Trump Adviser Says President Is ‘Bored’ With the Iran War

AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

President Donald Trump is “bored” with the Iran war, one adviser told The Atlantic in a report published on Friday.

“Trump never thought it would turn out like this,” the piece begins. “After the impressive military operation to snatch Nicolás Maduro from Caracas, the president set his eyes on Iran, telling confidants that it would ‘be another Venezuela,’ a pair of outside advisers told me.”

In January, the president authorized a military raid into Venezuela to abduct Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. No U.S. soldiers were killed.

The Atlantic said the raid made Trump believe that the U.S. military was “unstoppable” and that overthrowing the Islamic Republic of Iran was a real possibility. The outlet’s reporting comes after it was revealed that U.S. intelligence has assessed that Iran can endure the ongoing U.S. blockade of the country for at least three or four months. That blockade was imposed after Iran restricted travel through the critical Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil flows.

Citing an “outside adviser,” The Atlantic reported that the president is “bored” with the conflict:

Patience is not Trump’s strength. One outside adviser, who speaks with him regularly, told me the president is “bored” with the war. Others believe he is frustrated at Iran’s intransigence. And while Trump at times feels detached from the political concerns of his party, Republicans have been inundated with complaints about rising prices, particularly at the gas pump. Many in the GOP were already preparing themselves to lose the House; the longer the war goes on, they believe, the more likely it is that the Senate could flip too.

The piece further stated that Trump is “reluctant” to resume fighting, notwithstanding Thursday’s exchange of fire between the U.S. and Iran. Since the war began on Feb. 28, the national average for a gallon of gas has surged to $4.55 a gallon, as of Friday.

“And so Trump keeps issuing deadlines to force Iran to cave, but Tehran keeps calling his bluff,” The Atlantic added. “For weeks now, Trump has blustered about resuming attacks but, each time, has found a way to back down. With the exception of a few hawkish voices, most in Trump’s orbit remain reluctant to restart the attack even as the stalemate continues.”

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