Rumors Say That Trump Is Losing Patience Over Iranian Conflict: The Wall Street Journal reports President Trump launched into a tirade at Iranian leaders during an Oval Office meeting as a war in Iran drags into its fifth month, and aides worry the conflict is consuming his presidency and hurting Republican midterm chances.
According to the piece, which was attributed to unnamed sources, the Journal wrote that the president is fed up with diplomacy and increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress in the conflict, which began five months ago.
President Donald Trump is joined by Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Vice President JD Vance, British Ambassador Peter Mandelson, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, while announcing a trade agreement with the U.K., Thursday, May 8, 2025, in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Emily J. Higgins)
President Donald Trump is joined by Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Vice President JD Vance, British Ambassador Peter Mandelson, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, while announcing a trade agreement with the U.K., Thursday, May 8, 2025, in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Emily J. Higgins)
A senior administration official told the Journal that Trump was losing patience and sees few good options besides continuing military strikes, which resumed earlier this month after a ceasefire and the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that Iran broke fell apart.
White House Sticking To The MoU Narrative
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that Iran broke the Memorandum of Understanding with the United States by shooting at commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
“President Trump is not going to stand by and allow this terrorist behavior to occur. Iran is paying in massive bombs, night after night, and they will continue to pay until they come to the table in, what President Trump deems, a meaningful way,” Leavitt added.
The White House also continues with the narrative that gas prices are temporary and will quickly return to pre-war levels either when the war ends or when the U.S. has degraded Iran’s military capabilities to the point that it can no longer stem the flow of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.
However, despite the heavy toll US airstrikes are taking, Iran’s proxies in Yemen, the Houthi rebels have threatened shipping in the Red Sea, announcing a blockade of Saudi ports and firing on tankers in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
This has caused even more economic uncertainty and further rises in gas prices.
Rising Prices, More Casualties, And Sinking Approval Ratings
The WSJ added that “Some of Trump’s advisers now worry that the war—which has resulted in higher prices, falling approval ratings and the deaths of more than a dozen U.S. servicemembers—is consuming his presidency and damaging Republicans’ already dim prospects in the coming midterm elections.”
Even among the president’s die-hard MAGA base, the prospects of continuing the conflict are becoming increasingly not worth it.
Politico wrote that in May about half of the president’s base of support thought the Iran conflict was worth its economic costs. Now, that number has dropped by 13 percent.
“Additionally, 37 percent of self-identified MAGA Trump voters say the U.S. should continue its involvement only if it doesn’t increase costs, up from 29 percent who said the same in May, according to the survey, conducted by independent polling firm Public First.”
And now one in five (20 percent) believe that regardless of the costs, the US should end the conflict in Iran.
“They Haven’t Received Enough Pain Yet”
Meanwhile, the administration is continuing its massive air campaign against Iranian targets, specifically the IRGC in nightly air attacks.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it targeted “Iranian military command centers, drone storage facilities, communication networks, coastal surveillance sites, and maritime capabilities to further diminish the threat Iran poses to civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”
The president stated there would be “major military punishment” for both Iran and the Houthis after the Yemeni rebels fired on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, days after their announcement that they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia.
“If they do this again, the U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social page on Thursday.
The Houthis allowed two tankers to pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Thursday, both heading to China, while one known tanker transited the Strait of Hormuz, also bound for China.
NBC News reported on Thursday that “eight tankers traveled north through the chokepoint into the Red Sea, with 14 traveling south into the Gulf of Aden, according to an NBC News analysis of MarineTraffic data.
Some ships may have had their transmitters switched off, and so actual numbers may be higher.
The president insists that Iran wants to negotiate, but wasn’t prepared to make a deal yet. “They haven’t received enough pain yet,” he said.
About the Author: Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications
