ANALYSIS — President Donald Trump held his first wartime Cabinet meeting Thursday, one month into his Iran conflict, as he continued toggling between talk of diplomacy and rattling his military saber. The president has spent much of the week striking a new tone on the war and signaling interest in peace talks, even as the administration threatens additional military strikes. On Wednesday evening, Trump tried redefining the ongoing bombardment as a "military operation" during a House Republican fundraising dinner at Washington’s Union Station. "I won't use the word war because they say if you use the word war, that's maybe not a good thing to do. They don't like the word war because you're supposed to get [congressional] approval,” he told GOP lawmakers and other invited guests inside the train station’s main hall. “I'll use the word ‘military operation,’ which is really what it is." The remarks were just another thumb in the eye of a legislative branch that Trump and his team have largely ignored since he returned to power last year. The commander in chief met with his Cabinet for several hours Thursday as Pentagon officials reportedly were preparing options that could send thousands more U.S. troops to the Middle East. Senior Republicans indicated as recently as last night that a potential ground component of the war has not been ruled out — despite Trump’s decades-old opposition to it. “They now have the chance, that is Iran, to permanently abandon their nuclear ambitions and to chart a new path forward. We'll see if they want to do it,” Trump said Thursday of talks with the Islamic Republic. “If they don't, we're their worst nightmare. In the meantime, we'll just keep blowing them away — unimpeded, unstopped. … They can't do anything about it.” Despite the bombing campaign, Iran’s political leadership remains firmly in the hands of hard-liners. Key elements of Tehran’s nuclear program are believed to be intact and secured underground. And Iran continues to exert influence over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global energy choke point. Those realities have complicated the administration’s claims of decisive strategic progress, with Trump saying Thursday that Iran has been “beat to s--t.” Here are three takeaways from the president’s Thursday Cabinet meeting, amid an unpopular war, a Department of Homeland Security shutdown and long wait times at airports. ‘They’re begging’ Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio all complained about media coverage of the Iran conflict. Trump mocked a reporter who asked if he would send in U.S. ground troops to seize Iran’s enriched uranium stores. “Let's assume I was or I wasn't. Why would I ever answer a question? What kind of a question, ‘Am I going to go in for the uranium?’ Oh, yeah, we're going in tomorrow at 3 o'clock,” he said in a sardonic tone. “How could you possibly ask a question like that and expect an answer?” At another point, the president said he wanted to “set the record straight, because I've been watching The Wall Street Journal, fake news, and all these stories that get printed like, 'Oh, I want to make a deal.’ They are begging to make a deal, not me." “And anybody that saw what was happening over there would understand why they want to make a deal,” he said before adding of Iran’s surviving leaders: “And they're not fools. They're very smart, actually, in a certain way. And they're great negotiators." After pivoting toward seeking a peace pact, Trump on Thursday sounded less optimistic about prospects for a deal, saying: “I don't know if we'll be able to do that.” ‘Death and destruction’ Seated at the far end of the table to Trump’s left was Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who warned Iranian officials: “Don’t miscalculate again.” Witkoff confirmed that the administration has presented to Tehran, via the Pakistani government, what he called “a 15-point action list” that the U.S. side views as a “framework for a peace deal.” Although Iranian state media reported Wednesday that its government immediately rejected the offer, Witkoff declared during the Cabinet meeting that the proposal had “resulted in strong and positive messaging and talks.” “And if we can convince Iran that this is the inflection point with no good alternatives for them other than more death and destruction, we have strong signs that this is a possibility. And if the deal happens, it will be great for the country, for the entire region and the world at large,” Witkoff told the 79-year-old president, who at times was observed sitting with his eyes closed before jerking forward. While Trump’s Middle East point man contended that the president had “instructed us that your preference is always peace and that we should make that our priority,” his Defense secretary was pounding the drums of war. “We pray for a deal and we welcome a deal,” Pete Hegseth said Thursday, seated to Trump’s immediate left. “But as I said yesterday, the Department of War will continue negotiating with bombs.” Trump revealed that the unnamed officials in Iran with whom he claims to be negotiating notified him they would allow eight oil tankers to traverse the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week to show him they were legitimate. He claimed they allowed two more through to "apologize for something they said." But public statements from Tehran suggest little appetite for a quick peace pact, meaning Trump has no clear off-ramp. And with limited trust between the parties, the next phase of the conflict is difficult to predict. A Fox News poll released Wednesday shows Trump’s disapproval rating at its lowest point across both of his terms. The data also highlights a sharp decline in support among Hispanic voters. In December, Trump’s approval among that group stood at 48 percent, with 52 percent disapproving. The latest numbers show a significant shift, with 28 percent approving and 72 percent disapproving. ‘Drastic measures’ Trump on Thursday turned to one of his preferred tactics as he called for congressional Democrats to cut a deal that would reopen the Department of Homeland Security, as airport security wait times continue to be long, with some checkpoints closed due to decreased staffing. He threatened that, without a funding deal soon, he would take unexplained “drastic measures.” “I saw today on one of the [morning television] shows, where they went to the people at the airport, and they're all angry at the Democrats. … They're saying they’re actually angry at Schumer. I didn't think anyone knew his name,” he said in a mocking tone, targeting Senate Democratic leader Charles E. Schumer. Multiple polls conducted since the Homeland Security Department, which includes the Transportation Security Administration, shuttered, voters have pinned blame on both parties. “They're punishing the American people, including travelers at airports,” Trump said of Democrats, “all in the quest to return to open borders and give amnesty to illegal alien criminals.” (Many congressional Democrats have been quick to say their party has not pushed amnesty legislation.) The DHS shutdown “should have never happened,” Trump said after quipping that new Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin had taken over a closed department this week. “We're not going to let the Democrats get away with this stuff, and people are wise to them. So they need to end the shutdown immediately, or we'll have to take some very drastic measures.” The White House had not responded to a query about to what measures the president was referring to.
