LEILA FADEL, HOST:
President Trump is celebrating the rescue of a U.S. weapons officer whose plane was shot down in Iran. He's also set a new deadline for Iran to release its control of the Strait of Hormuz.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Here to discuss this is NPR senior national political correspondent Mara Liasson. Mara, Trump said Sunday this colonel was rescued from the mountains of Iran and was seriously wounded. So what are the politics of this moment for the president?
MARA LIASSON, BYLINE: I think the politics couldn't be simpler. When a soldier or a sailor or an airman is in danger in an unpopular war, that's bad for the president.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
LIASSON: When that person is rescued, that's good for the president politically. But it doesn't change the overall box that Donald Trump finds himself in. Certainly, this would have been worse if it had devolved into a hostage situation. But remember, this all happened because Iran shot down a U.S. fighter jet for the first time in the war so far, even though the president says the U.S. has totally destroyed and obliterated Iran's military capabilities.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
LIASSON: So the circumstances are a reminder of how Trump has not been able to figure out how to credibly declare victory and get out of Iran.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. Now, Trump says there will be a press conference with members of the military in the Oval Office later today. What do you expect to hear from that?
LIASSON: Donald Trump has really ramped up his messaging around the war. It took days after the war began before he started trying to build support for the action with Congress or the American people. But last week, we saw him give a prime-time address on Wednesday night. Over the weekend, he had multiple calls with individual reporters to talk about the war and this rescue. And today, he'll be surrounded by generals in the White House, and they represent the most successful part of this war. The military goals have been met. The military has been successful in degrading Iran's missile capacity, its navy, and then there was the dramatic rescue. But the big question is, what about the political objectives which have not been met?
MARTÍNEZ: Which is what I was about to ask you, because have those political objectives been met so far?
LIASSON: No, and it's not clear what they are because they change from day to day. The latest moving of the goalposts is opening the Strait of Hormuz. Donald Trump now says the strait must be opened by Tuesday or else. But that's a big difference from what he was saying last week - that the U.S. didn't need to open the strait, the U.S. allies in Europe should deal with it themselves, or that the strait would open naturally when the war ended. And the fact that he goes back and forth so many times gives the impression that Trump is making it up as he goes along and that there isn't a clear strategy, even when the military strategy may largely be working.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. Now, on that deadline, tell us about what he has mentioned about it because he's used some pretty strong language.
LIASSON: He posted a profane post on Truth Social. He said Tuesday would be, quote, "power plant day and bridge day." He added, "open the expletive strait, you crazy bastards." "Praise be to Allah." And many Muslims took that last phrase as an intention to insult their religion. But aside from the shock of how he conveyed that message, it's important to note that he's talking about bombing civilian infrastructure like power plants and desalination plants, which are protected by the Geneva Convention. But we know Trump has said in the past he doesn't need international law. His own morality is the only constraint on his power. He also talked to ABC's Rachel Scott on Sunday. He said if there's no deal made, he's, quote, "blowing up the whole country." He was asked if anything was off limits. He said, very little. But that deadline is only operative until it's not operative.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. Is - how important do you think it is for Donald Trump, the president, to get out of the kind of box that he's put himself in?
LIASSON: I think it's very important. It's hard to see how he can declare victory in Iran if Iran still controls the Strait of Hormuz. He could send in ground troops, but that would make an unpopular war even more unpopular, and he's in a tough spot. It's a midterm year. His - some of his polls are in the 30s, and he ran on a promise not to start foreign wars.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR's Mara Liasson. Mara, thanks.
LIASSON: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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