Trump used the Iran war address to ask increasingly skeptical voters to give him a little more time

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump used his first major address since launching his war on Iran to reassure Americans that all of his military objectives will be met “soon,” and asked an increasingly skeptical electorate to give him a little more time.

In his Wednesday evening speech, Trump dialed back the bluster that has dominated his rhetoric in recent days as world markets rumbled and a battered Iran launched some effective strikes on its Gulf neighbors’ infrastructure and US bases.

But the Republican president’s pledge to “get the job done” proved hard to convince, with oil prices rising and Asian stocks falling after the US vowed to keep hitting Iran hard.

He offered no details on the state of negotiations with Iran that could bring about a promised endgame that he insists could come in a matter of weeks. There were no knocks on NATO allies for failing to fall in line and help reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz waterway — something White House officials said would be a key part of his nearly 20-minute address.

The US will continue to hit Iran hard for the next two or three weeks, he said, without saying how long the war would last. But he urged Americans to show a little patience.

“We’ve been in this military operation for 32 days against one of the most powerful, most spectacular, most powerful countries, and the country has been ignored and essentially is no longer a threat,” Trump said. “This is a true investment in the future of your children and your grandchildren. The whole world is watching, and they cannot believe the strength, the strength and the talent.”

But Trump is dealing not only with an enemy that refuses to throw in the towel, but with American tolerance for an escalating conflict.

Most Americans believe recent U.S. military action against Iran has gone too far, and most are worried about buying gasoline, according to an AP-NORC poll conducted in mid-March, two weeks after the war began. While Trump is deploying more warships and troops to the Middle East, about 59% of Americans say U.S. military action in Iran is excessive.

Meanwhile, 45% are “extremely” or “very” worried about being able to afford gas in the next few months, up from 30% in an AP-NORC survey after Trump was re-elected with promises to improve the economy and lower the cost of living.

Americans, Trump noted, have certainly shown patience during the war.

He said, “American involvement in World War I lasted one year, seven months and five days. World War II lasted three years, eight months and 25 days. The Korean War lasted three years, one month and two days. The Vietnam War lasted 19 years, five months and 29 days. Iraq lasted eight years, eight months and 28 days.”

Hours before his speech, Trump appeared to reflect the domestic pressure he felt to end the war.

Speaking at a private lunch at the White House to celebrate Easter, Trump argued that the US could “very easily” use this moment to take Iran’s oil. It was “unfortunate,” he lamented, that the American public lacked the patience for such an effort.

“They want to see the end of it,” he said. He added, “People in the country say, ‘Just win. You’re winning so big. Just win. Come home.’ And I’m fine with that too. “

Democrats criticized Trump for failing to present a coherent argument for conflict

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said Trump’s speech was “based on a reality that exists only in the mind of Donald Trump.”

The president, Democrats fumed, has offered no plan to reopen the Hormuz, a critical waterway for oil tankers that Iran has effectively strangled even as Trump claims it has been defeated.

For allies worried about a global economy reeling from rising oil prices, Trump suggested they “buy oil from the United States” and “build some delayed courage” and help the US secure the Straits. Trump has made no attempt to respond to his European critics who say he entered into a war of his choice against Iran without consulting global allies, but is now counting on the world to help him inflict unexpected damage.

“We’re losing this war,” Murphy added. “We cannot destroy all their missiles or drones, nor their nuclear program. Iran projects more power in the region than they did before the war, especially if they now permanently control the Strait of Hormuz. We will not spend billions and lose American lives in a war that destabilizes the world and makes us look innocent.”

The President has suggested that ground forces may be deployed

More than a month after the U.S. and Israeli attacks, Trump offered cautious optimism that those now in power in Iran are “less radical and much more pragmatic” by shedding the hierarchy of the pre-war Islamic Republic. He did not specifically mention Monday’s deadline for Iran to open the Straits or face a U.S. military attack on its energy infrastructure, though he made clear he was open to targeting the heartbeat of Tehran’s economy.

“If there’s no deal, we’re going to hit every one of their electric generation plants very hard and probably simultaneously,” Trump said. “We haven’t hit their oil, even though it’s an easy target of all, because it won’t give them the slightest chance to survive or rebuild. But we can hit it, and it will be gone.”

Trump also notably did not indicate that he was making any preparations for a ground attack by the US military.

He appeared to shy away from sending ground troops to secure Iran’s roughly 1,000 pounds (450 kg) of highly enriched uranium, saying it would take “months” for Iran to get there because the site of last year’s US nuclear bomb attack is buried under debris created by Iran’s campaign.

Trump has offered to change the reasons for starting the war, but he has remained steadfast that the main purpose of engaging Israel in military action is to ensure Iran “never has a nuclear weapon.”

But amid the conflict, he is increasingly wary of how far he is willing to go to fulfill his pledge to dismantle Iran’s weapons program once and for all, including seizing or destroying the bomb-grade nuclear material Iran possesses.

“We have this intense satellite surveillance and control,” Trump said in his prime time speech. “If we see them make a move, even a move for that matter, we will fire missiles at them again very hard. We have all the cards. They have none.”

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Associated Press writers Colin Binkley, Michelle L. Price and Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report.