Trump Proposes Meeting – With No Preconditions – President of Iran

Well, there he goes again.

By “he” I mean President Trump, and by “again,” I mean he’s offering to meet with tyrants, without the benefit of consulting with his foreign policy experts.

In this particular incident, President Trump announced during a joint press conference with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte his willingness to meet with Iranian president Hassan Rouhani.

“They want to meet, I’ll meet. Anytime they want,” Trump said. The president’s comments came amid escalating tension between the U.S. and Iran. Earlier this month, Trump threatened Rouhani in an all-caps post on Twitter that called out the Iranian leader by name.

This was actually just last week.

To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018

Not sure what set him off, there.

A meeting with Rouhani would be “good for the country, good for them, good for us, and good for the world,” the president said.

What’s more, he’s offering this meeting with no preconditions.

Remember when former President Barack Obama offered to meet the Iranian president with no preconditions? Republicans [rightly] lost their minds! The idea that President Trump could now so casually offer it should have them screaming bloody murder.

It should, but apparently, it only matters when a Democrat does it.

It’s also apparent that Trump is incapable of learning his lesson.

“Speaking to other people, especially when you’re talking about potentials of war, and death, and famine, and lots of other things — you meet,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with meeting.”

The president cited his administration’s negotiations with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian leader Vladimir Putin as examples of his successful bilateral negotiations.

Kim Jong Un has continued to work towards his nuclear program and is now making demands of American generals.

Trump rolled over for Vladimir Putin, threw the United States’ intelligence community under the bus, and looked the very picture of a subservient Russian asset.

I’d hardly count either as an example of successful negotiations.

We can’t look to Donald Trump’s past to find many examples of successful negotiations, either, given a litany of failed business ventures and bankruptcies.

In fact, he’s better known for rolling over in failure than actual “winning.”

“As you know, with Chairman Kim we haven’t had a missile fired in nine months, we got our prisoners back, so many things have happened so positive,” the president said Monday. Trump said his meeting with Putin was a “great meeting in terms of the future.”

There have been no missiles fired because the nuclear site collapsed. They had no choice in the matter. With that in mind, for Trump to bring it up, as if he’s owed any credit is ridiculous.

Rouhani’s chief of staff Mahmoud Vaezi had stated in an article earlier in July that Trump has asked Rouhani for a meeting on eight separate occasions, but was turned down, each time.

I kind of doubt that, given who we’re dealing with, here.

That being said, Vaezi also warns against any comparisons between North Korea and Iran.

“The characteristic of this Establishment and [Iranian] people is that they will not yield to pressure,” he said at the time. “Trump should know that Iran and its people are different from North Korea and its people.”

The people of Iran are in open revolt against their government right now, so there’s that.

Either way, for Trump to suggest a meeting without consulting first with his advisers is irresponsible.