Good morning and welcome back to today’s edition of The Wolf’s Den. It is Thursday, June 18th, and there is a lot happening both abroad and here at home.
Donald Trump is overseas at the G7, holding meetings, putting on signing ceremonies, and trying to sell the American people on the idea that his war with Iran somehow ended in success. But the truth is much simpler: Trump lost leverage, surrendered that leverage away, and came back with a deal that is already being blasted by members of his own party.
I will break down everything you need to know about Trump’s surrender, how Republicans are reacting and more below. But before I continue, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support allows me to continue fighting back against Donald Trump, MAGA and their media operation meant to divide us. Thank you for your support.
Trump started this war in Iran claiming he had three major goals.
End Iran’s nuclear ambitions,
End Iran’s ballistic missile production capacity,
End Iran’s funding for terror proxies like Hezbollah and Hamas.
Not one of those goals has been achieved.
Instead, the deal appears to kick the can down the road. The nuclear question remains unresolved. Iran’s regime gets a lifeline. Its terror proxies are not eliminated. And the one concrete outcome Trump is now celebrating — the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz — was a problem created by the war in the first place.
That is not peace through strength. That is chaos followed by a weak deal.
And this is where things get especially brutal for Trump: Democrats are not the only ones saying it anymore. Republicans are now saying it out loud too.
Republican Senator Bill Cassidy absolutely torched Trump’s handling of Iran, calling the deal one of the worst foreign policy blunders in decades and saying Ronald Reagan would be rolling over in his grave. That is a stunning statement from a Republican senator. Cassidy did not whisper it anonymously to a reporter. He put it out publicly for everyone to see.
For years, Donald Trump operated with total control over the Republican Party. Republican lawmakers were terrified to cross him. They bent over backwards to excuse every failure, every scandal, every reckless decision. But now, on Iran, we are seeing real cracks. Conservative Republicans are furious that Trump dragged America into a conflict without building support from Congress, without clearly explaining the mission to the American people, and without delivering the results he promised.
That is not leadership. That is the opposite of leadership.
Great presidents understand that in moments of crisis, you have to bring the country with you. You have to explain the stakes. You have to build trust. You have to create the political capital necessary to accomplish a serious national security objective.
Trump did none of that.
He created chaos, lost control of the situation, and then tried to brand the cleanup effort as a victory. But the American people are not buying it. Increasingly, Republicans are not buying it either.
And now we are seeing the political consequences here at home.
Keep your eyes on Ohio.
Ohio is a red state. Donald Trump won it. Republicans have treated it like safe territory for years. But right now, Democrats have two strong candidates running highly competitive races: Amy Acton for governor and Sherrod Brown for Senate. Both are showing real strength in a state Republicans cannot afford to lose.
That does not mean either race is guaranteed. It is June. There is a long way to go before November. But the fact that Democrats are even in this position in Ohio tells us something important: the political environment is deteriorating for Republicans.
Trump’s war in Iran, his weak deal, and the cost of living crisis are all weighing down the party in power. Americans are frustrated. Families are still being crushed by high costs. Voters are seeing chaos abroad and pain at home. And Republicans are being forced to defend a record that is getting harder and harder to defend.
That is the story of this moment.
Trump wanted to project strength overseas. Instead, he exposed weakness. He wanted to unite Republicans behind him. Instead, he triggered public backlash inside his own party. He wanted Democrats on defense. Instead, Democrats are gaining ground in places like Ohio.
So yes, keep your eyes on Iran. Keep your eyes on the G7. But also keep your eyes on Ohio.
Because if Republicans are cracking abroad and slipping at home, 2026 could become a very different election than they expected.
-Ethan
