn’t want to sell this thing — he doesn’t believe in it. He thinks it’s a farce,” our Democratic co-host Dan Turrentine speculated this morning. “The idea that Hegseth, Radcliffe and all these people aren’t out there selling this because they’re too busy,” Dan continued, is ridiculous.
Time will tell. Trump is en route back to the U.S. with his entourage. We’ll see if the rest of the team steps up to sell the deal alongside Vance.
🎥🔥 TODAY’S WATCH — A few other big stories we covered on The Huddle this morning, beyond the latest with Iran:
Against the wishes of his own Senate GOP allies, Trump today blew up the confirmation hearing of JAY CLAYTON to replace TULSI GABBARD as DNI. Remember: Senators were trying to quickly confirm Clayton to ensure Pulte wouldn’t ever serve as “acting” director — thus allowing lawmakers to move a bipartisan FISA deal that’s been stalled over the MAGA warrior’s new temporary job.
One problem: Trump himself abruptly called off the hearing via Truth Social post, demanding Clayton not attend.
My theory? The president is pumping the brakes because he’s eager for Pulte to start investigating elections and clean house. But regardless of the reasoning, Republicans are furious — even Trump ally, Senate Intelligence Committee Chair TOM COTTON (R-Ark.), seems peeved.
We also hit on HILLARY CLINTON throwing fresh shade at former President JOE BIDEN, which went viral online yesterday. Plus, FBI Director KASH PATEL apparently jumped the gun on the UFC terror plot announcement, infuriating Secret Service agents who hadn’t arrested all the suspects.
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