The following is an edited transcript excerpt from The Michael Knowles Show.

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Are we about to take Cuba? President Trump keeps talking about it.

The first time, you might say, well, it’s a joke. The second time, maybe it’s still a joke.

The thing about jokes, though, is they often have an element of truth to them.

First, on Monday, when asked about the communist nation 90 miles off the Florida coast, he said this:

The Cuban government is talking with us. They’re in a big deal of trouble, as you know. They have no money. They have no anything right now. But they’re talking with us, and maybe we’ll have a friendly takeover … We could very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba.

Trump: “Maybe we’ll have a friendly takeover of Cuba. We could very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba.” pic.twitter.com/YCI8WcxzBG

— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) March 2, 2026

Source: @unusual_whales/FoxNews/X.com

This was the line he made a few days ago: maybe we’ll have a friendly takeover of Cuba.

Then yesterday, Thursday, he brings up Cuba again. 

All of a sudden you see—where’s Marco? He’s not around anymore. I don’t see him, he’s doing some job. Next one is going to be… we want to do that special Cuba, he’s waiting. He says let’s get this one finished first. We could do them all at the same time, but bad things happen if you watch countries over the years. If you do them all too fast, bad things happen. We’re not going to let anything bad happen to this country.

Trump announces Cuba is the US’ next target.

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Trump says, “Look—we’re not going to do it right away. But maybe Marco is going to head on down.”

Marco Rubio, who’s wanted to topple the communist regime in Cuba for his entire life.

Are we going to do it?

I think Trump is serious about taking Cuba. I think it makes sense to take Cuba.

And let me remind you that this is something that basically everybody agreed on until recently.

Trump’s most vocal critic who used to be on the Right and now is on the Left — Bill Kristol — worked in a Republican White House, was a major thought leader on the Right who then he became a Biden guy and a Kamala guy — even Bill Kristol, who hates Donald Trump with the fire of a thousand suns, said some years ago that we should take Cuba.

We have already taken Cuba on multiple occasions. We’ve controlled Cuba three or four times over the last hundred years. This is not that weird. It’s 90 miles off the coast of Florida. The regime is starving right now. They don’t have oil. They don’t have leadership. Virtually no one can even name the president of Cuba.

I can, because I’m particularly interested in the tobacco industry — and also it’s a nice place, Cuba. But can you name the leader of Cuba? No.

His name is Miguel Díaz-Canal.

We remember the Castros. Fidel Castro ruled for decades and then his brother Raúl took over. But the Castros are now gone.

After Trump took over Venezuela, Cuba has really been on the brink of collapse. So there does seem to be a method to this. And after Iran — maybe check in five or six weeks — maybe Cuba’s next.

Not so bad.

President Donald Trump said on Friday that he won’t require Iran’s next leader to be committed to democratic rule, adding that he’s more concerned about the future ruler committing to peace and stability in the region.

Trump, who said on Thursday that he wants to be involved in the process of choosing Iran’s next leader, told CNN host Dana Bash that he’s optimistic about the country’s future leadership. The president said he believes the leader should be “fair and just,” adding that he’s open to the Middle East country putting a “religious” leader in power.

“I mean, it depends on who the person is. I don’t mind religious leaders. I deal with a lot of religious leaders and they are fantastic,” Trump told Bash.

He then laid out what he would expect of Iran’s next leader.

“I’m saying there has to be a leader that’s going to be fair and just, do a great job, treat the United States and Israel well, and treat the other countries in the Middle East — they’re all our partners,” he added.

Trump touted his relationship with countries in the Middle East, saying that his relationship with most of them has flourished.

“And I became very friendly with all those countries. That’s why they’re all fighting for us,” he said. “Before I got involved, we didn’t even speak to UAE and Saudi Arabia. You know, (President Joe) Biden shut [them] out. Biden and (President Barack) Obama shut Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, he shut them all out. They were all going to go to China, and I got involved in a very short period of time that became my friends.”

The joint U.S.-Israeli military operation launched last weekend has taken out most of Iran’s top leadership, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. U.S. forces have also decimated the regime’s navy, military assets, and nuclear infrastructure. The Trump administration has been careful about how much information it releases on its plans for “Operation Epic Fury” and whether U.S. forces would be used to push for regime change.

Trump’s comments on Thursday were the clearest hint yet that the United States could have a major role in setting up Iran’s next government. After the remaining Iranian leaders reportedly selected Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, to take over, Trump told Axios that the appointment was “unacceptable.”

“We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Trump said. “They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a lightweight.”

Trump added that any Iranian leader who would just continue the policies of the now crumbling regime would force the United States back into a war in “five years.” Radical Muslim leaders, including Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reportedly lobbied for Mojtaba to get the appointment.

Trump has expressed support for the Iranians who took to the streets in recent months to protest the regime. After announcing “Operation Epic Fury” last Saturday, Trump urged Iranians to take control of their authoritarian government once the dust settles after America’s major military operation.

“To the great proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand,” he said. “Stay sheltered. Don’t leave your home. It’s very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”