Trump Says Iran Is Finished—Then Asks the World for Backup
Bulwark Takes
The Bulwark
4.7 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 15 March 2026
⏱️ 16 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Sam Stein and Will Saletan take on Donald Trump’s claims that Iran has been “decimated” even as his administration asks other countries to help secure the Strait of Hormuz. They discuss the contradictions in Trump’s messaging and what it reveals about the war. They also react to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr’s warning to broadcasters over their coverage.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hiring isn't just about finding someone willing to take the job. |
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| 0:27.6 | this podcast. Indeed.com slash broadcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring, do it the right way |
| 0:34.4 | with Indeed. All right, hey everybody. It's me, Sam Stein, joined by Will Salton for a special Saturday edition of Bullwork Takes. |
| 0:41.5 | We're coming to you because President Trump just does not stop. |
| 0:44.9 | Now that it is Brendan Carr, the FCC commissioner, they are posting through the weekend, ridiculous posts, illogical posts. |
| 0:54.6 | We're going to start with the substantive stuff first and then get to Brendan Carr, |
| 0:58.0 | which, you know, from a selfish standpoint, a media standpoint, was kind of scary. |
| 1:03.7 | Not kind of scary. It is actually quite scary. |
| 1:07.1 | Literally two minutes before we came on, President Trump put up another bleat. |
| 1:11.4 | I'm going to read it because it really does kind of shock you when you see it in print. |
| 1:17.1 | So this is what he said. |
| 1:19.5 | The United States of America has beaten and completely decimated Iran, both militarily, |
| 1:24.7 | economically, and in every other way. |
| 1:31.9 | Okay. But the countries of the world that receive oil through the Hermou Strait must take care of that passage. And we will help a lot, |
| 1:37.4 | exclamation point. The U.S. will also coordinate with those countries so that everything goes |
| 1:42.1 | quickly, smoothly, and well. There should have always been a team effort, and now it will be. |
| 1:47.5 | It will bring the world together towards harmony, security, and everlasting peace, exclamation point, President Donald J. Trump. |
| 1:55.7 | So look, I have a couple questions here. |
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