Letter to the editor: Panic in the White House

First published in the Brunswick Beacon, 05.14.26

Trump’s Iran War is a strategic disaster. Iran’s regime wasn’t overthrown — its former leader’s son replaced him. It still has enriched uranium. The Strait of Hormuz remains closed, blocking one-fifth of the world’s oil and one-third of its fertilizer. Gasoline soared from under $3.00 to over $4.50 a gallon.

Trump is desperate for a deal. Everyone who reads his manic, erratic and cartoonishly violent posts knows it. Trump’s ex-National Security Adviser John Bolton said, “They can see Trump wants out of this. He’s broadcasting it almost every day. And it gives the Iranians enormous leverage. I think they smell panic in the White House.”

Lying makes Trump a lousy deal maker. Ghost writer Tony Schwartz said “The Art of the Deal” should be titled, “The Sociopath” because “lying is second nature to him.”

Every day brings more outrageous lies. Trump said closing the strait “doesn’t affect us,” when everyone sees higher prices at the pump. He said “we totally control the strait,” when everyone sees Iran firing on ships. He said Iran and the U.S. discussed operating the strait “as a joint venture,” and collecting tolls together, adding, “It’s a beautiful thing.” That never happened.

Trump’s lying has deadly consequences. His decision to launch sneak attacks while negotiating with Iran in 2025 and 2026 taught them to never believe him.

Bolton is right. Trump is desperate to end this war because he cannot admit what is becoming more obvious every day — Trump’s decision to kill Obama’s 2015 agreement that restricted Iran’s nuclear program was a historic blunder. Now that Iran has proven it can shut down the Strait of Hormuz whenever it likes, any deal it makes with Trump will be worse than Obama’s. That’s why Trump is panicking.

Nancy Briganti

Carolina Shores