Trump Says Some Republicans Want to ‘Obliterate’ Iran While Others Prefer a Nice Little Chat First

U.S. airstrikes carried out a day earlier, on July 17, 2026,
in Iran's Hormozgan Province did this.

Apparently the Grand Old Party is having its usual family meeting about Iran, and the options on the table range from “please pass the nukes” to “maybe we should text them first.” 

President Donald Trump explained this morning on “Fox & Friends” that some elected Republicans are begging the U.S. to hit Iran “harder” than ever before, while the more refined members of the party would rather try sweet-talking Tehran into a deal before anyone starts rearranging the country’s infrastructure with high explosives.

Steve Doocy, ever the calm adult in the room, asked where the Republican coalition currently stands on the Iran situation, especially with midterms lurking in November like an unpaid bill.

"Some Republicans said, 'well, why don't we hit them harder?'" Trump said, adding, "You have a group of people that want it to be obliterated in the truest sense of the word. Then you have a group that says, this is actually a good time to make a deal for them."

The deal-loving Republicans, Trump helpfully clarified, still keep a backup plan in their back pocket: if the Iranians refuse to play nice, just “finish the job.” Finishing the job, in this particular vocabulary, means turning Iran’s bridges, power plants, and other inconvenient pieces of modern life into modern art via airstrikes.

"I think about 91 million people without power, without bridges," Trump added. "So I think we have a very strong position right now. They know I'm going to do that. If they don't make a deal, the bridges are going to be gone literally in less than . . . two hours."

Now that is a "strong negotiating position." 

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