On Tuesday May 19, Trump told reporters at the White House that the United States had been right on the edge of launching a fresh round of military strikes against Iran. “We were all set to go. It would have been happening right now,” he said, adding: “I was an hour away from making the decision to go today.”
He then explained that he had already made the decision when the calls started coming in. “They called up, they had heard I made the decision, and said, ‘Sir, could you give us a couple of more days? Because we think they’re being reasonable,'” Trump recalled.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates had each requested a short delay, telling Trump they believed negotiations were close to producing a deal. Trump agreed, posting on Truth Social that he had informed military leaders the attack was off, at least for now. He described the pause as “for a little while, hopefully maybe forever.”
The Iranian embassy in Kenya fired back on X with a post that read: “Trump was gonna strike Iran tomorrow… but news say Melania has a nail appointment and he’s gotta drop her off at the salon first. Priorities, folks. The free world hangs by a manicure.”
Trump was gonna strike Iran tomorrow… but news say Melania has a nail appointment and he’s gotta drop her off at the salon first.
Priorities, folks. The free world hangs by a manicure.— IRAN EMBASSY in KENYA (@IRANinKENYA) May 19, 2026
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In a separate post, after Trump had previously issued an 8 PM deadline for Iran to act, the account wrote: “8 P.M. is not that good. Could you change it to between 1 and 2 P.M., or if possible, 1 and 2 A.M.? Thank you for your attention to this important matter.”
8 P.M. is not that good. Could you change it to between 1 and 2 P.M., or if possible, 1 and 2 A.M.?
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. I.E.Z. pic.twitter.com/deSXD8rpvD— Iran Embassy in Zimbabwe (@IRANinZIMBABWE) April 6, 2026
And when a user commented “Iran trolling Trump. What year are we in?”, the embassy replied simply: “Not in stone age, yet” – a direct callback to Trump’s earlier threat to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages.”
Not in stone age, yet.
— Iran Embassy in Zimbabwe (@IRANinZIMBABWE) April 5, 2026
These are the people running foreign policy in 2026.
The broader context makes the trolling land harder than it might otherwise. The war, which began February 28 with joint U.S.-Israel airstrikes, has dragged on far longer than the Trump administration’s initial four to six week timeline. A New York Times-Siena poll released this week found 31% of registered voters approve of how Trump has handled the Iran conflict, while 65% disapprove.
Trump, for his part, pushed back on the unpopularity framing. “Everyone tells me it’s unpopular,” he told reporters, “but I think it’s very popular when they hear that it’s having to do with nuclear weapons, weapons that could take out Los Angeles, could take out major cities.”
Featured image via Political Tribune Gallery
