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- Manlobbi
Halls of Shrewd'm / US Policy
No. of Recommendations: 13
No. of Recommendations: 2
Also, is Hydrogen Peroxide having a moment?
The evening news not only reported on the algae, but showed that that new, blue, paint, is peeling off in big sheets. Sounds much like a Michigan street paving job back in the days of one party rule in Lansing.
Steve
No. of Recommendations: 2
"What a rotten deal we made with Iran. We get nothing (except laughter at our stupidity).
They get everything, including delay and BIG cash!" ~Trump, 11/24/13
That hasn't aged well.
Trump is desperately trying to pretend he got a good deal. Only diehard MAGA fools who only watch FOX 'news' will be fooled.
No. of Recommendations: 10
Another one from 2015:
"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!" ~Trump, guy who wasted billions, murdered children, got our troops killed, surrendered to Iran and will pay them $300 billion in reparations. MAGA!
"I'd love to watch a debate between 2015 Trump and 2026 Trump," one social media user wrote...
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/...
No. of Recommendations: 3
"I'd love to watch a debate between 2015 Trump and 2026 Trump," one social media user wrote...
Great idea! Someone should use AI to create this debate. That would be so entertaining. And enlightening as to the idiocy of Donny.
No. of Recommendations: 2
"I'd love to watch a debate between 2015 Trump and 2026 Trump," one social media user wrote...
I hope SNL is going to show that as the cold open this weekend.
No. of Recommendations: 1
"I'd love to watch a debate between 2015 Trump and 2026 Trump," one social media user wrote...
Sounds like an easy job for your favorite A.I.! Here's what I just got out of Gemini:
Q: Give me a hypothetical debate between Trump circa 2015 and Trump circa 2026 on the subject of a deal with Iran.
Trump (2015): "Look, the deal Obama made was the worst deal in history. A total disaster. We gave them $150 billion, we gave them blocks of cash on airplanes, and what did we get? Nothing. They keep enriching, they laugh at us, our leaders are incompetent. When I make a deal, I want a real deal. You don’t give them back their money until they stop everything—no missiles, no nuclear, no terror. If they don’t like it, you walk. You double the sanctions, you make them beg to come to the table. It's called the Art of the Deal, okay? You don't sign a piece of paper that gives them everything up front."
Trump (2026): "Well, look, I respect what he’s saying, he’s a handsome guy, very smart. But here’s the reality: we did the maximum pressure, we did the blockades, and then we had to get tough. We had Operation Epic Fury, we dropped the big bombs, the B-2 bombers hit them right smack in the middle of their heads. Their facilities are under rubble. But you have to know when to make the deal to save the world economy. The Strait of Hormuz was closed, global shipping was in trouble, gas prices were going crazy. I just signed the MOU in France. It’s a very strong memorandum. We got the Strait open toll-free, the oil is flowing, and the fighting stops."
Trump (2015): "Wait a minute, wait a minute. I’m hearing about this MOU you just signed. I’m reading the reports. You’re giving them back frozen assets? You’re talking about lifting all sanctions on an agreed schedule, and a $300 billion reconstruction fund? And they get to keep some of their ballistic missiles? That sounds like Obama! You always said, 'No enrichment, not 20%, not 30%.' Now you're letting them maintain a 'status quo' while we negotiate for 60 days? If you don't extract the concessions before you lift the blockade, you lose all your leverage. They’re playing you!"
Trump (2026): "Nobody plays me, nobody. Let me tell you about their government now—the old regime is decimated, they're dead, they're mostly dead. We're dealing with a whole different group of people because of the pressure I put on them. And it’s not our money we're giving back, it’s their money that we froze, and at a certain point, you have to let the oil flow. 'Ships of the world, start your engines,' that's what I said. Plus, this is an interim deal. If I don't like how the next 60 days go, if they don’t behave, we go right back to dropping bombs. It's a very flexible deal. Very smart."
Trump (2015): "But you're letting them off the hook! In 2015, I said we have to be the toughest guys in the room. You don't blink first. You don't say 'there's no rush' to recover their highly enriched uranium just because we have space cameras looking at them. Space cameras don't stop a bomb! If you tell them it's 'OK' to keep some ballistic missiles, they're going to build bigger ones. You're giving away the farm just to open a shipping lane."
Trump (2026): "Look, when you’re actually sitting in the Oval Office, you see the whole board. We protected Israel, we ended hostilities on all fronts—including Lebanon—and we stopped a major war from destroying the global economy. The experts said it couldn't be done, but we did it. It’s about timing. You strike hard, you show total strength, and then you negotiate from a position of absolute victory. The 2015 deal was weak because Obama was weak. The 2026 deal is strong because they know exactly what I'll do if they break it. They know the B-2s are fueled up and ready to go."
No. of Recommendations: 1
That's fun, but it would be better if it used Trump's actual quotes from back then and now.
No. of Recommendations: 2
This version, from Gemini, incorporates more actual quotes:
**Moderator:** Welcome to this special cross-temporal debate. Today we are looking at the art of the deal with Iran. On one side, we have Donald J. Trump during his first presidential campaign (2015/2016), a fierce critic of the Obama administration's Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). On the other side, we have President Donald J. Trump in June 2026, who has just signed a fresh, highly contested Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Iran.
Let's begin. 2015 Trump, what was your core issue with the original nuclear deal?
---
### Round 1: The Quality of the Deal
**Trump (2015/2016):** > "It is one of the worst deals I’ve ever seen negotiated in my life... We are giving them $150 billion, we are giving them $24 billion in cash. We are giving them everything. They are giving us nothing."
**Trump (2026):** Look, you don’t understand how the world works now.
> "We think it's a fair deal. We are not investing any money in Iran."
All that talk about a huge payout is fake news, completely ridiculous. What we did here is a second-stage framework.
**Trump (2015/2016):** > "I’ve been making deals for a long time. I’ve made a lot of money making deals. When you have a deal where you give up everything, and they give up nothing, that’s not a deal. That’s a capitulation."
You don't just sit down and sign a vague memorandum!
> "They have the worst negotiators in the world, and we have people that don’t have a clue."
---
### Round 2: The Red Lines and the Details
**Moderator:** President Trump of 2026, critics from both parties—including some of your closest allies like Ted Cruz and Bill Cassidy—are calling your 14-point MoU inadequate because it doesn't immediately dismantle Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and grants oil waivers right away. How do you respond?
**Trump (2026):** > "These fools, who think I haven't been tough enough on Iran, when the Stock Market Just Hit A RECORD HIGH, and Oil prices are 'tumbling' down, are either jealous, bad people, or stupid."
We got the oil moving, the economy is booming. And let me tell you about the nuclear side:
> "Iran will never have a nuclear weapon under deal."
**Trump (2015/2016):** Never? You’re trusting them?
> "Iran has systematically violated the terms of this deal... They’re going to have nuclear weapons. They’re going to take over parts of the world that you wouldn't even believe."
When I look at a deal, I look at the restrictions. Under Obama's deal, the inspections were a joke. You have to be tough!
**Trump (2026):** I *am* tough. Nobody is tougher than me. If they play games during these 60 days of negotiations, they know what happens.
> "All hell will break out on Iran if Iran tries to gets a nuclear weapon."
They will suffer the "ultimate consequences." But right now, we stopped the fighting and we are opening up the Strait of Hormuz. It's about winning through smart business.
---
### Round 3: Closing Arguments
**Moderator:** Let's have your closing statements on what makes a truly great American deal.
**Trump (2015/2016):** > "Our president negotiated a deal where we give them hundreds of billions of dollars, we give them everything, they give us nothing... If I’m elected president, I will renegotiate that deal and we will have a real deal."
You never give up leverage before the final signature. That's Dealmaking 101.
**Trump (2026):** We *did* renegotiate, and we got a completely different phase. The stock market is up, oil is down, and the bombing has stopped. You can look at the past, or you can look at the incredible success we are having right now. It is a beautiful, fair agreement for the American people.
