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AM|Morning BriefingTuesday, March 17, 2026 at 5:17 AM10 min read

A Former President Said "I Wish I Did That" — But All 4 Living Ex-Presidents Say They Never Called

Q: What was the TrumpMeter score for Tuesday, March 17, 2026?

The TrumpMeter score was 8/10. Multiple major simultaneous storylines — an explosive presidential credibility question, active military operations with sailors sleeping on floors, a new Gaza troop base plan, a landmark crypto regulatory move, and a collapsing UK alliance — make this one of the most event-dense cycles in recent weeks.

Trump claimed a former president privately praised his Iran strikes — but aides for all 4 living ex-presidents say no such call happened. Plus: CFTC gets a crypto czar, Gaza gets a 5,000-troop base plan, and 600 sailors are sleeping on tables aboard the USS Gerald Ford.

Chaos Index

8/10

HIGH ALERT

Multiple major simultaneous storylines — an explosive presidential credibility question, active military operations with sailors sleeping on floors, a new Gaza troop base plan, a landmark crypto regulatory move, and a collapsing UK alliance — make this one of the most event-dense cycles in recent weeks.

Key Developments

Trump said it twice in the same day — to reporters, in front of cameras.

A former U.S. president had called him privately to say, **"I wish I did what you did."**

He was talking about the strikes on Iran. The ones he's been defending all week. The ones that, according to Trump, "avoided World War Three."

There's just one problem.

Aides for all four living former presidents — Carter (now deceased at the time of this writing), Clinton, Bush, and Obama — **say they have no record of any such communication**, according to a post on X by journalist Alina Visooo.

No call. No message. No record.

Now, it's possible Trump was paraphrasing. It's possible he was speaking loosely. But he said it twice. Same day. Same story.

And every single former president's office denied it.

That's the kind of detail that tends to have legs.

Meanwhile, the Iran situation itself keeps evolving — and so does the chaos around it.

Stories Driving the News

Brief #1BREAKING◆ MIXED

9/10

Trump Said a Former President Called Him — All 4 Living Ex-Presidents Say It Never Happened

Trump told reporters — twice — that a former U.S. president had called him privately to say, **"I wish I did what you did."** He was referring to the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran. A moment he's described as one that "avoided World War Three." There's just one problem. Aides for all four living former presidents **have no record of any such communication**, according to reporting shared on X. No call. No message. No record from any of their offices. Trump hasn't clarified who he was referring to or whether it was a direct quote. He repeated the claim twice in the same day, to reporters, on camera. Critics immediately called it fabricated. Supporters suggested Trump may have been paraphrasing or speaking loosely about a private back-channel exchange that simply wasn't logged by official staff. The White House has not issued a correction or clarification as of this writing. Here's why this matters to you: presidential credibility is the currency that backs American diplomacy. When a claim like this is denied by every single relevant party — simultaneously — it becomes a story not just about one statement, but about how information flows from the Oval Office to the public. Whether you're a Trump supporter or critic, that's a question worth tracking.

[1][2][3]

Brief #2BREAKING▼ BEARISH

8/10

600 U.S. Sailors Are Sleeping on Tables Aboard the Warship Striking Iran

This is not a metaphor. More than **600 sailors aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford** — one of the most advanced aircraft carriers in the U.S. Navy, currently operating near the Strait of Hormuz — are sleeping on tables or the floor, according to the New York Times. Fire damaged the crew's quarters. The ship reportedly already had sanitation issues, with some accounts indicating toilet access has been a problem as well. The USS Gerald R. Ford is the flagship of the strike group conducting what Trump described this week as "pounding it hard" along the Iranian coast. The timing is striking. While the White House has framed the Iran operation as a decisive, well-executed military campaign, **the sailors carrying it out are bunking on mess hall tables**. Navy officials have not publicly commented on the Times report. The White House has not addressed it. Some voices on X, including foreign policy observers, have pointed to the report as evidence of **operational strain** on U.S. military assets. Others have noted that fire damage aboard naval vessels is not uncommon and repairs can take time during active deployments. Here's why this matters to you: if the U.S. is planning an extended military campaign in the Middle East — or a potential ceasefire negotiation — the readiness and welfare of the sailors doing the actual work is directly tied to the outcome. This story is worth watching as the Iran situation develops.

[1][2][3]

Brief #3FOREIGN POLICY◆ MIXED

8/10

Trump's Gaza Endgame: A 5,000-Troop Base — With No Americans on the List

The Trump administration is reportedly planning **a large military base in Gaza designed to house 5,000 international troops**, according to a report shared on X citing defense sources. The countries tapped to contribute troops include Indonesia, Morocco, Albania, Kosovo, and Kazakhstan — an unusual coalition of Muslim-majority and Balkan nations. Notably absent from the list: the United States. Whether American forces will eventually join, or whether the U.S. is intentionally keeping its military footprint out of Gaza while orchestrating the coalition, is not yet clear. Khalil Jahshan, executive director of the Arab American Institute, posed the question directly on X: **"Has anyone asked Gazans about troops?"** It's a pointed question. The plan would put thousands of foreign soldiers on Palestinian territory without — as far as is publicly known — formal consent from the population being "stabilized." Trump has previously floated the idea of the U.S. "taking over" Gaza and redeveloping it, a proposal that drew fierce international condemnation. This troop base plan appears to be a different — and more diplomatically packaged — version of that vision. Here's why this matters to you: the Gaza conflict has already reshaped U.S. foreign policy, strained alliances, and affected global oil markets. A permanent or semi-permanent international military presence in Gaza — whatever form it takes — would mark a fundamental shift in the post-war architecture of the Middle East. You'll want to watch who signs on and who pushes back.

[1][2]

Brief #4ECONOMY◆ MIXED

7/10

Trump Just Handed Crypto Its Biggest Regulatory Signal Yet — One Man Now Controls the Game

In a move that sent ripples through the digital asset world, Trump tapped **Michael Selig — a crypto task force insider from inside the SEC** — to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The CFTC is not a household name. But it's about to be. Under Trump's proposed crypto regulatory framework, the CFTC would become the primary federal overseer of digital assets — effectively stripping the SEC of the power it's wielded over crypto for years. Meanwhile, SEC Chair Paul Atkins has publicly aligned with Trump's direction, backing calls for **clearer digital asset regulation** and criticizing the previous approach of "regulation by enforcement" — a phrase that became a rallying cry for crypto advocates frustrated by years of unpredictable SEC crackdowns. The SEC and CFTC have now jointly launched what they're calling a **"Crypto Sprint"** — a fast-track regulatory process. Phase one: bring spot Bitcoin and crypto trading under federal oversight. Phase two: protections for leveraged trading and retail investors. The White House has framed all of this with one explicit goal: make the United States **"the crypto capital of the world."** For investors, the signal is clear. A defined regulatory framework — even an imperfect one — removes the single biggest source of uncertainty that has kept institutional money on the sidelines. Here's why this matters to you: if you own Bitcoin, Ethereum, or any digital asset, the rules governing how you can buy, sell, hold, and be protected are being written right now. The person just appointed to write much of that rulebook came from inside the system — and he has the White House's full backing.

[1][2]

Brief #5FOREIGN POLICY▼ BEARISH

7/10

Trump Humiliated the UK's PM — Again — and the 'Special Relationship' Is Now a Punchline

For the second time in recent memory, **Trump publicly humiliated British Prime Minister Keir Starmer** before the assembled world press. The flashpoint: Britain's reluctance to get militarily involved in the Iran situation — despite, as Trump framed it, decades of American military protection. One widely-shared post on X captured the sentiment bluntly: "What little remained of the once 'Special Relationship' has now left the building." The UK-US alliance is arguably the most storied partnership in modern Western history. It underwrote the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Cold War containment of the Soviet Union, and the post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now it's being described — openly, on the world stage — as functionally dead. Starmer has not publicly responded with anything approaching defiance. His posture has been described as deferential, which has frustrated some British commentators who expected a firmer response. The broader context: Trump has been publicly pressuring European allies across the board — on NATO spending, Ukraine, and now Iran — with a consistent message: **you've been free-riding on American security for decades, and that era is over.** Europe is scrambling to respond. Defense budgets are rising. Emergency summits are being called. But the speed of the shift has left traditional allies visibly off-balance. Here's why this matters to you: the UK is America's closest intelligence partner, its most reliable military ally, and one of its largest trading partners. A deteriorating relationship has consequences that reach far beyond diplomatic optics — into intelligence sharing, trade deals, and collective security arrangements that affect millions of people on both sides of the Atlantic.

[1]

Brief #6POLICY◆ MIXED

6/10

DOGE Crowd-Sources Its Fraud Hunt — 7 Years of Medicaid Data Is Now Public

Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency took an unusual step this week: **it handed the American public seven years of Medicaid spending data** and essentially said, "you find the fraud." The data covers 2018 through 2024 — spanning both the Trump and Biden administrations — and is now publicly searchable, according to Newsmax and multiple posts on X. DOGE and its allies have long argued that the federal government is hemorrhaging money through improper payments. Estimates from Musk's team have ranged from **$233 billion to $521 billion in annual improper payments** across the government — and as high as $1 trillion in total fraud, though that upper figure is disputed by independent analysts. The Medicaid data release is part of a broader DOGE strategy: make the numbers public, let citizens and journalists dig through them, and build political pressure for cuts. Critics argue the approach is designed to manufacture the appearance of fraud rather than document it rigorously — and that releasing raw spending data without context can mislead the public about what constitutes actual fraud versus legitimate payments. Supporters say **transparency is the point** — that government spending should be visible to the people whose taxes fund it, and that public scrutiny is a legitimate oversight tool. Here's why this matters to you: Medicaid covers roughly 80 million Americans. Any changes to the program — whether driven by fraud findings, budget pressure, or political priorities — directly affect the healthcare of tens of millions of people, including children, the elderly, and low-income families. What gets found in this data will likely be used to justify future cuts. Pay attention.

[1][2]

A Former President Said "I Wish I Did That" — But All 4 Living Ex-Presidents Say They Never Called

Key Developments

Stories Driving the News

Trump Said a Former President Called Him — All 4 Living Ex-Presidents Say It Never Happened

600 U.S. Sailors Are Sleeping on Tables Aboard the Warship Striking Iran

Trump's Gaza Endgame: A 5,000-Troop Base — With No Americans on the List

Trump Just Handed Crypto Its Biggest Regulatory Signal Yet — One Man Now Controls the Game

Trump Humiliated the UK's PM — Again — and the 'Special Relationship' Is Now a Punchline

DOGE Crowd-Sources Its Fraud Hunt — 7 Years of Medicaid Data Is Now Public

Sources

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