THE CALM BEFORE WHAT STORM? The president has again demonstrated his ability to drive the news cycle and send the Washington punditry into a tizzy trying to discern deeper meaning from what appeared to be an offhand remark, perhaps even a joke. The scene was last night’s dinner for top military commanders and their spouses at the White House. During a group photo before dinner, Trump gestured to the assemblage and asked reporters, “You guys know what this represents?” “Tell us,” one reporter responded. “Maybe it’s the calm before the storm,” Trump replied. Kristen Welker of NBC News asked, “What storm Mr. President?” “You’ll find out,” Trump replied.
The cryptic interchange comes as two nuclear crises are looming: North Korea and now Iran, which the president is reportedly ready to “decertify” as not in compliance with the nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration and six world powers. “They have not lived up to the spirit of their agreement,” Trump said before last night’s dinner with service chiefs and combatant commanders. “We must not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.” When asked directly by a reporter if he had come to a decision on Iran, Trump replied, “You’ll be hearing about Iran very shortly.”
