Why Trump's blunt talk makes it harder to know how a deal with Iran could go

President Donald Trump brought his usual brand of blunt talk to the G7 summit, as tensions remain high over a proposed ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.

Scripps News spoke with Peter Loge, the director of the project on Ethics and Political Communications at George Washington University, about President Trump’s brusque diplomatic approach and what to expect from the high-stakes moment.

“I think for his supporters, this exactly what they’re looking for,” Loge said. “The rest of the world has always been cautious about it. His opponents have always hated it. I think increasing numbers of people in the middle are saying, ‘Okay, we’re done with the shouting, can we get on with the problem solving piece?’ He’s underwater with just about every constituency except his core, and his core loves it.”

The president’s messaging on Iran has veered day by day, from at one point threatening to wipe out Iranian civilization to agreeing to pay hundreds of billions of dollars in reconstruction funds as part of a proposed ceasefire.

RELATED STORY | Trump signs ceasefire agreement with Iran, including $300B for Iran’s reconstruction

Loge says President Trump’s intent remains just as hard to forecast, and depends on what’s done rather than what’s said.

“I think if you look at polling of the American people, they don’t really believe a lot of what Donald Trump says as it is,” Loge said. “I’m not sure that international leaders have ever believed fully what he said. I’ve talked to European leaders who’ve looked at me and said ‘Look, we honestly don’t know what to do because he’s unpredictable. We don’t know what’s going to happen next.’ I spent a lot of my life in the private sector and there’s a saying there that ‘nothing’s true until the check clears.’ And so I think until we actually see what’s in the deal, the deal is enforced and in place, we really won’t know what the deal is or whether or not it’s even going to work. Right now, I feel like we’re just having a more complicated version of the conversation we’ve been having for a couple of months.”

Watch the full interview with Loge in the video above.