President Donald Trump is threatening to wipe out a third “level” of Iranian officials over the end of the ceasefire in the Strait of Hormuz, but acknowledges he might one day suffer such a fate himself.
The president offered a rare statement of vulnerability at this week’s NATO summit, acknowledging that his life is in constant danger and he might be killed before completing his second term. Asked by a reporter in Ankara, Turkey, why he now considers Iranian leaders “rational” after previously condemning them as insane, he launched into a winding diatribe about having already killed two “levels” of leaders before turning the focus on himself.
“Their leaders are gone. They had leaders, they’re gone. Then they had another set of leaders, they’re gone. Now they have another set of leaders — they may be gone, who knows?” Trump said from the stage toward the end of the summit. “And you know what, I may be gone too. Because I’m their No. 1 target — it’s out all over the place. Because they’re scum. That’s the way they act and that’s the way they’ve done it for 47 years.”
Iran’s threats to kill Trump extend all the way back to his first term, when he ordered the targeted killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Gen. Qasem Soleimani. Guard propaganda showing Trump bleeding out from a sniper bullet or dying in a drone attack is commonplace.
“I’m No. 1 on the kill list for Iran. They’re lovely people, I’m No. 1,” he said later in the speech. “I like being No. 1 on TikTok, but I’m No. 1 on the list for killing.”
Trump’s ruminations were not just throwaway lines, however. He expounded upon the threats to his life again after being asked about the $400 million airplane that is currently serving as a “bridge” model Air Force One. He denied that the plane, which was donated by the Qatari royal family, was a security hazard and said it actually made him feel safer.
“The life of a president is very dangerous,” Trump said before launching into statistics about work-related deaths. “It’s 5.2%. You know what a race-car driver is? One-tenth of 1%. A bull rider — that looks pretty dangerous to me — it’s one-tenth of 1%. It’s 5.2% that you don’t make it. You should have told me that years ago, maybe I wouldn’t have run. It’s a very dangerous profession.”
It’s unclear how Trump arrived at the 5.2% number. Eight out of the 45 men (or 17%) who have served as president have died in office, four of whom were assassinated (8.9%).
The president’s grim statements are simultaneous with the dayslong funeral for the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose coffin has been paraded across national borders accompanied by thousands of mourners. The supreme leader died in the initial strikes of Operation Epic Fury, launched by the White House in February.
Many attending the Khamenei funeral, which today crossed into the holy city of Najaf in Iraq, carry signs calling for the death of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and rhetoric calling for the destruction of the United States and Israel is frequent.
“Why shouldn’t we kill the one who killed my imam and my leader?” a eulogist at the funeral said earlier this week. “Trump’s killing is our duty. … Why is the most despicable man in the world still alive?”
The president said at the NATO summit that after meeting with the current leaders of Iran, he is convinced they are “rational” in their behavior. He contrasted this with those leading the government at the outbreak of Operation Epic Fury and those who immediately replaced them and were subsequently killed. Though he expressed continued ire for their lack of progress maintaining peace.
“I think they’re much more rational than level one and level two. Level one is gone, level two is gone. This is level three. I think they are more rational, but based on their actions in the last week or two, they’re not doing a service to the people,” the president said. “I’m not sure I want to make a deal with them. We can play games, but I’m not sure I want to make a deal.”
But experts don’t see much change in the Iranian government’s structure since the initial upheaval of Operation Epic Fury put Khamenei’s son in the unseen role of supreme leader and thrust the already influential military apparatus into tight control.
The Guard, now calling the shots, has sought to exploit Americans’ distaste for conflict and make the establishment of a ceasefire as painful as possible for the White House.
“The IRGC has more influence over the regime, and we are seeing that in a more hardened and strident approach. I think it is also important to appreciate that the Iranians understand the negotiation game,” retired Gen. Joseph Votel, the former commander of U.S. Central Command, told the Washington Examiner.
TRUMP’S ZELENSKY ‘PRESIDENT PUTIN’ SLIP UP AT NATO SUMMIT ISN’T HIS FIRST
Trump previously said he has issued “very firm instructions” to “wipe [Iran] off the face of this Earth” if he is ever assassinated by the Islamic Republic.
Asif Merchant, a Pakistani national, was convicted in March of attempting to solicit individuals to kill Trump. He admitted at trial that the Guard sent him to the U.S. to arrange a political assassination. He was arrested after meeting with two hit men who turned out to be undercover U.S. officers.