President Donald Trump spent Monday afternoon contradicting his own claims about an Iran peace deal, declaring he is “winning” a war and faces no pressure — just one day after saying a deal would be signed by Monday night.

On Sunday, the president reportedly told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo that he expected a deal with Iran “will be signed” by Monday night. But on Monday, Trump lashed out at Democrats (“TRAITORS ALL“), and insisted that “If a Deal happens under ‘TRUMP,’ it will guarantee Peace, Security, and Safety, not only for Israel and the Middle East, but for Europe, America, and everywhere else.” No mention of a deal being signed imminently.

In fact, Trump appeared to suggest he was in no rush to sign a deal.

“I read the Fake News saying that I am under ‘pressure’ to make a Deal. THIS IS NOT TRUE! I am under no pressure whatsoever, although, it will all happen, relatively quickly!”

He also insisted that he is not going to let Democrats “rush the United States into making a Deal that is not as good as it could have been.”

Meanwhile, as CBS News reports, Iran “said Monday that it has no plans to attend peace talks in Pakistan with President Trump’s top three negotiators, including Vice President JD Vance, as Tehran balks at what it considers ‘unreasonable and unrealistic demands’ by the White House.”

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In his posts, the president compared the length of his war in Iran with World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Iraq War, in an effort to suggest his war is being executed in a judicious manner and insisting that he is “winning.”

Trump claimed that his war is being “perfectly executed, on the scale of Venezuela, just a bigger, more complex operation.” And he claimed, “I am properly and judiciously using our Military to solve problems left to us by others of far less understanding or competence.”

“I’m winning a War, BY A LOT, things are going very well,” he insisted, stating that “our Military has been amazing,” while lashing out at “the Fake News, like The Failing New York Times, the absolutely horrendous and disgusting Wall Street Journal, or the now almost defunct, fortunately, Washington Post, you would actually think we are losing the War,” he said.

While claiming that the “enemy is confused, because they get these same Media ‘reports,'” Trump hailed what he claimed was successful “Regime Change.”

“The Anti-America Fake News Media is rooting for Iran to win, but it’s not going to happen, because I’m in charge! Just like these unpatriotic people used every ounce of their limited strength to fight me in the Election, they continue to do so with Iran. The result will be the same — It already is!”

Critics slammed the president’s comments.

“This is a war he started to: – distract from the Epstein files – make money from manipulating markets – boost profits for his oil donors – as an excuse to give his family lucrative military contracts,” wrote organizer and healthcare advocate Melanie D’Arrigo. “His tantrums always need context.”

Jonah Allon, deputy communications director for New York Governor Kathy Hochul, wrote, “amazing this whole counter-messaging effort is happening now.” He said, “there was never going to be a communications strategy that could have sold this hideously unpopular war, but one really is struck by the sloth and lack of coordination since trump announced the strikes in late february.”

READ MORE: Supreme Court Justices Making Bank on Books: Report

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From children’s books to multi-million-dollar memoirs, several Supreme Court justices are cashing in on their celebrity.

Justices are limited to accepting a maximum of $30,000 in outside income, but royalties and advances for books are exempt. And the payoff for “political celebrities” can be big, The Washington Post reports. Some justices have received million-dollar book advances.

Children’s books, which are easier to write, can net justices “big paydays” — tens of thousands of dollars, or more. They appear to be a particular favorite for several justices, although there tends to be more big money for non-children’s books.

Justice Neil Gorsuch has written an illustrated children’s storybook about America’s Founding Fathers, timed to coincide with the nation’s 250th birthday, according to the Post, titled “Heroes of 1776: The Story of the Declaration of Independence.”

“I just wanted to share with children some stories about the courage and sacrifice of the heroes behind 1776, who gave us our Constitution and our liberties,” he told Fox News in November, pointing to “so many ordinary people who did extraordinary things.”

Justices have “name recognition, particularly among people who share their ideological values,” the Post notes, which “creates built-in audiences that publishers see as a safe bet.”

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Justice Sonia Sotomayor earned $870,000 from 2017 to 2024 for publishing three children’s books and one for young adults.

“In September,” according to the Post, “Sotomayor released her most recent children’s book, ‘Just Shine! How to Be a Better You’ — a tribute to her mother, with an audiobook version narrated by the Cuban American singer Gloria Estefan.”

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who retired in 2006, was the first justice to publish a children’s book, “Chico,” a picture book published in 2005 about her childhood pony.

But the bigger money is not in children’s books.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett reportedly received $2 million for “Listening to the Law: Reflections on the Court and Constitution,” which came out in September.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson received a nearly $3 million advance for her autobiography, “Lovely One,” published two years after her confirmation to the Supreme Court. There is now a young adult version.

She also received a Grammy nomination for the audiobook version. Justice Jackson attended the awards ceremony, despite not having won, causing some controversy.

Part of her job, she said, during an appearance on the talk show “The View,” is “public outreach and education.”

“When the justices are on recess — which is what we are doing right now — we really have an opportunity to go out into the community in various different ways,” she said in February, responding to right-wing criticism of her decision to attend the ceremony.

“How much Gorsuch received in advance for his children’s book, or how much Jackson received for the young-adult version of her autobiography, is unknown,” the Post noted.

But it was Justice Clarence Thomas who “broke the mold” when he released his autobiography in 2007, Gabe Roth, executive director of the ethics watchdog group Fix the Court, told the Post. Justice Thomas, the Post noted, “received a $1.5 million advance, which at the time was the most for a sitting member of the court.”

READ MORE: Why a Democratic Senate Takeover Has Become a ‘Real Possibility’: NYT

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There’s little question the House of Representatives is in play, but up until now, experts weren’t as optimistic about Democratic control of the Senate. That’s changing — with the possibility of Democrats taking the Senate now a “real possibility.”

“In today’s polarized era, Democrats would need everything to break their way” to take control of the upper chamber, The New York Times reports. “So far, everything is breaking the Democrats’ way.”

A multitude of variables are lining up in Democrats’ favor for a congressional “Democratic tsunami,” the Times says.

President Donald Trump’s popularity is at his second-term all-time low. Inflation is up, some experts are warning about unemployment, and consumer sentiment just hit a historic low. Trump’s coalition, some critics say, is in danger, his war in Iran, despite his protestations, does not appear to be going well, and some voters are worried a protracted military incursion may be a possibility.

Democrats appear to have done the groundwork necessary to retake control of the Senate.

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Citing “strong candidate recruitment” as a top reason Democrats could retake the Senate, the Times reports that “Democrats are tied or ahead in four Republican-held seats, polls show.” Democrats only need to hold on to their current number of seats and flip four more to win the majority.

The Times points to several candidates who could help create a blue Senate: James Talarico in Texas, Roy Cooper in North Carolina, Sherrod Brown in Ohio, Mary Peltola in Alaska, and Graham Platner in Maine.

“A blue wave is not guaranteed, of course, and Democrats would not be assured to flip two reliably Republican states even if it were. But a feasible path for the party to win the Senate is coming into focus.”

The Times notes that in four GOP-controlled Senate races, Democrats are tied or ahead in the polls. In Maine and North Carolina, the likely Democratic nominees are ahead. In Ohio and Alaska, Democrats have recruited strong candidates, and there are “signs” Republicans could be in danger in both Iowa and Texas.

“Even if Mr. Trump successfully negotiates a quick end to the war in Iran, it will be hard for his standing to improve much by November,” the Times acknowledges. “His ratings have been in steady decline for about a year, and the war has only added to the weight of persistent inflation. If the conflict isn’t resolved quickly, the risks are enormous: Historically, quagmire abroad and rising prices at home are the ingredients of a failed presidency.”

Democrats have an “enormous advantage” among voters who turn out in the midterm elections. In short, if “a blue wave materializes, Democrats have a chance to ride it to Senate control.”

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