President Donald Trump's diplomatic approach was under question on Thursday as the global economy took a massive hit amid the Iran war — reviving an old comment from Vice President JD Vance.
Trump has admitted that the war has gone on longer than he would have preferred, and it's uncertain what next steps would prompt the United States to end the conflict in the Middle East, The New York Times reported. It's also unclear who would lead the potential negotiation. Trump had sent his son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff before the war to handle negotiations, but after his cabinet meeting on Thursday, he also added that Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were planning to join the talks expected to happen in Pakistan in coming days — after Iranian leaders refused to talk with Kushner and Witkoff.
"The situation is testing the bravado many Trump officials expressed about their early foreign policy initiatives," according to The Times.
"Turns out a lot of diplomacy boils down to a simple skill: don’t be an idiot," Mr. Vance posted on X last March, praising Witkoff.
Former U.S. ambassador to Israel under President George W. Bush, Daniel Kurtzer, called Trump's handling of diplomacy with Iran "a failure," and pointed out that Trump doesn't seem to realize his own goals in the conflict, The Times reported.
"Trump says he wants to de-escalate, but does he even know what that means?" Kurtzer said.
Kurtzer also explained that Trump's 15 demands for Iranian leaders "are nonstarters, because they would require Iran essentially to give up on everything."