Trump’s 'CEASEFIRE' definition REVEALS the state of the Iran war
The U.S. and Iran both continue to give mixed messages on the status of where the war stands as the conflict enters its fourth month. Iran says there has not been significant progress, while President Trump claimed yesterday that negotiations have gone very well. When asked about the state of the ceasefire, Trump didn’t give a definitive answer, but his answer was very revealing. The Morning Joe panel discusses the latest on the conflict.
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Transcript
Follow along using the transcript.
1 second
How do you find ceasefire? Pretty much the way it i It's a fferent part of the world.4 seconds
You
know, I'd say in And that part of the world, ceasefires when you're
shooting in a more moderate manner. Yesterday, you signed the... Not
bad.13 seconds
That's true.15 seconds
I mean, it's... A ceasefire there is much different than a WE HAVE A NEW DEFINITION OF CEASE-FIRE,23 seconds
WHEN
THERE'S SHOOTING ONLY IN A MODERATE MANNER DEFINED BY THE PRESIDENT
HIMSELF WHEN YOU'RE NOT BRINGING OUT THE BIG GUNS, I GUESS.30 seconds
OF COURSE, THIS CEASE WE'VE CALLED IT SHAKY, FRAGILE.36 seconds
I MEAN, THERE ARE SHOTS, THERE ARE LIVE ROUNDS BEING FIRED FOR THE MOST PART FROM IRAN AT OUR ALLIES ACROSS THE GULF STATE.44 seconds
SO WHAT IS THE STATE FROM YOUR REPORTING OF THESE NEGOTIATIONS SUCH THAT THEY ARE TO END THIS WAR?50 seconds
YEAH, I SUSPECT IF YOU'RE CITING IN KUWAIT THIS MORNING YOU'RE NOT THINKING THERE'S MUCH OF A CEASE-FIRE GOING ON.55 seconds
EVERY TIME I'VE SPOKEN TO LEADERS leaders and ministers in the Gulf region.59 seconds
They
do remind me that they are still under attack and this ceasefire is a
ceasefire in name pretty much only, but it is not full-scale war.1 minute, 7 seconds
And
the question is, are we any closer to getting some kind of a deal
after all of the fits and starts that we've had out of the White House,1 minute, 14 seconds
it
seems the two big issues that remain are whether the Iranians will have
any kind of control of the Strait of Hormuz and the even bigger issue
is what's to be done about Iran's nuclear program.1 minute, 25 seconds
I
mean, Willie, it still looks like we're at the status quo ante where
before the shooting started on February the 28th, Iran had a nuclear
program.1 minute, 35 seconds
It didn't CONTROL THE STATE OF HALMUZ, AND I THINK AT THE MOMENT THAT'S THE BEST THAT THE ADMINISTRATION CAN HOPE FOR.1 minute, 42 seconds
DONALD TRUMP SEEMS TO BE TERRIFIED OF THE O-WORD, THE OBAMA WORD, ANYTHING BEING COMPARED THAT HE DOES TO THE I THINK IT1 minute, 50 seconds
LOOKS
LIKE THEY HAD GOT FAIRLY CLOSE BUT THEN HE GOT SPOOKED BY BEING
CRITICIZED FOR BEING WEAK AND THAT THIS LOOKED TOO MUCH LIKE IT'S NOT
LIKE THE ORIGINAL IRAN DEAL.2 minutes, 1 second
ONE
MEMBER OF CONGRESS HAD TOLD ME THAT THE ONE THING HE REALLY DOESN'T
WANT IS PALLETS OF CASH GOING OVER TO THE IRANIANS AND THE DEAL2 minutes, 8 seconds
THAT
WE WERE DOING LOOKED LIKE THERE WAS THERE'S SOME KIND OF CASH COMPONENT
TO IT. SO, I MEAN, WHO KNOWS WHERE WE ARE? WHO KNOWS HOW CLOSE WE ARE?
WHO KNOWS IF THEY CAN SQUARE THESE CIRCLES?2 minutes, 17 seconds
ONE
THING I WILL SAY IS MOST OF THE IRAN EXPERTS I HAVE SPOKEN TO DON'T SET
MUCH STORE BY WHAT WHATEVER IRAN SIGNS WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR NUCLEAR
PROGRAM.2 minutes, 26 seconds
I
WILL SAY A MIDDLE EAST EXPERT TOLD ME YESTERDAY THAT FRANKLY PRESIDENT
TRUMP'S DEFINITION OF A CEASE-FIRE FOR THAT PART OF THE WORLD, NOT THAT
FAR OFF.2 minutes, 34 seconds
SO So, Richard, let's talk about where things stand.2 minutes, 38 seconds
Part of the obstacles, as Katia just said, is President Trump's real hesitation to sign on any sort of agreement that could2 minutes, 45 seconds
be remotely compared to what Obama did a decade or HE'S WORRIED ABOUT THE CASH, WORRIED ABOUT JCPOA COMPARISONS.2 minutes, 53 seconds
AND ALSO HIS INSTINCT. HE KNOWS THIS WAR HAS NOT GONE WELL.2 minutes, 56 seconds
I
HAVE SOME REPORTING OUT IN THE ATLANTIC AND A BRAND GRAND NEWS STORY
ABOUT HIS IMPULSE EVERY TIME WE'VE GOTTEN CLOSE, HE TRIES TO MAKE THE
DEAL BIGGER SO WE CAN3 minutes, 3 seconds
IT'S
A GREAT, REALLY INTERESTED TELLING SCENE IN THE STORY ABOUT THAT PHONE
CALL HE HAD OVER THE WEEKEND OR 10 DAYS AGO OR SO WITH3 minutes, 11 seconds
SOME LEADERS URGING THEM TO JOIN THE ABRAHAM HE WAS MET WITH SUCH SILENCE, LITERAL SILENCE ON THE PHONE.3 minutes, 18 seconds
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES HAD TO SAY HI, IS ANYBODY THERE?3 minutes, 21 seconds
HE
THOUGHT THE CONNECTION DROPPED BECAUSE THERE WAS SUCH RELUCTANCE FOR
PEOPLE TO DO that because of their feelings about Israel right now, et
cetera, et cetera.3 minutes, 28 seconds
So with that as the backdrop and the violence picking up again this week, what is your sense?3 minutes, 34 seconds
What could be a realistic next step to get us a little closer to an agreement?3 minutes, 38 seconds
Is there one? No, it's the same set of issues.3 minutes, 41 seconds
And
the president balked as you say at the deal the other day because he
was worried about the criticism he was getting from Republicans for the
first time. But there's not going to be a better deal.3 minutes, 50 seconds
The
idea that you're going to get something happening at the negotiating
table that's not going to reflect what's happening on the ground just
doesn't happen. That's just not going to happen.3 minutes, 59 seconds
The Iranians also, you know, they see the vote in the Congress and all that.4 minutes, 3 seconds
Everything they're seeing suggests to them that time is on their side, that they have more endurance, if you will, than we do.4 minutes, 10 seconds
So we'll ultimately get there.4 minutes, 12 seconds
But
it's going to be a very messy situation on the straight and even if we
get it reopened, no NO ONE SHOULD THINK FOR A SECOND IT'S GOING TO STAY
REOPENED WITHOUT CONDITIONS.4 minutes, 21 seconds
THE NUCLEAR AT BEST YOU'LL GET SOMETHING ALMOST AS A PRELUDE TO A SECOND JCPOA, SOME TYPE OF A FRAMEWORK DEAL THAT PLACES4 minutes, 30 seconds
CEILINGS BELIEVES ON IRAN'S NUCLEAR ACTIVITIES, WON'T WANT TO LIMIT THEM.4 minutes, 34 seconds
THEN
GOING BACK TO THE LEBANON PART OF THE STORY, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET A
DEAL THAT'S GOING TO HANDLE LOTS OF THE OTHER ISSUES.4 minutes, 42 seconds
BALLISTIC MISSILES.4 minutes, 44 seconds
MISSILES, DRONES, AIR FORCES, NAVIES, MINING, NOT TO MENTION SUPPORT FOR PROXY GROUPS LIKE HAMAS AND HEZBULA.4 minutes, 52 seconds
SO THIS IS GOING TO BE A VERY LIMITED AGREEMENT AT BEST. And my guess is we'll get there sooner or later.4 minutes, 58 seconds
But we, but almost going back to the president's thing, a point, it won't be peace.5 minutes, 4 seconds
Whatever else we're going to get, it will not be peace. It will be intermittent ceasefires.5 minutes, 8 seconds
So WHAT HAPPENS NOW THAT IRAN ON AN ALMOST DAILY BASIS IS LOBBING MISSILES OR DRONES AT VARIOUS NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES.5 minutes, 18 seconds
WHAT
HAPPENS NOW THAT IRAN ON AN one of those drones lands, explodes, and a
member of the American personnel over there, army, whatever, gets
killed.5 minutes, 28 seconds
There's two big triggers here, that's one.5 minutes, 31 seconds
Where for the president, that might put him under enormous pressure to respond.5 minutes, 35 seconds
So
that's one where then we would have to attack something with right
escalate there the most likely set of targets that we haven't escalated
against, the Israelis did once or the Iranian energy and the Iranian
infrastructure.5 minutes, 46 seconds
And the reason we haven't done that Mike is we don't want the Iranians going full force against the Kuwaiti, Saudi, UAE,5 minutes, 53 seconds
Bahraini, Qatari energy infrastructure because that would take a crisis into a global calamity.5 minutes, 59 seconds
But
that's the danger right now that until this is somewhat more nailed
down, whether it's intentional or unintentional, I am worried whether
it's a scenario6 minutes, 7 seconds
like you just suggested an American soldier gets killed or some missile hits some new oil refinery.6 minutes, 12 seconds
Then there's pressure to retaliate against Iran and Iran then escalates.6 minutes, 17 seconds
That is the that's why it's important, you know, that we get to some type of closer to a ceasefire than we are now.6 minutes, 25 seconds
Again,
we're never going to get to peace, but can we get something more
essentially calmer where the military dimension of this is tamped way
down?6 minutes, 34 seconds
Richard
mentioned the house yesterday passing a democratic lead measure to
limit President Trump's war powers when it comes to Iran.6 minutes, 41 seconds
The resolution passed 215-208 with four Republicans, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, the outgoing Thomas Massey of Kentucky,6 minutes, 50 seconds
Tom Barrett of Michigan and Warren Davidson of Ohio crossing party lines and joining all Democrats in voting yes.6 minutes, 57 seconds
The legislation requires the president to withdraw U .S.7 minutes, 1 second
forces from hostilities with Iran or to gain approval from Congress to continue the war and now heads to the Senate.7 minutes, 8 seconds
But
even if it were to pass both chambers, it faces headwinds and legal
questions standing for now perhaps as just a symbolic blow to President
Trump.7 minutes, 18 seconds
Meanwhile,
Secretary of State Marco Rubio was back on Capitol Hill yesterday
testifying in front of the House Foreign Affairs Committee this time.7 minutes, 26 seconds
In
an appearance with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee the day
before, Secretary Secretary Rubio notably said the war is over.7 minutes, 33 seconds
Yesterday he was pressed on that comment.7 minutes, 36 seconds
Here first is what he told the Senate on Tuesday, followed by yesterday's exchange with a member of the HOUSE.7 minutes, 42 seconds
DREW, YOU KEEP TELLING US HOW WE'RE WINNING THIS WAR.7 minutes, 45 seconds
THE PRESIDENT KEEPS SAYING COMPLETELY ANNIHILATED. THE WAR IS NOT OVER.7 minutes, 49 seconds
AND
YET THE AMERICAN PEOPLE SEE HOW WE'RE LOSING AT THE PUMP AND WITH THEIR
costs. And yet this thing still hasn't been resolved.7 minutes, 56 seconds
Every day he tweets out, oh, we've obliterated them, we've annihilated them, they're going to surrender.8 minutes, 1 second
But yet we still find ourselves spending billions of dollars a week. If the war is over, I have simple question. Who won?8 minutes, 9 seconds
First
of all, Epic Fury is over which is what you would consider the war.
That operation is concluded. So you agree it's a war then? No, those are
hostilities. They called it a war.8 minutes, 18 seconds
I'm just responding to Senator Booker- Mr.8 minutes, 20 seconds
Secretary You can you can change the name of the operation.8 minutes, 23 seconds
It
doesn't change the fact that the straight is still closed and my
service members and all of our service members are still in harm's way.
The war is not IT'S NOT A LITTLE CLEAN-UP.8 minutes, 32 seconds
SO ALLIE, SECRETARY RUBIO TRYING TO DO A LITTLE CLEAN-UP PERHAPS ME ADDING A LITTLE CAVEAT8 minutes, 37 seconds
I THINK IT'S A LITTLE SEMANTIFY GAME THERE, BUT CLEARLY THEY'RE 8 minutes, 46 seconds
STRUGGLING
TO ANSWER THE QUESTION OF WHERE THIS WAR STANDS, where it's going and
why they don't have congressional approval going back to that previous
vote I just talked about for the war.8 minutes, 57 seconds
Yeah,
and even Republicans who are supportive of the administration's efforts
in Iran have never said that the war is over at this point.9 minutes, 4 seconds
So Rubio was out ahead, even of them.9 minutes, 6 seconds
And
look, it's a cheeky question from Congresswoman Sarah Jacobs of
California there trying to build on what the secretary of state maybe
misspoke about9 minutes, 14 seconds
or just simply said incorrectly to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.9 minutes, 18 seconds
But
I think Rubio's job on Capitol Hill was just to simply give updates
that don't get ahead of the president and still try to paint9 minutes, 26 seconds
a somewhat optimistic picture of what this Iran war has accomplished.9 minutes, 30 seconds
And
one of the things that I thought Democrats were quite deft at doing
yesterday was being able to establish the fact that solving9 minutes, 38 seconds
for a closed straight of Hormuz doesn't solve for a problem that existed prior to the war causing it as a problem.9 minutes, 45 seconds
And
I think that's one of the things that they're trying to focus on as we
are also starting to see now with this war powers resolution, which I
think you're right to point out9 minutes, 53 seconds
is likely just a messaging exercise and we'll see what it looks like in the Senate if they take it up.9 minutes, 57 seconds
There
have been some shifting votes, questions about if this so-called YOLO
caucus actually leads to the votes that they would need to pass a
resolution like this.10 minutes, 7 seconds
But at the same time, it's a messaging exercise I think largely because the president could veto it.10 minutes, 11 seconds
And then there are legal questions about if it actually has teeth and raining in the administration.10 minutes, 16 seconds
But
I think what it does do is actually give us the first tangible sign
that the Republican hand-wringing that I and you and all of us have
heard behind the scenes10 minutes, 24 seconds
about
the political and domestic impacts of the Iran war, that those are
actually starting to manifest now for elected officials who weren't
given10 minutes, 33 seconds
a
chance to vote for it but are now potentially trying to give themselves
an opportunity to say, all right we've got to reign this in if it's
going to continue.10 minutes, 40 seconds
Congress at least trying to assert its power. Kind of. To support or not the president going to war. Everybody stay put.
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