AI Summary
5 min readDonald Trump recently declared that when the war in the Middle East is over, the United States will claim the Strait of Hormuz as U.S. territory. The remark, made at a campaign event in Nassau County, New York, adds to a pattern that already included similar threats about Greenland and the Panama Canal. But the Strait of Hormuz is not a rhetorical sideshow. It is the world's most important oil chokepoint, and the comment landed as the Iranian foreign minister was publicly taunting the U.S. military and as Oman—a longtime American ally—was negotiating directly with Iran to manage the strait's security. The episode, hosted by Anthony Scaramucci with guest Nicole Wallace, spent most of its time on two connected questions: whether Trump would actually use a nuclear weapon against Iran, and what his personal diplomacy with Kim Jong Un means for South Korea and Ukraine.
The Strait of Hormuz threat and the nuclear question
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **Opening: Trump's Threat and Episode Preview** - Anthony Scaramucci teases Trump's threat to seize the Strait of Hormuz and rumors of a nuclear strike on Iran, plus Trump's changing tune on North Korea.
- 2 (03:30) **Welcome and Host Banter** - Scaramucci welcomes guest Nicole Wallace, former White House Communications Director, and they bond over being long-suffering New York Mets fans.
- 3 (04:29) **Trump's Strait of Hormuz Threat** - Scaramucci highlights Trump's comment about declaring the Strait of Hormuz U.S. territory after the war is over.
- 4 (06:08) **Is Trump Playing Chess or Eating the Pieces?** - Scaramucci plays devil's advocate, suggesting Trump's extreme rhetoric is a 5D chess negotiating tactic.
- 5 (08:19) **The Rubble a Future President Will Inherit** - Scaramucci asks Wallace to imagine being a non-MAGA president facing the aftermath of Trump's Iran policy.
- 6 (11:04) **The "Grizzly Bear" Presidency and Paralyzed Allies** - Wallace describes Trump as more like having a "grizzly bear for president," paralyzing allies from planning for the future.
- 7 (13:37) **Trump's Motivations and the "Crypto Guys"** - Wallace speculates Trump's "country's so hot" rhetoric comes from people in the omelet line at Mar-a-Lago, not strategic advice.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Is Oman Trump’s next target? Could he actually make the Strait of Hormuz a US territory? And, has Kim Jong Un played Trump?
Anthony Scaramucci is joined by former White House Communications Director and host of MS NOW’s Deadline: White House, Nicolle Wallace, as they answer all these questions and more.
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