Joe Scarborough Praises Trump’s ‘Stubborn’ Refusal to Give in to Iran’s Demands

Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough offered rare praise of President Donald Trump as he credited the president for his “stubborn” approach to dealing with Iran in his refusal to give in to the regime’s demands for re-opening the Strait of Hormuz.

The host was reacting to Trump’s claim on Wednesday that the U.S. has “total control” of the Strait of Hormuz, the vital energy shipping route, touting what he described as a “WALL OF STEEL” naval blockade and insisting there was “nothing Iran can do about it.”

The president also claimed Iran’s military had been decimated and its leadership left in disarray, declaring: “Iran is all talk and no action, the Bully of the Middle East No Longer. Praise be to Allah!”

His remarks followed claims from Iran’s leaders that the critical shipping route had been partially closed, sending oil prices above $80 per barrel. Tehran is demanding, among other points, that Washington unfreeze Iranian funds in exchange for reopening the strait, according to Reuters.

Scarborough, however, gave kudos to the president’s defiance, noting that despite the oil price spike, gas prices hovered around $4 per gallon.

He argued that Trump’s “head down approach” was a “good thing”, contrasting it with previous peace deal offers which would have delivered $300 billion to the regime:

I’ve got to say, again here we have the president, in a good way I think, being stubborn, not saying ‘Iran we’re going to give you whatever you want, we’re going to give you half $1 trillion, we’re going to have sanctions on your oil’ just do anything to get us out of this war. He’s tried that. The Iranians have proven they can’t be bribed.

And I do know gas prices are are high, they’re over $4. It’s interesting, though, because if you look at oil, oil prices, which a lot of people were predicting were going to be $150 a barrel, it’s like at $87, I think brent crude closed below $90 yesterday.

A graphic appeared on screen showing crude and brent crude closing at $82 and $87 respectively, causing Scarborough to double down on his point:

That’s showing something that I don’t know a lot of people in the hot heat of a political campaign will take note of. But that’s showing that America’s energy supplies are far more resilient.

And I will tell you, America’s long term strategic health, militarily and geopolitically, depends on the Strait becoming less and less relevant, which I think the longer this drags on, the less relevant it’s going to become.

So the president, of course, saying a lot of things that are going to provoke, but also, though it’s more of a head down approach, so-called ‘low key approach’, we’re going to take our time. We’re not going to be pushed into a deal that gives the worst regime in the world half $1 trillion.

Watch above via MS NOW.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!