President Donald Trump suggested to a group of journalists on Friday that he and they were all potentially in some danger amid talk of U.S. military action against an Iranian nuclear facility.
Earlier this week, the president said he was giving Tehran’s leaders a couple of weeks to come to terms with Israel and the United States regarding Iran’s maturing nuclear weapons program, which the regime has said is for peaceful purposes.
Israel has spent the past week attacking Iranian nuclear and military sites along with Iran’s senior military leadership while also targeting Iranian nuclear scientists.
During a Q&A with reporters Friday after landing in New Jersey, Trump addressed the situation while also warning journalists they could be “in danger.”
“Are you worried Iran’s proxies would wage terror attacks against American targets abroad if you order military action?” asked a reporter.
“We’re always concerned about that, and we have to take them out and be very strong. You’re even in danger talking to me right now. Do you know that? You are in danger talking to me right now, so I should probably get out of here. But you guys are actually in danger. Can you believe it?” Trump replied.
“Is it still your expectation that NATO countries spend 5% of their GDP on defense spending?” followed up another reporter.
“Well, I think they should do that. I don’t think we should, but I think that they should. We’ve been spending, we’ve been supporting NATO so long. In many cases, I believe paying almost a hundred percent of the cost. So I don’t think we should, but I think that the NATO countries should. NATO is going to have to deal with Spain. Spain’s been a very low payer. They were always a very low payer. They were either good negotiators or they weren’t doing the right thing. I mean, I think Spain has to pay what everybody else has to pay. Spain has been notorious for low pay. You know who else was a low payer, just about the lowest? A place called Canada, because Canada said, ‘Why should we pay when the United States will protect us free?’ It’s been right about that,” Trump replied.
“You’ve been making progress towards a peace deal, but I don’t know if you know this, but Lindsey Graham and Mike Pompeo were there on the ground in Ukraine seemingly doing the opposite, trying to provoke the Ukrainians to keep fighting. What do you think of that?” followed up another reporter.
“Well, we’re going to see, and people have to be very careful with what they say. They’ve got to be careful with their mouth, because their mouth can get them into a lot of trouble,” Trump replied.
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Last week, former Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned that “Iranian IRGC, the very leadership the Israelis destroyed last night, has been working in nearly every country around the world, including the United States of America, to plant little terror cells all across the world. Hezbollah was doing the same.”
Meanwhile, the president maintains a favorable standing with voters as the public awaits his approach to addressing Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
In the latest Napolitan News Survey, Trump received 53% approval among registered voters, an increase from 51% two weeks earlier, while his disapproval rating held steady at 46%.
The economy and immigration continue to be the leading concerns for voters, with 24% naming the economy and 23% citing immigration as the most important issues. War and international matters ranked lower, with only 9% prioritizing them.
On Thursday, Trump gave a short but ominous answer on Thursday after a reporter asked him to respond to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s refusal to acquiesce to Israeli and U.S. demands that he end Iran’s nuclear program.
“What do you say to the supreme leader of Iran, who says that they will not surrender?” a reporter asked. “I say good luck,” the president replied.