President Donald Trump on Friday signaled a shift away from the war with Iran after apparent positive negotiations this week and the administration’s capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, saying “Cuba is next.”

While speaking in Florida at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute Summit at the Faena Forum in Miami Beach, Trump said even though he campaigned on peace through strength, sometimes force is necessary.

“And Cuba is next, by the way. But pretend I didn’t say that,” Trump said. “Please, please, please media, please disregard that statement. Thank you very much — Cuba’s next.”

TRUMP TOUTS ‘MASSIVE’ IRAN ‘PRESENT’ LINKED TO STRAIT OF HORMUZ AS DEAL TALKS HEAT UP

He added that he thought NATO’s absence in negotiations with Iran was a “tremendous mistake.”

“They just weren’t there,” he said. “It’s going to make a lot of money for the United States because we spent hundreds of billions of dollars a year on NATO, hundreds of protecting them. And we would have always been there for them. But now, based on their actions, I guess we don’t have to be, do we?”

TRUMP LASHES OUT AT ‘SICK’ IRANIAN LEADERS, CONFIRMS ESTIMATED TIMELINE FOR ENDING WAR

The president talked about the Strait of Hormuz, which he pressured NATO to help the U.S. reopen. 

“We’re negotiating [with Iran] now, and it would be great if we could do something, but they have to open it up,” he said. “They have to open up the Strait of Trump — I mean, Hormuz. … The fake news will say he accidentally said [that]. No, there’s no accidents with me.”

TRUMP THREATENS KEY IRANIAN GAS FIELD AFTER ISRAELI STRIKE

Previously, when asked about control of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said the U.S. will “have control of anything we want.”

The Iranian regime has imposed multimillion-dollar charges on some tankers transiting the critical global shipping choke point, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil supply flows.

At least two students were killed and at least seven other people were injured Friday after a school bus was involved in a multi-vehicle crash Friday in West Tennessee.

Tennessee Highway Patrol Maj. Travis Plotzer said during a news conference Friday that the crash took place on Highway 70 in Carroll County, and involved a state Department of Transportation dump truck, a Chevrolet Trailblazer and the school bus.

Plotzer called the incident “a parent’s worst nightmare.”

Officials are investigating the cause of the crash but said it appeared that the transportation department dump truck did not contribute to the incident.

NEW JERSEY MAN FRACTURES GIRL’S SKULL BY ALLEGEDLY THROWING ROCK THROUGH SCHOOL BUS WINDOW, ARREST MADE

Authorities said 25 students and five adults were on the bus.

The Clarksville-Montgomery County School System said in a statement that the bus was transporting students and employees from Kenwood Middle School to Jackson, Tennessee, for a field trip. The district added that all families of those on the bus have been contacted.

“Our hearts go out to our Kenwood community, students, staff, faculty, friends, and neighbors. Please join us in praying for all involved,” the school system said.

DRIVER HOPS CURB, STRIKES 9 STUDENTS DURING AFTER SCHOOL PICKUP IN IOWA

At least seven other people were taken to hospitals in Tennessee, officials said. The extent of their injuries was not immediately known.

Four people were transported to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville and were in stable condition, a Vanderbilt Health spokesperson told The Associated Press.

Nineteen other individuals were taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Carroll County, a spokesperson for the facility said, and were evaluated and later released.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville doubled down on his theory that President Trump will resign in frustration after losing in the midterms. 

Earlier this month, Carville released a video titled, “Trump Will Be Gone, Sooner Than You Think!” He followed up again on Thursday with a video titled “Trump Will Chicken Out of the Presidency” appearing to reference the phrase “Trump Always Chickens Out”, which is often used to mock his half-measures in policy.

As Carville and his “Politics War Room” co-host Al Hunt took questions during their podcast, one listener said that politicians, if they did their jobs, would impeach Trump. Hunt politely chided the listener, urging him to “strike the word ‘impeachment’ from your vocabulary,” warning that any discussion of impeachment is a distraction that Trump, ironically, wants to be the focus of the national conversation. 

Carville agreed and argued that, if anything, Trump will be removing himself from power, saying, “What I’m going to talk about is the possibility of resignation, because he doesn’t know how much his life is getting ready to change post November.”

JAMES CARVILLE TELLS EX-CNN HOST HE’S WORRIED TRUMP WILL TAMPER WITH 2026 MIDTERM ELECTIONS

“He’ll still be president,” Carville said. However, he added, “His power is going to just ebb out.”

“This guy’s got two years to go. He’s lost the whole public opinion. He’s lost the whole Senate. He’s lost the House. The lobbyists are going to start cutting deals on the other side,” Carville argued.

“You’ve seen this a thousand times before. The guest list for every cocktail party for everything is going to change, the Christmas part is coming up, and he’s just going to see that seeping out,” he said, imagining a scenario where it takes the chancellor of Germany 72 hours to return his call.

“And I think the guy is just soft, and it’s horrible when you get hit like he’s going to get hit. I think, I think he just gets JD Vance to pardon him and I think there’s a good chance he just says ‘sh—’ and just walks away. ‘It ain’t worth it. That’s the best I can do,’” Carville suggested. “I don’t think he’s tough enough to tough this out.”

TRUMP SAYS JD VANCE WOULD BE ‘PROBABLY FAVORED’ FOR 2028 REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION

Hunt agreed, speculating that if Trump does so, he would get some sort of deal from Vance to ensure he will not face prosecution after he leaves power.

Carville reiterated his argument, saying, “After being where he is. I don’t think he’s physically or mentally capable of doing it — of sticking it out. I just think he’s fat, lazy, and deteriorating. And to the extent that he can see where he is, he might just walk away.”

“Donald, we hardly knew you, but we sure as hell won’t miss you,” Hunt replied.

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