President Trump told Axios in an exclusive interview that he has discovered “no limits” to his power following the U.S. war with Iran, denying that the conflict revealed constraints on his ability to exert authority.
Asked what he had learned from the war about the limits to his power, Trump responded: “There are no limits. I haven’t learned that lesson yet. I know there are, but there are no limits,” according to the interview released June 18, 2026.
Trump claimed the 14-point memorandum of understanding signed with Iran “probably is unconditional surrender,” framing the agreement as a demonstration of American military dominance despite the fact that it fell short of the maximalist demands he had made before the war began.
In the Axios interview, Trump defended the deal by citing economic pressures that forced him to negotiate. He acknowledged that continuing the conflict could have triggered a global economic crisis. “The only way I can get tougher is if I go in there for another two or three weeks and continue to bomb the hell out of ’em,” Trump said. “But what does that get us? The Strait of Hormuz will not be open.”
Trump explained that maintaining the blockade would have kept oil from flowing through one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes. “We wouldn’t have oil for months. As long as you’re dropping bombs, that thing is automatically closed,” he continued, adding: “This is the kind of thing that could cause a worldwide depression.”
According to sources familiar with his thinking, Trump has privately expressed concerns that global petroleum reserves were running low and that a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz could trigger an oil shock with worldwide consequences.
Despite these constraints, Trump insisted the war demonstrated the breadth of his power, not its limits. He argued that the U.S. military achieved total victory. “We defeated them totally militarily. We have the most powerful military in the world, by far,” Trump said. “Who else could have done a blockade like that? I did a naval blockade where not one ship was able to get through.”
The memorandum of understanding, signed electronically on June 17 by Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, provides for an end to military strikes, reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping toll-free for 60 days, an end to the U.S. naval blockade, and a 60-day extension of the ceasefire to allow negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program and broader regional security.
Trump’s assertion of unlimited power echoes broader efforts by his administration to expand executive authority. In 2024, the Supreme Court ruled in Trump v. United States that a former president is entitled to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his “conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority.” That decision marked a significant shift in presidential power doctrine, though subsequent court challenges have limited some of Trump’s executive orders.
Sources
- Axios — Exclusive interview with Trump on The Axios Show, June 18, 2026, covering his statements on power limits, the Iran deal, and military strategy
- CNBC — Reporting on Trump’s claims that the Iran deal is “unconditional surrender” and his power has “no limits”
- The Hill — Coverage of Trump’s statement that there are “no limits” to his power after the Iran war
- BBC — Analysis of the memorandum of understanding as a framework agreement
- NBC News — Details on the 14-point memorandum of understanding terms and Trump’s digital signing
