Weekend Quotables
"Trump has effectively spent a lot of money creating a giant swamp in DC." (Guardian)
The Iran War is now the most unpopular US war in history.
When Stephen Semler at Polygraph compared public opinion on the Iran War to past major US conflicts in May, the ongoing war hadn’t quite reached Vietnam’s level of unpopularity. But polling from June shows that the Iran War has now sunk to –32% net support — below the –31% recorded in the final poll during the Vietnam War.
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The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Pentagon leaders told lawmakers the department needs about $80 billion to recoup its costs of the Iran War. The administration is expected to send a formal war funding request to Congress this week. The funding would be on top of the $1.1 trillion military budget Congress approved earlier this year.
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Donald Trump’s threats to destroy Iran and send US forces to occupy the country on Sunday appear to have derailed peace negotiations in Switzerland, with the Iranian delegation reportedly walking out and demanding an apology.
Trump insisted there are “no limits” to his power when asked in a new interview about his takeaways from the Iran war.
Quotables
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator
“Don’t they think that if their threats had worked, they wouldn’t have ended up in today’s desperate situation?” — Common Dreams
JD Vance struggles with his metaphors
“The final deal is the house,” Vance told reporters after initial talks with Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf. “We set the foundation. We haven’t built the house, but we’ve laid a successful foundation to get to a good place for the American people.” — AP
Israel’s unhinged National Security Minister Ben Gvir
Bibi should tell Trump ‘no’: “Lebanon should be our playground. We should target all of it. Thousands of Lebanese mothers should cry and not one 🇮🇱 mother… Iranians have to be bombed & bombed…” — Tennessee Holler