the key takeaway here is that yankees who aren't really paying attention will reject a paper thin justification as soon as they run up to the slightest friction

To be fair I think it's more a response to the 24 hours news cycle that keeps saying "BUT DO YOU WANT IRAN TO HAVE NUCLEAR WEAPONS?!"

It's very likely he really doesn't believe they're trying to get them.

I mean, if they had it, this wouldn't be happening.