President Trump Suggests Iran Should Give Him a Call, Says ‘I Temper Bolton’

May 10, 2019 (EIRNS)—Speaking with reporters at the White House on May 10, President Donald Trump was asked if he was satisfied with the advice he has received from his National Security Advisor John Bolton. Talk, after all, has made it into print that Bolton could be fired, especially after the Venezuela “coup” fiasco which Bolton, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Vice President Mike Pence masterminded.

The President stood by Bolton, but with a qualification.

“John has strong views on things, but that’s okay. I actually temper John, which is pretty amazing isn’t it? ... I’m the one that tempers him, but that’s okay. I have different sides. I mean, I have John Bolton, and I have other people that are a little more dovish than him. And, ultimately, I make the decision. No, I like John. I get very good advice from John.”

Trump was also asked if there is a risk of military confrontation with Iran. “I guess you could say that always. ... But hopefully that won’t happen. What I’d like to see with Iran, I’d like to see them call me,” he answered.

Then followed his much-reported remark, that John Kerry could be prosecuted for violating the Logan Act for advising Iran, adding, however, that that’s the “kind of stuff” that Democrats do, and his people don’t want to do that.

His beef with Obama’s former Secretary of State, he said, is that Kerry is telling the Iranians “not to call,” when Trump’s cancellation of the Iran deal should have brought them to the negotiating table. He cited how the resulting sanctions had driven Iran’s economy “into a mess,” sent inflation soaring, and led to “riots every weekend and during the week.”

Trump continued:

“What they should be doing is calling me up, sitting down; we can make a deal, a fair deal. We just don’t want them to have nuclear weapons. Not too much to ask. And we would help put them back into great shape.... I look forward to the day where we can actually help Iran. We’re not looking to hurt Iran. I want them to be strong and great and have a great economy....

“They should call, and if they do, we’re open to talk to them. We have no secrets. And they can be very, very strong, financially. They have great potential. Very much like North Korea. North Korea has tremendous potential, economically. And I don’t think [Kim’s] going to blow that. I don’t think so.”