What Has Been the Reaction in DC to President Trump Signing Deal with Iran? 6-18-26

Good morning. This is New Hampshire today. I am Chris Ryan. The memorandum of understanding has been signed, sealed, and delivered by the United States and Iran. President Trump signing the MOU at the Palace of Versailles yesterday. Let's get the latest on that from Peter Ducey with Fox News. He's traveling with the president. And now the boss has to sell this memorandum of understanding to a skeptical American public. Key points shared by the White House, the U.S. will help develop, quote, at least $300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran. And the United States of America undertakes to make fully available for the use of frozen or restricted funds and assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran. On a 14-point plan, it's not until point number eight that you find this. The Islamic Republic of Iran reaffirms that it shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons. U.S. military assets on standby in the region if Iran starts charging tolls in the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Senator Eric Schmidt from Missouri was on with Sean Hannity last night. You've got the master dealmaker here who used the leverage that he has, who still has that leverage as president moving forward to make sure that they're not going to secure a nuclear weapon. Vice President Mike, former Vice President Mike Pence was on America reports yesterday on Fox. If I was at his side, as I was for four and a half years, I would urge the president take a step back, keep that blockade in effect, go back to the negotiating table, and tell the Iranians, here's the deal. We won, you lost. If we need to prove that further to you, our armed forces are capable of doing that. Joining us right now on the HRC, your neighbor credit union guest line from our nation's capital, the Hill White House correspondent to Julia Manchester. Good morning, Julia. Good morning, Chris. Thanks for having me. Appreciate you joining us for the show. So we heard Mike Pence and Eric Schmidt there with some reaction to this deal. President Trump trying to sell it yesterday and basically making the point that we were on the verge of dire economic circumstances if oil did not start flowing out of the strait of Hormuz. What's been your biggest takeaways from the MOU? Well, look, we're still, I think, waiting to see what the impact of this is. And I think we're going to see what the impact on oil is and, you know, oil prices and, you know, how quickly or even if oil prices go down to pre-war levels, really ahead of the midterms. Yesterday, I've seen oil prices this morning, but yesterday they were down to $76, $77 a barrel. So that was a dramatic drop from what we'd been seeing over the past few weeks where they were up in the 90s or sometimes. above that. But you know, you're seeing in the Senate, I think, you know, some grumbling about this MOU from people like Senator Ted Cruz from Texas. You know, he seems to be pushing back. Lindsey Graham, you know, notable Iran Hawks seems to have backed the White House on this hanging at a conversation with Vice President JD Vance. But in general, you know, where I think it's kind of a wait and see moment, remember,

you know, this MOU is obviously newsworthy and a big deal. However, this only opens the door to further negotiations. Nothing is set in stone. And I think President Trump made that very clear yesterday, repeatedly saying in France that if Iran misbehaves, the U.S. will start dropping bombs smack on their, in the middle of their heads. That's actually a quote from President Trump yesterday. And he, you know, kept emphasizing that this is a memorandum of understanding it's not final. So I think that's very key to keep in mind here. Yeah, so here's how I see it. From an election perspective, and let's face it, the midterms are just around the corner, about four and a half months away. Republicans and House Republicans are in a situation where they need to be supportive of this because they need the oil to start flowing as well, or many of them may be out of a job come November. That standpoint, they're either going to remain mum or they're going to be supportive of this. And that's going to be the message that the administration sends to folks on Capitol Hill as well. However, if you are a Iran hawk and you have a strong, longstanding position in regard to Iran and this regime, you can't be happy at all with this MOU. And you're in a similar position to that of Mike Pence. From the American public's perspective, Largely, folks do not understand and still don't understand why this war was necessary. They don't like it. They don't like the price hikes as a result of it. They will be happy when prices come down and not care too much about the 14 points, the way that we will discuss them and look at them from a historical perspective. So for President Trump... He, largely of his own doing, was in between a rock and a hard place with needing the oil to start flowing before some dire economic circumstances started to arise as a result of strategic petroleum reserves across the globe running out of oil. That's absolutely right. You know, he, I thought it was notable yesterday. He kept on mentioning, you know, we're risking a world depression. Right. If this does not, you know, reopen, really emphasizing that. So I think right now what you're really seeing or what you saw, I guess, in the final stages of these negotiations is President Trump sort of. stuck between needing to make a deal because politically it needed to happen ahead of the midterms. We were in this limbo area, but at the same time, maybe risking, ticking off some of these Iran hawks. And not only the Iran hawks, but I guess they fall into the same category or they're one of the same, but a lot of pro-Israel. Republicans as well. I mean, President Trump did not hide his frustrations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in terms of how Benjamin Netanyahu's incursions into Lebanon impacted negotiations here. So I think President Trump, you know, kind of, you know, reverted or I don't want to say revert, but really.

kept true to his art of the deal messaging or his art of the deal philosophy in terms of you know you're not going to necessarily win everything but this is the best we can do right now Even saying that Israel would not exist without the United States at one point over the last several days. That's Julia Manchester from the Hill and News Nation, White House correspondent to joining us on the HRCU, your neighbored credit union guest line. So when it comes to public perception ahead of the midterm in regard to this, I think it's very, very muddy at this point in time. because to me, the desired result is going to be for prices to come down for folks to have an enjoyable summer. But at the end of the day, President Trump, for many independent swing voters and Republicans, going to be judged on the affordability issue. So if prices are still above where they were when he took office or above where they were even a year ago when folks head to the polls, that's going to be a key. bone of contention for many voters across this this country and i think that they're going to look back at this deal as well whether it's um you know we have a firm deal within 60 days which seems unlikely um or if it's still kind of in this limbo or if things you'll blow up once again in the Middle East. And the question is going to be asked of, why did we do this? Why did we create this chaos and this drama to begin with? And in particular, could this MOU, could this deal have been achieved without any sort of military involvement? And to me, you look at the 14 points and I say yes. I mean, if you're willing to give Iran everything that we have given them in this deal, there is no reason to believe that Iran would not have taken this. prior to February the 28th. That's right. And I was chatting with some Republican operatives yesterday sort of asking how this, how they're looking at this tort, you know, and how it impacts the midterms. And they're still waiting for more maybe unofficial guidance from the White House and, you know, the president himself. They're waiting to see how the president, you know, messages on this issue. And obviously it's going to depend on a district by district state by state basis. But a lot of, you know, a lot of the Republicans I chatted with, you know, expressed optimism. saying, you know, we could see the prices go down. However, I think there is trepidation because there has been a lot of expert analysis that says, you know, we may not get back to poor levels for quite some time. So I think Republicans right now in terms of how they message on this.

are in a wait and see mode and really i think there is it's a double cited sword for them if you will um you know there's the price aspect as well but also do they get hit by democrats and i don't think this works universally for democrats in terms of messaging but do democrats say uh you know president trump was not a strong enough negotiator on this and republicans We're not able to keep a check on him during these negotiations. I think you're going to hear that as well. Final thing with Julia Manchester from the Hill and News Nation White House correspondent for them. I'm very unclear and perhaps you can provide some clarity on this as to what JD Vance's role now is in this process. where JD Vance was supposed to go to Geneva, Switzerland and do what President Trump did yesterday, have a formal signature. And then there was some ambiguity as to whether or not he was going to kind of lead the negotiations and start the 60-day period and get the clock started on that. What President Trump did say is if the deal goes well, President Trump will claim credit. If it goes poorly, he will blame JD Vance. So that's the first part. And we'll get to the second part following here. your answer there. I mean, I don't think anyone knows at this point because we were expecting this trip to Switzerland for quite some time. But President Trump sort of unexpectedly signed this in Versailles last night. And also I thought it was notable President Trump, even though he was joking. He still said this, you know, was asked, you know, if JD Vance takes the fall. for this ultimately and he joked on stage at the g7 yes um you know i'll take credit for it if it goes well but jd you know uh you know if it fails jd will um i thought that was very telling even though it was a joke um you are seeing i think republicans on the hill venting their frustrations with JD Vance because JD Vance has really become the public face of this he's been making the rounds on morning television doing interviews you know it's important to note that he's also promoting his book this week, so it falls in the middle of that. But on Monday morning, before he was promoting his book, he was making the rounds on television, you know, explaining this deal and selling the steal. And just briefly, is there distance between JD Vance and Marco Rubio on this, where Marco Rubio was perhaps wanting a more... concrete deal, one that was going to hold Iran more accountable and perhaps be harsher on Iran, and that was unable to be reached potentially. And JD Vance is kind of the champion of this particular deal. I think JD Vance has always been seen as more anti-interventionalists. So I think it's, you know, makes sense that that could be the case. But I think we'll likely find out more, you know, when these, you know, the real talk, I don't want to say the real talks, but the final talks, these 60 days once that's triggered. Julia, as always appreciate your time. Look forward to talking again soon.

Thank you. That's Julia Manchester from the Hill and News Nation, their White House correspondent, joining us on the HRCU, your neighbored credit union guest line. I am Chris Ryan. This is New Hampshire today. You love New Hampshire. Easy access to parks, health care, and social activities that work for your family. That's why AARP is here in the Granite State with free tips and events to help you make your place safe for years to come. We're also fighting for better streets, lower utility rates, and more, all so you can stay in the neighborhood you love. Get a free AARP Homefit Guide to help you make smart changes to your home. Find the guide and more at AARP.org slash your home. Meet Bob Manetti. In 2016, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Bob participated in a clinical trial that included cutting edge radiation therapy and surgery. He's been in remission since completion. I'm Keisha Sharp. Since losing my mother to pancreatic cancer, I've been working to share the kind of state-of-the-art work being done by Stand Up to Cancer and Lust Garden Foundation. To learn more about the latest research, including clinical trials, visit pincreatic cancer collective.org.