MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The Iran war has now stretched for nearly a month. But just as the conflict is seemingly spreading throughout the region, President Trump is resorting to something for which he wants to be known, deal-making.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: All I'm saying is we are in the throes of a real possibility of making a deal. And I think if I were a betting man, I'd bet for it. But again, I'm not guaranteeing anything. They want to make a deal very badly.
MARTIN: That's the president talking about pushing until the end of the week his self-imposed deadline to attack Iran's power plants. Iran denied it was engaging in any direct talks with the U.S. and Tehran also accused Trump of trying to buy time to take more military action. In a few minutes, we'll speak with a former U.S. envoy to Iran about prospects for negotiating with the Islamic Republic. But first, let's get the latest information.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez is following this. So, Franco, tell us more about how Trump characterized what kind of conversations are happening.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Yeah. I mean, as you guys mentioned, Trump said he was postponing attacks on the power plants for five days because his team was having, quote, "productive" conversations with Iran. Trump said they were talking to a top person in the Iranian regime who is not the new supreme leader, but he would not say who it was. He did claim, though, that whoever they were negotiating with agreed to Iran never having a nuclear weapon, which, of course, they've said before.
MARTÍNEZ: All right, so Trump emphasized that he wasn't guaranteeing anything. So how seriously should Americans take this?
ORDOÑEZ: Well, I mean, it's very clear that Trump wants to reach a deal and to do so soon. Emily Harding, who handled the Iran portfolio in the George W. Bush White House, told me Trump is looking for an off-ramp, basically. And he knows the politics. He knows the midterms are coming and sees the oil market struggling. And she recommended taking Trump's bravado with a bit of a grain of salt.
EMILY HARDING: It really fits his MO. This is how he prefers to negotiate. He makes a real maximalist pressure demand. And then he seems to want to find a way to negotiate out of it, so he can take the pressure off and declare victory. But it kind of goes either way, right? I mean, the adversary gets a vote.
ORDOÑEZ: And she points out that we've heard these kind of things before. I mean, Trump repeatedly said he was close to reaching a deal with Russia over the Ukraine war. And, of course, that never materialized.
MARTÍNEZ: Franco, you mentioned the politics involved. So what are the risks for the upcoming midterms?
ORDOÑEZ: Well, I mean, I do want to say that Trump still likely has some runway politically to work with. I mean, right now, most Republicans are behind him. But the party often struggles when Trump's name is not on the ballot, which it won't be. That said, if the U.S. and Israel can wrap this war up in a couple of weeks, he'll probably be all right politically. But Jon McHenry, a Republican pollster with North Star Opinion Research, he told me if the war goes on much longer than that and gas prices continue to creep up, say, another 50 cents or more, then you're going to start to see more inflation, and not just in gas, but across the economy.
JON MCHENRY: And that kind of increase in inflation, sort of a Bidenesque increase in inflation, would probably really set Republicans back in the fall.
MARTÍNEZ: It's the economy, stupid. I'm not calling you stupid, Franco, but how much of this is just about the economy?
ORDOÑEZ: (Laughter) Yeah. I mean, it's a lot about the economy. And that was the big issue that Trump won on two years ago, that and immigration, of course. But it's also about the possibility of boots on the ground. There are around 4,500 Marines heading to the Middle East right now. And a recent Quinnipiac survey found that 52% of Republicans would be opposed to sending troops to Iran, you know, boots on the ground. And that could have a significant political impact. And, A, I'm not saying those Republicans are all of a sudden going to vote for Democrats, but they could decide to just stay home and not vote in November.
MARTÍNEZ: That's White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez. Thanks a lot.
ORDOÑEZ: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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