Trump pushes back on Wall Street Journal editorial labeling him ‘sucker’ on Iran

President Trump on Tuesday pushed back on a Wall Street Journal editorial that labeled him a “sucker” on Iran as it noted the absence of the complete reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. 

Trump wrote in a lengthy post on Truth Social declaring Iran’s entire Navy is at the “bottom of the sea,” their Air Force is “gone” and their anti-aircraft and radar is “wiped out.”

He touted June strikes on their nuclear labs and storage areas, which he said were “OBLITERATED,” and celebrated the death of longtime Iranian leaders, including General Qasem Soleimani, “their evil genius who destroyed the lives of so many with his favored roadside bombs.” Soleimani was killed in early 2020, near the end of Trump’s first term.

Trump also noted the Strait of Hormuz is blockaded and “totally controlled” by the U.S., with no ships allowed to go to Iranian ports.

“It is said that they are losing 500 Million Dollars a day because of this — Their Country is an Economic Catastrophe, that is hanging by a thread,” the president wrote.

He hit back at the editorial writer, Elliot Kaufman, calling him an “idiot” and said the entire publication has “lost its way” after publishing the op-ed titled, “The Iranians Take Trump for a Sucker.”

Kaufman, an editor with a focus on the Middle East, accused Trump of making concessions that were “politically easier” rather than enforcing decisions that were strategically sound. The piece follows months of harsh exchanges between the president and the traditionally conservative outlet, which has hammered the Trump administration over scandals and the Iran war. 

“Twice he has announced the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and twice he has given up U.S. leverage in exchange. Yet the strait remains closed, as Iran’s regime demands more,” Kaufman wrote. 

The critical shipping chokepoint is facing a U.S. naval blockade and Iran, following in the path of U.S. forces, began seizing ships attempting to travel through the waterway. 

Leaders in Tehran twice said the strait would be reopened, including after a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel was announced last week.

However, both times, Iran moved to shut down access, further halting international commercial transit for energy and oil exports from the region. 

The Strait of Hormuz remains under the threat of Iranian fire, which the country has promised to stop only if the U.S. ends its blockade.

“This will be the Iranians’ third swindle—if Mr. Trump goes along. The regime wants the strait closed and U.S. leverage diminished for nuclear negotiations. ‘They can’t blackmail us,’ Mr. Trump said on Sunday. But they think they can,” Kaufman wrote.

“Certainly, they are comfortable embarrassing the president. What’s stopping them from playing the same games over their stockpiles of enriched uranium?” he added.

Other U.S. officials, including former national security adviser John Bolton, have said Trump’s ceasefire with Iran was a “mistake” and accused him of giving Tehran “enormous leverage” due to his fear of political pushback over the war. 

On Tuesday, Trump extended the Iranian ceasefire indefinitely, while Vice President Vance has not traveled to Islamabad for renewed peace talks as previously planned.

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