Yesterday on the set of Varney & Company, we watched as President Trump initiated the installation of not one but two 100-foot flagpoles on the lawn of the White House. Everything about the scene was so Trumpian – and so in keeping with all the things many of us love about this president.
TRUMP GOES BIG: Massive Flagpoles Rise at White House as Markets Soar and Iran Sweats—Is a Bombshell Move Coming Next? https://t.co/SzKLHmUzvp pic.twitter.com/lSTnMxdoe6
— Liz Peek (@lizpeek) June 19, 2025
First of all, you have to ask – why the heck weren’t there already flagpoles on the White House lawns? Why did it take Donald Trump to do what millions of Americans do in their own homes? It will be interesting to watch the next Democrat who occupies the Oval Office; will he (or she) take those flags down just to spite Trump?
Of course, the flagpoles were gigantic. Trump has a flare for the grand gesture and the dramatic; everything in Trump world has to be the biggest, the best, the most incredible. He is truly a master showman – remember his stint at a McDonalds’ Drive-through? Renaming the Gulf of America? His ride on the gilded escalator? His triumphant fist-pump after the assassination attempt? Memorable, all, and all sending an indelible message.
Also perfectly encapsulating this president’s genius was the impromptu press event he held after introducing the flag-installers. He took questions from the media, about Iran, about the Federal Reserve, about anything they asked. He does this almost every day, creating the most transparent presidency ever. Biden promised to do that but couldn’t and wouldn’t. Biden’s White House became so insular, so penned off from the press and everyone else, that even his cabinet had no idea what was going on. It was shameful, and we should all cheer on the Republicans in Congress holding hearings to find out exactly who was running our nation.
Meanwhile, markets rallied as the president spoke, perhaps noting that he was in good humor and cheerful – not the demeanor of a man about to go to war. I would remind everyone, though, that Trump was in the very best of spirits when he invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to Mar-al-Lago for their first meeting, and over dinner Trump excused himself to oversee the bombing of Syria, a China ally. As he recounted it, he told Xi about the surprise attack over a “beautiful” piece of chocolate cake, interrupting Xi’s endless and flattering recital of his country’s history. Score one for President Trump.
I would not at all assume that just because the president was in jovial spirits he is not poised to drop the bunker-buster on Iran. It is also possible, I think, that Israel has plotted out some other approach to destroying Fordo, and that the bomb threat is a useful diversion.
We shall see. I trust Trump to follow through on his determination that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon; he is completely right and most Americans are with him.
