Trump: "We Negotiate with Iran and Then We Have to Blow 'Em Up"

President Donald Trump told reporters traveling with him that the United States had carried out major new strikes on Iranian targets, declaring the Iranian Navy “gone,” its Air Force “hit hard,” and calling the day “a big day.”

In a 2-minute-43-second off-the-cuff exchange captured on C-SPAN2 and rapidly circulating on X, Trump jumped between military successes, ongoing negotiations, and his assessment of the Iranian regime.

Key moments from the clip include:

Trump stating the U.S. has “destroyed a lot of additional targets today,” adding that Iran’s Navy is effectively eliminated and its Air Force severely damaged.
He said the U.S. is negotiating with Iran “directly and indirectly” and claimed Iran had just allowed 20 boats of oil to pass through the Strait of Hormuz “as a sign of respect” / “tribute.”
In one of the most widely quoted lines, Trump said: “We negotiate with them and then we always have to blow them up… whether it’s B-2 bombers or just terminating [the Iran nuclear deal]… We had to blow them up again.”
He called the 2015 Obama-era nuclear deal “probably the worst deal we’ve ever done” and reiterated that he terminated it during his first term.Trump repeatedly asserted that the U.S. has achieved “regime change” in Iran, describing the “really evil” original leadership as “mostly dead” and saying Washington is now dealing with “a third group of people” who are “much more reasonable.”

What Trump Means by “Regime Change”

Trump is not claiming a full-scale overthrow of the Iranian government or the installation of a new democratic regime. Instead, he is framing recent U.S. and Israeli military operations — part of the ongoing “Operation Epic Fury” that began in late February 2026 — as having effectively decapitated the hardline core of the Islamic Republic.

Top Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were killed in the strikes. With those original hardliners “mostly dead,” Trump argues that a newer, more pragmatic leadership layer has emerged. He portrays this shift as de facto regime change because the remaining officials are “much more reasonable” and appear willing to negotiate and make gestures such as allowing oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Recent Strait of Hormuz Incidents

The reference to the 20 oil tankers comes against the backdrop of weeks of Iranian harassment and attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow chokepoint through which roughly 20% of global oil passes.

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Since the escalation of U.S.-Iran hostilities in late February, Iranian forces and proxy militias have repeatedly seized, attacked, or threatened tankers, sharply reducing traffic and driving up global energy prices. Multiple vessels were boarded or struck in what the U.S. described as attempts to choke off oil exports and pressure the West.

Trump’s claim that Iran has now permitted 20 oil-laden boats to transit the strait is being presented by the White House as a direct result of U.S. military pressure — essentially a concession or “tribute” signaling that Tehran is backing down.

The remarks, vintage Trump in their stream-of-consciousness style, blended boasts of battlefield success, oil tankers as diplomatic gifts, and regime-change rhetoric in a single riff. The clip has triggered a firestorm on X, drawing reactions ranging from praise for strong leadership to accusations of exaggeration.