The President of the United States thinks there are no limits to his power

At 2 p.m. this afternoon, the President of the United States sat down, clasped his hands, leaned forward, and with a weak voice, he told the reporter seated right in front of him that “there are no limits” to his power.

This comes after a long night of travel from the G7 summit in France, back to Joint Base Andrews, and then on to the White House, where a visibly worn-down Donald Trump sat for an interview with Marc Caputo for the Axios show. And in a clip shared tonight, he offered a troubling glimpse into how he views the limits of his presidential power at a moment when his party risks losing control of Congress in the midterms.

Caputo asked a simple question. “What have you learned about not just the exercise of power, but the limits on your power as a result of the conflict?”

Trump’s answer came immediately. “There are no limits.” Caputo looked surprised. “No?” Trump responded, “No, none. I haven’t learned that lesson yet. I know there are, but you know, there are no limits.” The President of the United States, sitting in the White House, declared that there are no limits to his authority. And that wasn’t all. Within the span of a few seconds, Trump contradicted his own answer. There are no limits. Then there are limits, but there are no limits. The conversation continued like that throughout the interview, moving back and forth between certainty and confusion.

When Caputo pressed him on Iran and reminded him that he had demanded unconditional surrender before military action began, he pointed out that the memorandum of understanding reached afterward did not appear to be unconditional surrender at all.

Trump paused. “Well...” Caputo continued. “The MOU doesn’t look like unconditional surrender.” Trump responded, “Well, it really probably is unconditional surrender.” “It is?” Caputo asked. “I think so,” Trump said. And that is the theme of everything Trump says. Absolute declarations followed by reversals. He is confused, ornery, and untethered. That is what we are dealing with right now.

And what makes this so much more alarming is that the deal he just signed tells the opposite story of what he is claiming. Trump called this memorandum of understanding “unconditional surrender.” But the actual text reads like a document drafted under duress by a president who ran out of options.

And Trump admitted why he took this deal. In the very same Axios interview, he said, “We wouldn’t have oil for months. As long as you’re dropping bombs, that thing is automatically closed.” Then he added, “This is the kind of thing that could cause a worldwide depression.” He was not speaking from a position of strength. He was describing what forced his hand. He started a war he could not sustain, caused a global economic crisis that nearly broke the oil markets, and then signed whatever deal he could get to stop the bleeding. That is not unconditional surrender by Iran. That is a retreat.

And we are seeing more backlash today, even from people in his own party who know exactly what this is. Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana called the MOU “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades.” Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the deal “negotiates away the victories of Operation Epic Fury” and pointed to the $300 billion reconstruction fund, saying it would make Iran’s payoff under Obama’s 2015 nuclear deal “look like a pittance by comparison.” Senator Rick Scott of Florida said he could not imagine supporting $300 billion for Iran. Senate Majority Leader John Thune admitted that Republican leaders had been pressing the White House just to see the text of the agreement, and that they had not been read in on the deal before it was signed. The President of the United States signed a major international agreement, and leaders of his own party had to find out what was in it from reporters.

And even the MAGA base, the very ecosystem that has propped this president up for years, is fracturing. The headline from tonight said it plainly: “Stunned MAGA turns on ‘warmonger’ Trump over ‘humiliating’ Iran deal: ‘We didn’t sign up for this.’” The cracks are not just showing. They are widening once again.

This is a president who started a war without congressional authorization, caused a global energy crisis that sent prices spiraling, destabilized the Middle East, and then rushed to sign a deal that gives Iran nearly everything it wanted, including the right to keep its ballistic missiles, the right to resume selling oil, and hundreds of billions of dollars in reconstruction money. And when asked what he learned from all of it, he said there are no limits to his power.

That answer is a warning. He is once again telling us exactly what he believes about his own authority. A president who sees no limits is a president who will not stop on his own. He will not be constrained by Congress. He will not be checked by the courts unless they force him. He will not defer to allies or listen to advisors unless they tell him what he wants to hear. The concept of limits, of guardrails, of the constitutional framework that is supposed to prevent any one person from wielding unchecked authority, does not register with him. And we have to take that seriously. Because history is full of leaders who declared themselves without limits. In every case, the people around them either challenged that claim or enabled it. Right now, what we are watching from the Republican Party is something in between. They are criticizing the deal, leaking their concerns to reporters, issuing carefully worded statements designed to express worry without crossing the man who still controls their primaries. But criticism without action is pointless, and we need to remind them that the midterms are coming and we won’t forget this.

This is a very difficult period for the United States. And I hear from so many of you about how frustrating it all is. I understand. I feel it too. Every night I bring you things that are difficult to process, stories that should not be real but are, and I know the weight of carrying that. It is heavy. And it is natural to reach a point where the question becomes: what do we do? Do we just sit by and watch this? Do we look away just to survive until we get closer to the midterms? Because it can feel like a waste of time to keep talking about it all and feeling like nothing is changing.

When I get to that place, and I do get there, I have to remind myself that the answer is not to look away. The answer is to know every single thing that is happening, even when it frustrates us, and even when it makes us angry. We have to acknowledge every single thing that is going on. We have to stay in the know, if you will, and then we have to find our piece of the resistance. Something we do every day so that we do not feel like we are just sitting by and watching a train wreck while waiting for the midterms.

I have talked about how I manage this feeling before. I focus on what I call my economic protest. I subscribe to as many independent journalists, media outlets, and investigative reporters as I can. I put my dollars behind their work. If they have a paid membership, I sign up. Just as so many of you have done and continue to do for me, I do the same for others. It reminds me that there are actionable steps we can take right now to do our part in the resistance.

And thank you to everyone who supports my work in this way. It makes a tremendous difference. Your support is helping me launch another podcast called Rational Response, co-hosted with my husband, who is also my producer and editor, where we can bring even more analysis, context, and conversation about what is happening under this administration. More truth, facts, and perspective. The kind of information that as many people as possible need to see before the midterms.

This is happening directly because of your paid memberships. But as I always say, please think beyond supporting me. Think about all the other writers, journalists, investigators, and content creators you rely on every day to understand what is happening. The people who continue to show up, even under pressure, intimidation, and constant attacks. Supporting them is how we make sure they can keep doing this work day and night. And it is how we make sure the truth does not get drowned out by Trump’s lies ahead of the elections.

I’ve also been focusing on supporting artists who speak out, and I go to their shows. Some of my favorites have been Bruce Springsteen and Green Day. Both of those who use their voices and their concerts as forms of resistance. I am trying to see as many entertainers as possible because they reach a different group of people, and we need everyone fighting for our country. The latest one I signed up for is the Spin Doctors in LA. Chris Barron, the lead singer, has been very vocal on social media, very clear about where he stands against the Trump regime and the destruction being done to our country. Not only were they one of my favorite teenage bands, but I also want to encourage that kind of speaking out. It is never easy. But it is how we stop normalizing any of this.

These are the things I do every single day to make me feel like I am not just sitting and waiting for whatever comes next. And of course, I write these posts, record them into podcasts and film them as videos. They take about five to eight hours every single day between the writing, researching, and fact-checking. All of these things keep me very busy, but also remind me every single day that I did not sit by and just let any of this happen. And as much as this feels like a lot, I know I can do even more, and I’m planning on it. As I learn to balance spending time with my family, including my youngest, who is not yet an adult, I am creating a plan to make sure that every second is accounted for. I can rest when Trump is finally gone from office, and his enablers are held accountable for the grave harm they have brought to this country.

If you are feeling like you are starting to go numb, I have felt that way before, too. Recalibrate yourself, because we are in this for the long haul. Right now is the slow time. People are enjoying the warm weather. People are on vacation, kids are out of school, and everyone is just living their lives. That happens every summer. If you are noticing a shift in the energy of resistance, that is why. Come August and September, things are going to get very real because we are in the fight for our country. So go easy on yourself. Go easy on each other. Find your community. And decide right now where your resistance will be. If you are not comfortable using your own words, share mine. Use them as your own. Take a piece of this and use it to talk to somebody. Even just doing that is its own form of resistance, and it is so important.

And if you are looking for a reason to believe we are still capable of something better, I see it all over this country every time the World Cup and the cities hosting it come on TV. Pushing past the FIFA corruption and all the things we know are wrong with that world, the fans are how we know better days are possible. The ones in the streets. Americans and people from Scotland, from Mexico, from all over the world. And what we are seeing is not really about the games themselves. It is the humanity.

It is people remembering that before we are citizens of any country, before we belong to any political party, before we are divided into teams, we are human beings sharing the same planet. It is strangers celebrating together, laughing together, taking pictures together, and finding common ground with people they may never have met otherwise.

We are still capable of that. We are still capable of remembering that we share this planet together and that there is more that connects us than divides us. And I do not mean that only here in the United States. I mean that in the bigger picture. In a world where so many powerful people profit from keeping us angry, fearful, and suspicious of one another, moments like this remind us that ordinary people still have the capacity to choose something different.

The United States of America is more than Trump. The world knows that. They know that the Trump loyalists, the people on the wrong side of history, are the few, not the many. They know there is another America beyond the cruelty and the constant search for someone to blame.

And I know that kind of love, that kind of joy, that kind of humanity can spread. In fact, it already does. The question is whether we are willing to spread it as intentionally as they spread the fear, the finger-pointing, and the exclusion. Whether we are willing to carry it into our communities, conversations, schools, workplaces, and politics.

We do not have to keep living like this. We do not have to accept a future built on division and resentment and then keep adding more to it. We can choose something else. We can build something else. We can remind people who we are. And I know we are going to do it. This is why I still have hope for America. And you should, too.

I’ll see you tomorrow,
Heather

PS. You can make a significant difference right now by subscribing to my Substack. Your support helps me cover more ground and keep telling the truth about the lies and destruction unfolding in this country.

This commentary represents my personal opinions and analysis of matters of public concern, informed by publicly available information. Any references to individuals constitute opinion and commentary protected under the First Amendment.

Picture of the day: She sits with me for hours while I write these posts. Tonight I was so focused that I didn't even notice she had brought me all of her favorite toys.

Sources:

https://www.axios.com/2026/06/18/trump-iran-war-power-no-limits
https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/17/middleeast/us-iran-war-mou-text-intl
https://www.npr.org/2026/06/18/nx-s1-5863027/us-iran-trump-memorandum-of-understanding-full-text
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5929430-trump-iran-deal-republican-backlash/
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5930596-wicker-us-iran-deal/
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5926207-gop-presses-donald-trump-iran-deal/
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/anxious-republicans-await-details-iran-deal-trump-rcna350314