U.S. President Donald Trump at Morristown Airport in Morristown, New Jersey, U.S., May 22, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) has been a passionate supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump's war against Iran, while MAGA Republicans and American First proponents like former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson have been highly critical. Trump himself, according to The Lincoln Party's Rick Wilson, is looking for an offramp from the war but is caught in a "bear trap" of his own making.
In a "Fast Politics" video with liberal journalist Molly Jong-Fast, Wilson — a Never Trump and former GOP strategist — stressed that neither GOP war hawks nor the Iranian regime is backing down.
Wilson told Jong-Fast, "So, there is a memorandum of understanding with the Iranian government right now that gives Iran full control of the Strait of Hormuz, gives Iran $100 billion of their currently seized and frozen assets back, agrees to pay Iran $250-some billion — maybe $250 or $280 — in reparations, pushes American forces out of the gulf essentially. After 60 days after this agreement is signed, Iran and the U.S. will sit down and then negotiate a separate agreement maybe concerning Iran's nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons program."
The former GOP strategist continued, "This strikes me, Molly, as not great…. This is really dumb. This is dumb even at levels of dumb for Donald Trump…. But they really are very desperate to get this war done with."
Trump, Wilson argued, "wants to get out of this thing" but is having a very hard time doing so.
"He really needs to get out of this thing," Wilson told Jong-Fast. "He is in a bear trap right now. And nobody's happy."
Trump launched the Iran war in late February.
When Jong-Fast noted that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) "came out against" the plan that Wilson described to her, the Never Trumper responded, "Well, Ted Cruz and (Sen.) Rick Wilson and Lindsey Graham and the entire conservative apparatus of think tank guys and national security guys, they're like, 'Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. We went to Iran, and now, we're going to do what?'.... This will set a precedent that will forever give control of the straits to Iran. And the idea that somehow, there's some last-minute genius negotiation on Donald Trump's part that's going to lead to a deal that's going to make sense for the U.S., it's nuts. It's just Coocoo Town."
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