Randy Froum

@ianbremmer @gzeromedia Wow 20 whole comments! Good for you, loser

the biggest takeaway from the trump-xi summit? not much. given the stakes, that's a fine outcome. @gzeromedia

@hughhewitt @FoxNews Duh. You wrote a whole column stating the obvious? Are you gonna acknowledge how wrong you were last week to panic?

My new column for @FoxNews: When President Trump returns from China, the strikes on Iran should resume. foxnews.com/opinion/mornin…

@hughhewitt Wait, Hugh. Does this mean you were wrong to panic (yet again) last week? It’s ok. You can admit it. We love you panicans. You’re adorable.

It is a much stronger statement than anyone should have expected. No one should expect the CCP to live up to it. But still far better than expected in Iran.

@BrettErickson28 Wow 2 whole comments on this post so far. Good for you, Brett! You truly are a trusted expert! Everyone clearly is hanging on your every word

A worthwhile read as Trump and Xi are set to meet in Beijing. Many see this as an opportunity for Trump to attempt to get China to pressure Iran to make a deal, but it may not be that straightforward. As more reporting continues to come out showing that China and Russia are actively arming the Iranian regime and providing financial assistance, it likely is to the benefit of Xi to see the United States continue their fall from grace on the world stage… even if it costs a percentage or two of GDP for China. The United States DOES have levers yet to pull in order to place pressure on China to persuade Iran to end this conflict, but despite all of the bluster from Washington about a “maximum pressure campaign”, it is clear that there is a lack of political will from Treasury’s Scott Bessent… despite his threats to impose sanctions on the Chinese banks that prop up the regime in Tehran. As I told Reuters in this piece: “The Treasury Department is just not willing to do anything on the Chinese banks that actually matter.” If you want to take the justified and fair counterargument, as I likely would myself, that such a move would be severely escalatory and could result in a tit-for-tat response from China, then I question the rhetoric from Trump and Bessent that this is “maximum pressure”. You cannot be “halfway in” to a “maximum pressure” campaign. You are either all-in… or you are not. reuters.com/world/china/tr…

@aarondmiller2 @ForeignAffairs Wow 7 whole comments so far ADM! Good for you!!!

.@foreignaffairs Required reading for anyone who wrongly believes a moratorium on enrichment and diluting HEU will solve or even delay Iran's nuclear program. foreignaffairs.com/united-states/…

@BrettErickson28 @raver_lance Hahaha you think this vindicates you???! You’re delusional.

Hi Lance! As I told ABC News: “I don't necessarily think that Iran believes that they're going to be able to affect a toll booth system," said Obsidian Risk Advisors sanctions specialist Brett Erickson. "I think it's primarily setting the stage to the world that one way or another, Iran is going to get paid here." Sit down.

One way or another… Iran is getting PAID. This is one of the key issues of the U.S. Blockade. Let’s assume… 30-45 days from now (maybe longer), Iran is forced to shut-in their oil wells at scale. Iran makes ~$35B per year in oil sales. Let’s assume, in a worst case scenario, Iran permanently loses 20% of their oil production (bold assumption). That’s $7B/yr in revenues. Not great, but… what are they looking at with their leverage over the Strait of Hormuz? Conservatively, IF (and it’s a big if) Iran is able to legitimately implement the PGSA (Toll Booth), we’d be looking at a very conservative revenue per year of $25B… very conservative. But let’s assume they’re not able to do that. What are their other options in a peace deal? Unfreezing of assets and large scale sanctions removal. This is worth orders of magnitude more than $7B/year to Iran. Iran, one way or another, is going to force the United States to make MAJOR concessions in order to secure a reopening of the Strait. Whether it be from the Toll Booth, or through sanctions relief, $7B is nothing in the big picture for the regime in Tehran compared to the value their control over the Strait of Hormuz has. The blockade is a broken strategy for the United States, and it’s time for us to employ a new plan… if there even are any left to pursue…

@BrettErickson28 @Pablolinguist7 But he’s right, Brett. The truth hurts sometimes.

@Pablolinguist7 🙄

@AssWhoop2026 @BrettErickson28 @academic_la Are you sure they don’t acknowledge it? Because I could’ve sworn they’ve been demanding for weeks that it be lifted and trying to break it repeatedly and even firing from their little speed boats at our ships. But what do I know…

@BrettErickson28 @academic_la The blockade is, and always was, a joke. A nothingburger. Made to act like US has a card too. Thats why Iranians dont even acknowledge it

@BrettErickson28 @biral_r Sort of like your approach to your failed career?

@biral_r I’m very concerned he will attempt a Hail Mary-style approach in the near future. Not because it is likely to succeed, but because it’s all he’s got left to save his legacy.

@BrettErickson28 @MichaelRoesch16 lol here we go again. You are a clown

@MichaelRoesch16 Google me

@BrettErickson28 lol, you’re such a joke

@KenGardner11 You should be. Those of us who love America and winning are celebrating. Loser.

Should we all be worried? I'm certainly worried.

@RedWavePress Shame Joe’s such a ret*rd

Joe Rogan: “I talked to Tim Dillon today… He told me that gas is $7.90 a gallon in LA right now.” Brendan Schaub: “And that's down from what it was. I was out there a month shooting a commercial and it was up to $8.40 something.” Joe Rogan: “Here's what I don't understand. Are we getting oil from Iran?... So are they just f*cking us in the a$$?” “Or is it global prices went up because some of the gas can’t get to where it needs to go, and so they need to make that money so they just f*ck you. Isn’t it funny? They’re like, we’re going to make money no matter what. The American people are going to lose money so we make the same amount of money. F*ck you, you need oil.” “[Oil executives are] a bunch of crooks. We should have a national oil company and only sell in America. Keep it in house so no matter what foul sh*t we do outside the in the world [prices don’t go up].” “Even though U.S. is the largest oil producer, companies can sell oil on the global market to whoever pays the highest price. High world prices still translate into high domestic gas prices.” “Hey, Mr. President, please fix that.”

@derrick_dao @ianbremmer @gzeromedia ~3M+ bpd pre-Chávez era to sub-1M bpd troughs under Maduro, due to expropriation (2007+), corruption,labor flight, underinvestment,sanctions. Heavy/sour crude, decayed infra (pipelines, wells), PDVSA bloat (~140k employees vs. needed ~40k) compound. Recovery isn’t flipping switch

The Venezuela question is mostly about oil output and PDVSA's recovery path. Pre-2014 production was 3.0 million barrels a day; sustained output is now ~850k bpd with most going to Chinese teapot refiners at deep discounts. Restoring 1.5 mbd needs $40-50B in capex and IOC re-engagement — 5 to 7 years minimum.

political prisoners released. opposition figures returning. inflation still way too high. let's take a look at venezuela’s transition... @gzeromedia

@ianbremmer @gzeromedia Why are you such a hater? Get your head checked

@SkyNews Trump’s U.S.? Honest, sky news, suck it

As the standoff between Iran and Trump's U.S. continues, Professor Michael Clarke looks at why both fifth and sixth generation warfare are flawed options for his military. 🔗trib.al/t0kdJ9Y

@McFaul Admit it, you’re most worried the trip is a wild success, like the rest of this admin’s brilliant foreign policy so far. You’re just a TDS-addled hater and it shows. You failed in epic fashion and it’s too late now to change that. You’re a loser.

My biggest worry about Trump's excursion to China is that he will say something off the cuff that will undermine US national security interests. I'm most worried about an imprudent statement about Taiwan.

@USronaldcarter Bro, you didn’t actually predict anything. You think we don’t see that?

🚨 THE NEXT 72 HOURS. DAY BY DAY. BOOKMARK THIS. 📅 TODAY — May 13 → Air Force One lands in Beijing with 12+ named CEOs aboard — Tesla, Nvidia, Apple, BlackRock, Boeing, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, GE, Qualcomm, Micron, Blackstone, Cargill → Jensen Huang boarded during the Alaska refueling stop — last-minute addition → Trump confirms "many other" undisclosed CEOs also on the plane → The largest corporate delegation ever to accompany a sitting U.S. president touches down in China 📅 MAY 14 — Day 1 of Summit → Trump and Xi sit down for formal talks → The ask: Xi opens China's market to U.S. business — directly, officially, on camera → 12+ of the most powerful CEOs in the world are in the room or the building → Combined market cap of companies represented: over $10,000,000,000,000 📅 MAY 15 — Day 2 / Outcomes → Deal announcements expected — or silence that speaks louder → Every CEO on that plane needs something specific from Beijing: chip licenses, manufacturing access, supply chain agreements, financial market entry → If Xi says yes to even half of it, the trade war framework changes overnight → If Xi says no, 12 CEOs flew to China for nothing — and markets will price that immediately 72 hours. Every step has precedent. Every prediction has math. Nothing like this has ever happened in the history of U.S.-China relations. The outcome of this trip will move markets more than any Fed meeting this year. Bookmark this. Come back May 15. if you're not following me you're finding out about this 48 hours late from someone who read my post..

@reaganreese_ You dumb. You really really dumb

JUST NOW: Trump tells me he is not considering American’s financial situation when negotiating with Iran. “The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran, they cannot have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think about American’s financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all.”

@reaganreese_ This was a wildly stupid question you asked.

Trump told me he is not considering American’s financial situation when negotiating with Iran. “The only thing that matters… they cannot have a nuclear weapon.”