The Patriot Post® · The Art of the Deal

By Gary Bauer ·
https://patriotpost.us/opinion/128484-the-art-of-the-deal-2026-06-19

President Trump signed the memo of understanding (MOU) to temporarily end the war with Iran Wednesday night. It is not a final peace agreement. It is a basic agreement establishing a ceasefire over the next 60 days.
 
During that time, both sides will work on a final agreement on a variety of issues, including the final status of Iran’s nuclear program. In this MOU, Iran agreed to “not procure or develop nuclear weapons.”
 
Some early critics of the deal, like Sen. Lindsey Graham (who has never seen a war he didn’t like), are now onboard. Newt Gingrich has praised the deal. Our friend Sen. Ted Cruz is raising alarms. Donald Trump, Jr., blasted him on social media.
 
Here’s the bottom line: The key issue of the maniac mullahs getting a nuclear weapon has been dealt with. The chances of that nightmare scenario happening have been massively reduced, possibly to zero, by Donald Trump’s actions in his first term and this term.
 
Some are asking how this deal is any different or better than Barack Obama’s 2015 deal with Iran. The difference is obvious and tremendous: Iran now knows it is dealing with a president who is not afraid of using military force.
 
President Trump reiterated that Wednesday. He told reporters, “If they don’t behave, we’ll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head.” Nobody doubts that he means it. 
 
And, by the way, no U.S. ground troops are bogged down in another “no-win” endless war in the Middle East.
 
 
 
“Never Wrong”
 
There’s a famous axiom in the financial world, “The markets are never wrong.” So, let’s look at the financial markets today. All the major indexes are up, and oil is below $80 a barrel.
 
In fact, the price of oil today is almost exactly what it was in mid-June of last year. The United States is in a 1,000% better position than we were a year ago when Iran’s military and its nuclear weapons program were fully intact.
 
Here’s another important data point. Democrats and their “fake news” allies are constantly telling us, “The American consumer is being crushed by Trump. The economy is on the edge of another recession—the Trump recession.”
 
Well, retail sales went up 0.9 percent last month. If we were in a recession, consumer spending and economic activity would be going down, not up. It’s actually the Chinese stock market and economy that appear to be crashing.
 
 
 
Trump vs. The Swamp
 
Let me make this obvious observation: When Donald Trump burst onto the political scene in 2015, he was out of step with virtually every “sacred cow” of the Republican establishment.
 
They wanted multinational trade deals and free trade with Communist China. Trump has been against that for the last 40 years.
 
They were all in on America always putting itself last, while we protected everyone else. Trump said those days are over.
 
They paid lip service to the values issues and periodically quoted a Bible verse to keep us on board. Trump rejected the idea that we shouldn’t fight on values issues and has done more to advance religious liberty than any president in modern history.
 
They were all for mass migration and refused to secure our borders, while they sent our sons and daughters to secure the borders of foreign countries. Trump stopped illegal immigration.
 
When a dozen Republicans were running for president in 2015, Donald Trump was the only one—the only one—who called for a halt to Muslim immigration into the United States at a time when we were suffering one radical Islamic terrorist attack after another. The other candidates attacked him and said his idea was unconstitutional. They were wrong.
 
The nomination battle was over that night. Not everyone realized it, but the response of the GOP establishment on that issue (and immigration generally) showed why conservative voters were so angry at the Republican Party. And it still plays out today.
 
The GOP establishment can’t wait two years until Trump is out of office. They want to take us right back to a foreign policy that gets us into more no-win wars.
 
They want to go back to courting Wall Street while ignoring Main Street. They want to go back to paying lip service to values issues while never doing anything serious about them.
 
And, to make it even worse, the GOP establishment has deluded itself into thinking that once they are back in control, the Democrats will go back to being the Party of Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy.
 
 
 
Red Tide Rising
 
No, I’m not referring to a Republican tide. A socialist will be the next mayor of the nation’s capital. These far-left radicals are winning primary after primary in dark Blue, solidly Democrat districts that no Republican could ever win. They are Marxist, Islamist, anti-Christian, antisemites and anti-Israel.
 
There are two reasons they are winning. First, they more accurately reflect the mindset of today’s Democrat voters. Second, they are better organized and better funded than the Democrat Party. The Democrat Socialists of America have built a juggernaut. The DNC dreams of being as organized as these Marxists are. 
 
 
 
Maine’s Revolutionary
 
There is an organization called the Socialist Rifle Association (SRA). It is a paramilitary group of left-wing revolutionaries training for war. SRA members have been linked to the terrorist attack on a Texas immigration detention facility and other violent attacks. Many of their members claim to be transgender.
 
It appears that Maine’s Democrat Senate nominee, Graham Platner, helped train SRA members to use firearms. It makes perfect sense. Platner has said he’s a communist and that America is the “evil, bad guy” in the world and, thus, his Nazi tattoo.
 
If there were rumors that a Republican candidate who had been in the military was helping to train people who belonged to a group called the “MAGA Rifle Association,” what do you think would be happening right now?
 
Remember when the Biden Pentagon was investigating members of the military who went to websites with “patriot” in the title? When Justice Samuel Alito’s wife flew a flag connected to the Revolutionary War that read “Appeal to Heaven,” the media acted like she was flying the Nazi flag!
 
 
 
Left-wing Hate
 
Remember the Jussie Smollett fake hate crime in Chicago? Here’s another one. Someone burned a cross in Chicago’s Grant Park. The Marxist mayor and all of Chicago’s leftists went bonkers, blaming MAGA.
 
Now a young Asian man has confessed. He claimed to be unaware of the racist history of cross-burnings. He set a cross on fire to attack MAGA Christians because Christians support Donald Trump.
 
Some leftists refuse to believe him. Others are saying, “Oh, in that case it’s not a hate crime.” Really? Rub bacon on the door of a mosque and you’ll be charged with a hate crime in seconds. But burning a cross to intimidate Christians is just fine.
 
This ignorant leftist is being charged with eight crimes, including a hate crime.
 
 
 
Vance On Faith
 
Vice President J.D. Vance appeared on Greg Gutfeld’s show this week. He made a very pointed observation about the faith of Christians and the “faith” of progressives. Watch it here.
 
 
 
DACA Disaster
 
We are learning more about the extremists who wanted to kill hundreds at the White House UFC event. It turns out the ringleader of the group is an illegal alien who was granted DACA protections by the Obama administration.
 
 
 
Defending Faith, Family & Freedom
 
In my latest podcast for the James Dobson Family Institute, I talk about the tragic abortion of a pre-born baby with Down syndrome that has been in the news recently. I also recall how President Ronald Reagan—with a little help from me—saved such a child.
 
Listen to the podcast now.
 
 
 
Tune In To Family Talk
 
Please tune in to Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk radio show. On today’s broadcast, I conclude my discussion with Rich Bott, president and CEO of Bott Radio Network. Rich shares why preserving God-given liberty requires an informed and faithful church.
 
Find station listings here. Listen online here.