Trump sounded presidential insofar as he was able to speak using double syllables and in complete sentences, but his policies however were vague and incoherent.

“Trump pronounced the Iran deal disastrous because In negotiation, you must be willing to walk. The Iran deal, like so many of our worst agreements, is the result of not being willing to leave the table. When the other side knows you’re not going to walk, it becomes absolutely impossible to win. That is wrong. The JCPOA debacle is the result of being at the negotiating table in the first place. “

Trump Declares Iran Deal a Disaster — but Doesn’t Offer an Alternative

(Photo Illustration: NRO)

by ANDREW C. MCCARTHY April 28, 2016 4:00 AM @ANDREWCMCCARTHY

In Wednesday’s foreign-policy speech, Donald Trump accurately described President Obama’s Iran deal, the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as “disastrous.” But his understanding of why this is the case is elusive — formed through his deal-maker prism, not by history, ideology, and the American interests he vows to prioritize. His remarks also raised more questions than they answered about his intentions. That means the speech was counterproductive because undermining the Iran deal — which is very much in America’s interests — requires presidential contenders to affect the behavior of the relevant players right now, not a year from now.

Trump pronounced the Iran deal disastrous because

In negotiation, you must be willing to walk. The Iran deal, like so many of our worst agreements, is the result of not being willing to leave the table. When the other side knows you’re not going to walk, it becomes absolutely impossible to win.

That is wrong. The JCPOA debacle is the result of being at the negotiating table in the first place. We gave the store away simply by sitting down, absent any conditions or changes in behavior, with a committed enemy of the United States, the world’s prime state sponsor of terrorism, while it was actively fueling anti-American jihadists, calling for “Death to America,” holding American hostages, threatening the annihilation of Israel, persecuting its own people, and developing nuclear power and ballistic missiles in violation of international law. Just by coming to the table, Obama signaled that he was ripe for the taking. It was never a matter of not knowing when to walk away.

Iran policy should not be about how to get a better deal. It should not even be about nuclear weapons — not primarily. The U.S. strategy on Iran should aim to suffocate the jihadist regime.

Tehran is incorrigible. I have my doubts that Trump has read the JCPOA, but I am quite confident that he is unacquainted with Iran’s constitution (as amended in 1989). He should have a peek — he might find it almost as consequential as The Art of the Deal.

More here.