At a press availability, after President Trump’s typical blather about what a “great” leader his guest, in this case Chancellor Merz, is and what a fabulous job he’s doing, Merz, who sat with his hands uncomfortably twisted together in front of his rib cage, said that he had come to discuss three matters. First, the good riddance of that terrible Iranian regime and what comes next; second, to make a trade deal; and third, Ukraine, about which he said, “There are lots of terrible people in the world” (implying Putin) and that Ukraine must not be pressed to give up any territory in return for security.
Trump answered most of the questions from the press. He bragged about the great success of Operation Epic Fury, saying that the Iranian Air Force and Navy have been destroyed and interestingly saying that he didn’t think it appropriate for Reza Pahlavi to become the next Iranian leader, saying, “They need to find a popular leader who’s already there.” (Note: since this briefing, it has been announced that the eldest son of Khamenei has been selected by the council as the leading candidate to replace the slain Ayatollah.)
