Why Trump’s Iran deal is 'worst in American diplomatic history': ex-MAGA insider

On her new morning show, "Money Power Politics" — which debated Monday morning, June 15 following the popular "Morning Joe" program — MS NOW's Stephanie Ruhle brought on former Homeland Security Chief of Staff Miles Taylor for a reaction to President Donald Trump's new Iran agreement. And the Never Trump conservative was downright scathing in his assessment.

Taylor told Ruhle, "I'm going to go out there on a limb, Steph, and say I think that this is on track to be the worst deal in American diplomatic history. And look, I say that, recognizing…. that we don't have the text yet. But it's very, very hard to imagine there is a deal here that's any better than the deal we already had. In fact, if the initial reporting is to be believed, the Iranians think they're on a pathway to get $24 billion in assets unfrozen. That would be more than ten times what the Obama administration helped unlock for the Iranians."

The former U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official added, "So, put it another way: We're paying ten times — potentially ten times — what we did before to get the same promise from the Iranians. And in international law, there's nothing that you can say about their commitment to not pursue nuclear weapons that's stronger than a promise. There's no global police force to require the Iranians to not pursue a bomb."

Trump has been highly critical of the Iran deal that former President Barack Obama agreed to during his second term. But Taylor noted that when he was serving in DHS during Trump's first presidency, the president "threw out" the Obama administration's agreement without having "any plan to replace the Obama deal with."

Taylor told Ruhle, "Again, the devil will be in the details, but I have a feeling we're going to see the devil."

Taylor was serving as DHS chief of staff during Trump's first presidency when he anonymously wrote a widely read New York Times op-ed headlined, "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration." The op-ed detailed Taylor's efforts to dissuade Trump from following through on his worst ideas.

The conservative Taylor subsequently came out as the author of that op-ed and became openly critical of Trump, supporting Kamala Harris in 2024.

Ruhle formerly hosted MS NOW's late-night show "The Final Hour," and "Money Power Politics" — which now airs after "Morning Joe," hosted by conservative Joe Scarborough and liberal Mika Brzezinski — marks her debut as a morning host on the liberal-leaning cable news channel.