What To Know
- Joe Scarborough offered rare praise for Donald Trump’s firm stance on Iran and his handling of the Strait of Hormuz.
- Scarborough highlighted that oil prices have remained lower than predicted.
- He argued that Trump’s refusal to make concessions to Iran demonstrates a strategic, patient approach.
Joe Scarborough surprisingly praised Donald Trump on Thursday’s (August 13) Morning Joe for the president’s “stubborn” approach to his war with Iran and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The MS NOW host was discussing Trump’s Truth Social post from Wednesday (August 12), in which the president boasted about having “total control” over the Strait of Hormuz, the oil transport passageway that connects countries in the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world.
“I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT!” Trump wrote. “Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, ‘A WALL OF STEEL,’ and there is nothing Iran can do about it… Iran is all talk and no action, the Bully of the Middle East No Longer. Praise be to Allah!”
“I’ve got to say, again, here we have the president, in a good way I think, being stubborn,” Scarborough said, per Mediaite. “Not saying ‘Iran we’re going to give you whatever you want, we’re going to give you half $1 trillion, we’re going to have sanctions on your oil just do anything to get us out of this war.’ He’s tried that. The Iranians have proven they can’t be bribed.”
He continued, “And I do know gas prices are are high, they’re over $4. It’s interesting, though, because if you look at oil, oil prices, which a lot of people were predicting were going to be $150 a barrel, it’s like at $87, I think Brent crude closed below $90 yesterday.”
After displaying graphics that showed Crude and Brent crude closing at $82 and $87, respectively, on Wednesday, Scarborough continued with his point.
“That’s showing something that I don’t know a lot of people in the hot heat of a political campaign will take note of. But that’s showing that America’s energy supplies are far more resilient,” he stated.
Scarborough went on to say that America’s “long-term strategic health” depends on “the Strait becoming less and less relevant, which I think the longer this drags on, the less relevant it’s going to become.”
Again, he praised Trump, saying, “So the president, of course, saying a lot of things that are going to provoke, but also, though it’s more of a head-down approach, so-called ‘low key approach’, we’re going to take our time. We’re not going to be pushed into a deal that gives the worst regime in the world half $1 trillion.”
You can watch a clip of the segment here and let us know your thoughts below.
Morning Joe, Weekdays, 6a/5c, MS NOW