CNN host admits Trump may have 'got it right' on Iran stand, praises POTUS over global security

ATLANTA, GEORGIA: A CNN host appeared to acknowledge that President Donald Trump may have taken the correct approach in dealing with Iran, telling viewers during a broadcast on Saturday, March 14 that recent developments could mean the world is “a safer place.”

During his program on Smerconish, host Michael Smerconish discussed Trump’s strategy in the escalating confrontation with Iran and slammed the partisan reactions to it.

CNN host lauds global security under Trump

In the broadcast, Smerconish addressed reactions from viewers and criticized what he described as the increasingly partisan tone surrounding the conflict.

The host argued that political divisions were preventing Americans from evaluating the situation objectively.

“People are getting bogged down, suiting up in their partisan jerseys,” Smerconish said, suggesting that many observers were reacting based on political loyalty rather than assessing the situation on its merits.

He also pointed to Iran’s long-standing hostility toward the United States, saying the country’s leadership had threatened the US repeatedly for decades.

“They hate us,” he said, adding that Iran’s leadership has maintained that hostility for “half a century.”

While Smerconish questioned whether the threat posed by Iran had been truly imminent, he said the outcome of the conflict could still strengthen global security.

“I have my doubts about whether the situation was imminent,” he said.

“But I have no doubt as to whether the world’s a safer place with the leadership having been decapitated.”

Trump’s Iran strategy worked, CNN host says

Smerconish read aloud a message the president had posted on Truth Social.

In the post, Trump explained that he had deliberately refrained from destroying Iran’s key oil infrastructure on Kharg Island, despite the ongoing conflict.

“I have chosen not to wipe out the oil infrastructure on the island,” Trump wrote, before issuing a warning about possible escalation. 

“However, should Iran or anyone else do anything to interfere with the free and safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision.”

Smerconish then turned to CNN’s senior military analyst, retired US Navy admiral James Stavridis, asking for his reaction to the president’s message.

Stavridis responded by saying the president’s approach made strategic sense, arguing that the move gives Washington leverage while still deterring Iranian aggression.

“I think the president has it absolutely correct on this one,” Stavridis said.

According to Stavridis, the idea behind the strategy is to weaken Iran’s ability to defend the area while keeping its oil infrastructure under threat as a powerful bargaining chip.

“It is take out their military capability to defend it, hold it at risk, and what’s the advantage?” he said.

Stavridis suggested the approach could discourage Tehran from escalating attacks on commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf. He pointed to a range of tactics Iran has previously used or could potentially deploy against tankers moving through the region.

“Now the Iranians, we hope, will be less likely to use massive swarms of small boats to go after the big tankers,” he said.

“Less likely to put thousands of mines into the water and turn the place into a hellscape, less likely to use short-range ballistic missiles to go after the tankers, less likely to use limpet mines affixed to the tanker.”

“The president is saying to Iran, we have a card to play here,” Stavridis said. “Don’t overstep what you want to do offensively in the Gulf.