President Donald Trump on Monday pushed back against suggestions that the United States should begin looking for a way to de-escalate its ongoing confrontation with Iran, dismissing remarks made by adviser David Sacks urging a strategic withdrawal.
Sacks, a venture capitalist who advises Trump on matters related to artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, raised the idea during an appearance on the “All-In” podcast late last week, roughly two weeks after the fighting began.
“We should try to find the off-ramp,” he said, adding, “This is a good time to declare victory and get out.”
He cautioned that continuing the conflict could spiral into dangerous territory, warning of “frightening scenarios,” including the possibility of Israel “contemplating using a nuclear weapon,” which he described as “truly catastrophic.”
Although Israel has never officially confirmed possessing nuclear weapons, it is broadly assumed to have such capabilities.
Trump was questioned about Sacks’ comments during a press briefing following a meeting with the board of the Trump-Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The exchange was broadcast live on Newsmax and its streaming platform, Newsmax2.
“No, he hasn’t. Israel wouldn’t do that. Israel would never do that,” Trump said.
He went on to acknowledge that some believe the U.S. could disengage after dealing a significant blow to Iran’s capabilities, describing that viewpoint as one of several approaches under consideration.
“There’s a theory. You pounded them to hell, and you could just leave now, and it’ll take 10 years for them to build back, not nearly what they have right now. And I guess that’s another theory,” he continued.
Still, Trump made clear that his goal is a more decisive outcome—one that would prevent future administrations from having to revisit the issue.
“But we want to have it ended so that another president doesn’t have … look, for 47 years, no president was willing to do what I’m doing, and they should have done it a long time ago. It would have been a lot easier. There’s no president that wanted to do it,” Trump said.
He added that previous leaders were aware of the situation but chose not to act, recounting a private conversation with one former president who expressed regret.
“And yet every president knew. I’ve spoken to a certain president who I like, actually — a past president, former president. He said, ‘I wish I did it, I wish I did it.’ But they didn’t do it. I’m doing it.”
Trump declined to reveal the identity of that individual, explaining his reasoning with a final remark.
“I can’t tell you that. I don’t want to embarrass him. It would be very bad for his career, even though he’s got no career left.”
{Matzav.com}