Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the US was pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, a move that had shocked...almost nobody.
So here's a trip down memory lane, via Trump's Twitter account, to a sampling of the times he made it pretty dang clear that negotiating with Iran was best left to the expert — him.
1. There was one of his first tweets on Iran back in 2011 — implying that Iran should be bombed if it didn't give up its nuclear program.
Iran’s nuclear program must be stopped – by any and all means necessary.
2. Then by the next year, he was very convinced it was the right time for a deal.
We have all the cards. Now is the time to make a great deal with Iran.
3. That...didn't last long, as he slammed the initial 2013 short-term deal that said Iran would freeze its program while negotiations took place.
John Kerry is openly celebrating the tenuous nuclear deal with Iran. Great dealmakers do not celebrate deals,they just go on to the next one
4.
We had all the leverage in our nuclear negotiations with Iran and our leaders foolishly decided to let them out of the trap. WHY?
5.
How far has the United States gone down when we are reduced to accept the imbecilic deal just agreed to with Iran. Read THE ART OF THE DEAL!
6. As negotiations continued in 2015, by which point he was running for president, he became ~increasingly~ convinced that the best course was...to double the sanctions already in place.
Obama once again just missed a self-imposed deadline with Iran. Our leadership is weak & ineffective. Double the sanctions!
7.
Watched chief negotiator for Iran on @charlierose last night. He is far smarter than our reps—increase sanctions and walk!
8.
Iran continues to delay the nuclear deal while doing many bad things behind our backs. Time to WALK and double the sanctions. Stop payments!
9. Then once the deal was official on July 14, he waited two whole days before announcing his complete opposition.
No deal is better than a bad deal. America out negotiated again. #Iran
10. He even predicted the deal would "lead to at least partial world destruction."
The #IranDeal is a catastrophe that must be stopped. Will lead to at least partial world destruction & make Iran a force like never before.
11.
The deal with Iran will go down as one of the most incompetent ever made. The U.S. lost on virtually every point. We just don't win anymore!
12.
The Iran deal is terrible. Why didn't we get the uranium stockpile - it was sent to Russia. #SOTU
13. The tweets didn't stop in 2016, as Trump continued to rail about just how unfair the deal was and that it didn't prevent Iran from capturing US sailors near the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran toys with U.S. days before we pay them, ridiculously, billions of dollars. Don't release money. We want our hostages back NOW!
14.
In Iran deal we get 4 prisoners. They get $150 billion, 7 most wanted and many off watch list. This will create great incentive for others!
(He also overstated the amount of money Iran had returned to it in the deal — it was $100 billion, all of it Iranian assets that were previously frozen.)
15. He also continued to harangue the deal once taking office, infamously putting Iran "on notice" for testing a missile soon after he was inaugurated.
Iran has been formally PUT ON NOTICE for firing a ballistic missile.Should have been thankful for the terrible deal the U.S. made with them!
16.
Iran was on its last legs and ready to collapse until the U.S. came along and gave it a life-line in the form of the Iran Deal: $150 billion
(Again, the amount was $100 billion of Iran's own money, not $150 billion — with an estimated $55 billion available to Tehran once it had paid off other obligations.)
17. He also used what turned out to be a faked Iranian missile launch to slam the deal.
Iran just test-fired a Ballistic Missile capable of reaching Israel.They are also working with North Korea.Not much of an agreement we have!
18. There were all the times he bludgeoned Sen. Bob Corker, a Republican who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, over the Iran deal...
Bob Corker gave us the Iran Deal, & that's about it. We need HealthCare, we need Tax Cuts/Reform, we need people that can get the job done!
(Even though Corker opposed the deal and voted against it...)
19. ...and doling out some wallops to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer as well.
Dem Senator Schumer hated the Iran deal made by President Obama, but now that I am involved, he is OK with it. Tell that to Israel, Chuck!
20. He announced a "new strategy" on Iran last October, taking the time to swipe at the deal and its supporters.
Many people talking, with much agreement, on my Iran speech today. Participants in the deal are making lots of money on trade with Iran!
21. Trump also tweeted his support of Iranian protesters in the streets earlier this year, saying the government is "failing at every level despite the terrible deal made with them by the Obama Administration."
Iran is failing at every level despite the terrible deal made with them by the Obama Administration. The great Iranian people have been repressed for many years. They are hungry for food & for freedom. Along with human rights, the wealth of Iran is being looted. TIME FOR CHANGE!
22. Trump tweeted in February about his continuing shock that the US paid $1.7 billion to Iran without investigation...despite the fact that the amount was actually owed to Iran.
Never gotten over the fact that Obama was able to send $1.7 Billion Dollars in CASH to Iran and nobody in Congress, the FBI or Justice called for an investigation!
Iran bought weapons worth $400 million from the US right before the revolution in 1979. Those weapons were never delivered, so the US and Iran agreed to return the money plus interest, totaling $1.7 billion.
23. And just days ago, Trump took the time to go after former secretary of state John Kerry for trying behind the scenes to save the deal.
The United States does not need John Kerry’s possibly illegal Shadow Diplomacy on the very badly negotiated Iran Deal. He was the one that created this MESS in the first place!
So as far as surprises go, this one ranks just slightly above "the Pope comes from a Catholic background" and below "finding a peanut M&M in a bag of plain M&M's."
