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PM|Afternoon UpdateMonday, March 23, 2026 at 4:47 PM10 min read

Trump Told Iran "We'll Just Keep Bombing" — Then Said He Wants a Deal Today

Q: What was the TrumpMeter score for Monday, March 23, 2026?

The TrumpMeter score was 8/10. Active Iran war negotiations with a "keep bombing" ultimatum, a public purge of 7 GOP senators, a Medicaid data bomb from DOGE, two executive orders, and a major legal unsealing — this is an exceptionally active news cycle across foreign policy, domestic policy, and legal fronts simultaneously.

Trump says Iran talks are underway TODAY, warning "we'll just keep bombing" if talks fail; DOGE drops 7 years of Medicaid data; Trump targets 7 GOP senators over SAVE Act.

Chaos Index

8/10

HIGH ALERT

Active Iran war negotiations with a "keep bombing" ultimatum, a public purge of 7 GOP senators, a Medicaid data bomb from DOGE, two executive orders, and a major legal unsealing — this is an exceptionally active news cycle across foreign policy, domestic policy, and legal fronts simultaneously.

Key Developments

Here's a sentence you probably didn't expect to read on a Monday afternoon.

**"If it goes well, we're going to end up with settling this. Otherwise, we'll just keep bombing our little hearts out."**

That was President Trump — speaking publicly, today, about ongoing negotiations with Iran.

Not a leaked memo. Not a background source. The President of the United States said those words out loud.

And yet buried inside that blunt, almost casual threat is something genuinely significant: Trump confirmed that **direct talks with Iran are actively underway**, and he expressed real hope that a deal could be reached.

"They want, very much, to make a deal," Trump said. "We'd like to make a deal, too. We're going to get together today."

So let's put this in context for you.

The U.S. has been conducting **military strikes against Iranian targets** — a campaign that has defined much of early 2026's foreign policy picture. Iran's state media has officially denied wanting negotiations. But Trump's public statement today directly contradicts that denial, claiming productive conversations are already happening behind the scenes.

Stories Driving the News

Brief #1FOREIGN POLICY◆ MIXED

10/10

Trump Said 5 Words About Iran That Stopped Everyone Cold

"Otherwise, we'll just keep bombing our little hearts out." That was President Trump today — **describing ongoing U.S. military operations against Iran** in a way that left little ambiguity about where things stand if diplomacy fails. But here's the twist: Trump didn't say this as a threat in isolation. He said it while announcing that talks with Iran are actively underway — today. "They want, very much, to make a deal," Trump said publicly. "We'd like to make a deal, too. We're going to get together today." Multiple posts on X confirmed the quote, with one account noting that Trump described the conversations as "very good and productive." Iran's state media has officially denied seeking negotiations, creating a public contradiction between what Tehran says externally and what Trump claims is happening privately. The stakes here are enormous. **The U.S. has been conducting active military strikes** on Iranian targets in what has become the defining foreign policy conflict of early 2026. A deal would represent a dramatic de-escalation. A breakdown means the bombing continues — by the President's own words. Senate Republicans also voted down a bill that would have halted the Iran operation, in what was described as Congress's first formal vote on the conflict. That vote keeps the military campaign legally on firmer ground for now. Here's why this matters to you: oil prices, global trade routes, and U.S. troop deployments in the Middle East all hinge on what happens in these talks. **If a deal is struck today, markets could respond dramatically.** If talks collapse, the conflict expands — and you'll feel it at the gas pump and beyond.

[1][2][3]

Brief #2POLICY◆ MIXED

8/10

7 Republican Senators Just Got Named in a Trump Video — Here's Who

Trump didn't just criticize the opposition today. **He posted a video calling out 7 members of his own party by name.** The target: Republican senators he accuses of blocking the SAVE Act — legislation that would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and photo ID at the polls. The seven named: Thom Tillis, Todd Young, Jerry Moran, Susan Collins, Chuck Grassley, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitch McConnell. The label Trump used: RINOs — Republicans In Name Only. A term that, in Trump-world, functions as a political scarlet letter. But Trump didn't stop at a video. Reuters confirmed that **Trump told Republican lawmakers not to fund the Department of Homeland Security** until Democrats agree to pass the SAVE Act. That's a direct funding standoff — with DHS money covering TSA airport security, border patrol, and immigration enforcement all potentially caught in the crossfire. Supporters of the SAVE Act argue it's a common-sense measure to prevent non-citizens from casting ballots. Critics, including many Democrats, argue there is no evidence of widespread non-citizen voting and that the law would create barriers for eligible American voters who lack easy access to citizenship documents. **Both sides are drawing hard lines**, and the DHS funding deadline turns this from a policy debate into a governing crisis. Here's why this matters to you: if DHS funding lapses due to this standoff, **federal operations from airport security to immigration enforcement could face disruptions** — not because of a shutdown fight with Democrats, but because of a battle inside the Republican Party itself.

[1][2]

Brief #3POLICY● NEUTRAL

7/10

DOGE Just Dumped 7 Years of Medicaid Secrets. Anyone Can Search It Now

Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency just did something that hasn't been done before: **it released seven years of Medicaid spending data — 2018 through 2024 — and made it publicly searchable.** Newsmax reported the release, framing it as a transparency move to let ordinary Americans see the scope of potential fraud in the program with their own eyes. The scale of what DOGE claims to have found is staggering. A Newsmax analyst said on air that when Musk started DOGE, he estimated there could be **a trillion dollars of fraud** in federal government spending. Grok, X's AI tool, noted in public responses that DOGE has reported terminating contracts and estimating $233 billion to $521 billion in annual improper government payments. Critics are pushing back hard. Multiple fact-checkers, including Politifact, have rated several of DOGE's specific claims as false or misleading. One post on X noted that Musk's team has faced documented criticism for at least 8 misleading assertions in 2025 alone. **The truth, as usual, may sit somewhere in the middle.** Waste and fraud in Medicaid are real and well-documented by non-partisan auditors. Whether the scale matches DOGE's claims is a separate question — and now that the raw data is public, researchers, journalists, and watchdogs can examine it themselves. Here's why this matters to you: **Medicaid covers over 80 million Americans.** Any major restructuring or funding cuts that result from this data release would directly affect low-income families, disabled Americans, and nursing home residents who depend on the program.

[1][2]

Brief #4POLICY◆ MIXED

6/10

Trump Signed an Order to Reopen Mental Institutions — And Said 'Hate to Build Those Suckers'

It was one of the more unusual lines you'll hear from a presidential signing statement. **"Hate to build those suckers but you've got to get the people off the streets."** That was Trump today, announcing he had signed an executive order to reopen mental health institutions and what he called "insane asylums" — using language that immediately drew both strong support and sharp criticism online. The policy itself is a revival of a long-debated idea. The U.S. largely dismantled its large-scale psychiatric institutions starting in the 1960s and 70s, a process called deinstitutionalization. The intent was to move toward community-based care. The result, many argue, was that a significant portion of the severely mentally ill ended up homeless or incarcerated instead. Supporters of Trump's order argue that **the current system has failed** — that streets in major American cities show the evidence every day. Critics argue that rebuilding large institutions risks repeating the abuses that led to their closure in the first place, and that community mental health funding is a better solution. The executive order directs the process to begin, but building and staffing new facilities would require congressional funding and years of construction. An executive order starts the clock — it doesn't cut the ribbon. Here's why this matters to you: **mental health policy touches homelessness, public safety, and healthcare costs** all at once. How this order translates into actual facilities — and who ends up in them, under what conditions — will be one of the defining domestic policy debates of the next several years.

[1][2]

Brief #5LEGAL● NEUTRAL

6/10

Jack Smith's 165-Page Secret Brief Just Became Public — And It's Complicated

For months, it sat under seal. Today, **Judge Tanya Chutkan released a 165-page brief from former Special Counsel Jack Smith** related to Trump's 2020 election interference case. The document is partially redacted — meaning some of the most sensitive material is still hidden. But what's visible is a detailed legal argument about how much of Smith's original indictment can survive the Supreme Court's landmark 2024 ruling in Trump v. United States, which granted sitting presidents broad immunity for official acts. Now This Impact reported the unsealing, noting that the brief explores which specific charges and evidence fall within protected presidential conduct and which do not. The case has had a complicated legal journey. After Trump won the 2024 election, the Justice Department dropped the federal charges consistent with its longstanding policy against prosecuting a sitting president. But the underlying legal questions — about what a president can and cannot do without criminal exposure — remain very much alive in the record. **This brief is essentially Smith's final legal argument**, preserved in the public record, laying out his theory of the case even as active prosecution ended. For legal scholars and future prosecutors, it matters enormously. For the average reader, it's a reminder that the question of **presidential accountability and immunity is far from settled law**, even after the Supreme Court weighed in. Here's why this matters to you: the immunity boundaries set in these cases don't just apply to Trump — they apply to every president who comes after him.

[1][2]

Brief #6OTHER◆ MIXED

3/10

Trump Used an Executive Order to Protect a Football Game — No, Really

In what may be the most unexpected executive action of the Trump second term so far, **the President signed an order today specifically designed to protect the Army-Navy football game's TV time slot.** The order — officially titled "Preserving America's Game" — directs the FCC and the Commerce Department to work with the College Football Playoff, the NCAA, and broadcast partners to create an exclusive broadcast window for the annual Army-Navy game, preventing other college football games from airing at the same time. The signing happened during a White House ceremony where Trump also presented the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy to the Navy Midshipmen football team. "I have much more power in my second term, don't you think?" Trump said at the event, according to posts on X. Reactions ranged from enthusiastic — with supporters calling it a tribute to military tradition — to bemused, with critics questioning whether presidential executive power should be directed at college football scheduling. **The Army-Navy game is one of the oldest and most storied rivalries in American sports**, dating back to 1890. It holds a unique cultural place in military communities. Supporters of the order argue that protecting its broadcast window is a meaningful gesture to service members and veterans. Critics argue it sets a strange precedent for government involvement in sports broadcasting decisions. Here's why this matters to you: if you watch college football in December, **your Saturday schedule just got affected by an act of the executive branch** — a sentence that would have seemed impossible to write five years ago.

[1][2]

Trump Told Iran "We'll Just Keep Bombing" — Then Said He Wants a Deal Today

Key Developments

Stories Driving the News

Trump Said 5 Words About Iran That Stopped Everyone Cold

7 Republican Senators Just Got Named in a Trump Video — Here's Who

DOGE Just Dumped 7 Years of Medicaid Secrets. Anyone Can Search It Now

Trump Signed an Order to Reopen Mental Institutions — And Said 'Hate to Build Those Suckers'

Jack Smith's 165-Page Secret Brief Just Became Public — And It's Complicated

Trump Used an Executive Order to Protect a Football Game — No, Really

Sources

Frequently Asked Questions

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