Iran Publicly Taunts Trump Over ‘Phantom’ Peace Talks
The Morning Sixpack - 03/25/2026 Dems flip Mar-a-Lago seat, CNN warns of GOP trouble, TSA chaos, Hawaii floods, Iran tensions rise
Iran to Trump: You’re ‘Negotiating With Yourself’ as 15-Point Peace Plan Gets Public Laugh Track
Iran openly ridiculed Donald Trump after he claimed he was in talks with “the right people” to end the Middle East war, telling him bluntly: you’re “negotiating with yourself.”
According to the Daily Mirror, Trump said his team had floated a 15-point peace plan aimed at pausing the fighting and hashing out a broader deal. But Iran’s military leadership didn’t just reject the idea—they mocked it. On Iranian state TV, top joint military command spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaqari asked: “Has the level of your inner struggle reached the stage of you (Trump) negotiating with yourself?”
He didn’t stop there. “People like us can never get along with people like you. As we have always said... no one like us will make a deal with you. Not now. Not ever.” That’s not exactly leave-the-door-open language. Tehran also denied that any negotiations were underway, undercutting Trump’s suggestion that serious backchannel talks were progressing.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Channel 12 reported the U.S. was pushing a month-long ceasefire to discuss the 15-point framework—allegedly including dismantling Iran’s nuclear program, ending support for proxy groups like Hezbollah, and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. At the same time, the Pentagon is expected to send more than 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the region. So much for a cooling-off period.
The bigger picture? Trump says progress. Iran says fantasy. And the rest of the world watches oil prices and troop movements instead of press conferences.
Source: Daily Mirror
Editor: If you’re going to claim you’re cutting deals, it helps if the other side knows they’re in the room. Otherwise, it’s just performance art with missiles in the background.
It’s hard to sell a peace deal when you’re loading transport planes at Fort Bragg.
Trump Talks Deal as 4,000 Paratroopers Pack for the Middle East
The Pentagon is preparing to deploy between 3,000 and 4,000 troops from the elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East—even as Donald Trump insists talks with Iran are “productive.”
According to Reuters, the troops—based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina—could be sent to bolster America’s growing military footprint in the region, where roughly 50,000 U.S. forces were already stationed before the latest buildup. The 82nd Airborne can deploy within 18 hours. That’s not a symbolic move. That’s muscle.
The deployment follows earlier reports that thousands of Marines and sailors were sent aboard the USS Boxer amphibious assault ship. Meanwhile, the U.S. has carried out strikes on 9,000 targets inside Iran since late February. Thirteen American troops have been killed. Two hundred ninety have been wounded. Public support? Slipping. A Reuters/Ipsos poll shows just 35% of Americans approve of the strikes, while 61% disapprove.
The White House says “President Trump always has all military options at his disposal.” Iran says there have been no talks at all. Trump says negotiations are happening. Tehran says they aren’t. And now thousands of paratroopers are on deck, with discussions reportedly including securing the Strait of Hormuz or even deploying forces near Kharg Island, the nerve center of Iran’s oil exports.
So here we are: ceasefire chatter on social media, troop surge on the tarmac. If this is what “productive” looks like, imagine the alternative.
Source: Reuters
Editor: When your approval rating is sinking faster than oil futures during a shooting war, maybe adding paratroopers isn’t the optics play you think it is.
Iran surely is preparing for a ground war. They hold all the cards right now because they have the global economy by the testicles.
The ONLY thing that can stop them is the unthinkable.
Iran Thoughts
I’ve been wondering why Trump hasn’t ended the war. I mean, the US won, right? (That’s what Trump says.) And if we haven’t won, why not?
When the people screening your bags are working without a paycheck, “system in crisis” isn’t hyperbole—it’s math.
TSA Meltdown: Unpaid Screeners, ICE Fill-Ins and Airport Lines That Don’t Move
For more than a month, TSA workers haven’t been paid—and now America’s airports are paying the price.
According to Al Jazeera, over 450 TSA employees have quit since the partial government shutdown began February 14, with call-out rates jumping from about 2% to roughly 10% nationwide—and nearing 30% at major hubs like New York, Atlanta and Houston. Social media is flooded with videos of travelers stuck in hours-long lines, some missing flights despite arriving early.
The shutdown stems from a political impasse over funding for the Department of Homeland Security. While lawmakers argue over immigration enforcement and ICE reforms, TSA agents are reporting to work without pay—again. Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, put it plainly: “They have families, mortgages and bills like everyone else.” Meanwhile, federal ICE agents—who are not trained for airport screening—have been deployed to help plug staffing gaps. That’s not exactly confidence-inspiring.
All of this is unfolding as the U.S.–Iran war complicates global travel, spikes fuel costs and raises security concerns. “For years we’ve bragged about how the US has the best and safest aviation system in the world,” said William McGee of the American Economic Liberties Project. “I’m not sure that’s something we get to say anymore.” When morale collapses and staffing becomes a guessing game, even routine travel starts to feel like roulette.
The Senate is reportedly moving to advance a funding bill to restore DHS operations, including TSA, while broader immigration fights continue. Until then, if you’re flying, plan to get there very early (in some cases, 9 hours, not a misprint)—and pack patience along with your carry-on.
Source: Al Jazeera
Editor: We can deploy troops across the globe in 18 hours, but we can’t pay airport screeners on time. Priorities are a revealing thing.
If you can lose next door to Mar-a-Lago, you can lose anywhere.
Democrats Flip Seat in Trump’s Backyard—Right Next to Mar-a-Lago
Democrats are projected to win a Florida state House seat that includes Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home—overturning a district Republicans carried by 19 points just two years ago.
According to the BBC, Democrat Emily Gregory, a first-time candidate, defeated Trump-backed Republican Jon Maples in a special election for Florida’s District 87. The seat sits in Palm Beach and includes Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate—a symbolic blow in the president’s own backyard.
Trump had endorsed Maples on Truth Social, urging “great patriots” to turn out. Republican Congressman Byron Donalds—now running for governor—also campaigned for him. Didn’t matter. Gregory flipped it. “I might have done some crazy calculus to decide that this was a flip opportunity, but it was,” she told MSNBC. “And we did it. So my math worked.”
Democrats have been stacking up special election wins during Trump’s second term, and party leaders are already framing this as a preview of the midterms. Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin declared voters had “sent a message,” adding: “If Democrats can win in Trump’s backyard, we sure as hell can win anywhere across the country.”
The midterms are in November. Historically, they double as a referendum on the sitting president. If this race is any indication, Republicans may have more ground to defend than they thought—starting with the turf right outside the gates of Mar-a-Lago.
Source: BBC
Editor: Nothing rattles a political operation like losing within golf-cart distance of the boss’s mansion. The optics alone are worth a recount.
AND… This is why Trump will try EVERYTHING to either NOT have the midterms (“We’re in a war!”) or suppress votes like a mofo.
For families in Waialua and Haleiwa, paradise turned into a muddy disaster zone overnight.
Hawaii Floods Swamp Oahu Neighborhoods as Cleanup Begins
Flash flooding tore through neighborhoods near Honolulu and along Oahu’s North Shore, submerging homes and forcing residents into cleanup mode after weeks of punishing storms.
According to the Associated Press photo gallery, crews began assessing damage Tuesday after a surprise downpour sent water surging through residential areas. Aerial images show homes in Waialua surrounded by brown floodwaters, trucks stranded in soaked fields in Mokuleia, and discolored runoff spilling into the Pacific along the North Shore coastline.
Residents and volunteers hauled out mud-caked furniture and debris, sorting donations at Haleiwa Distillery and pressure-washing what could be salvaged. Glenn Duquez, an associate pastor at Church of God Jesus is Alive Fellowship, waded through a mud-riddled sanctuary with a flashlight. Nate Knaggs held up a mud-covered Mr. Bill toy recovered from his flooded home—a small, grim reminder of how fast the water rose.
This latest flooding is part of a relentless two-week stretch of storms that have battered Hawaii, raising fresh concerns about infrastructure, drainage and how prepared island communities are for sudden, intense rainfall events. Cleanup is underway. Recovery will take longer.
Source: Associated Press (I encourage you to visit this link. The photos are devastating.)
Editor: Tropical postcard views are great—until the water’s in your living room. Then it’s buckets, bleach and hoping the next storm stays offshore.
Strangely enough, my wife and I were in Hawaii (Kauai) last week and we just missed the first big storm and left right as the second big storm rolled in. It was beautiful. Highly recommend visiting the “Garden Isle”. Here’s a sunrise:
If special election swings become midterm swings, Republicans could be in real trouble.
CNN’s ‘Data Guru’ Warns Trump Could Be Headed for a Midterm Meltdown
CNN’s resident data analyst Harry Enten says a recent Democratic win in a district that includes Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate is far more than a local upset—he sees it as a warning sign of potential disaster for Trump and the GOP nationwide.
Enten pointed to the Florida special election where Democrat Emily Gregory beat Republican Jon Maples 51% to 49% in a district Trump carried by double digits in 2024. That dramatic shift, he said, isn’t just a one-off. In dozens of special elections across the country so far this cycle, Democrats have outperformed Trump’s baseline from last year—by double digits on average—suggesting broader voter dissatisfaction with the GOP’s performance. (The Daily Beast)
“Historically speaking, special elections have forecasted what will happen in the midterm elections,” Enten told CNN’s Erin Burnett, arguing that a party that overperforms its recent presidential baseline often goes on to win big in a midterm year. (The Daily Beast)
The trend isn’t limited to that one race: Democrats also flipped a state Senate seat in the Tampa Bay area, and overall have flipped dozens of state seats since Trump’s election, while Republicans have flipped none. That cumulative momentum, Enten says, puts Democrats in a strong position heading into November. (The Daily Beast)
Trump himself voted by mail in the special election—even as he has campaigned vigorously against mail-in voting and pushed for laws to restrict it nationwide. Critics say that inconsistency undercuts GOP messaging on voting rules. (The Daily Beast)
Source: The Daily Beast
Editor: To reiterate, stories like this solidify my thinking that Trump is going to do everything possible to halt the midterms and suppress votes “bigly”. The courts are so slow that by the time the Supreme Court gets around to ruling, it will be, in their words, “too late”.