Trump's conflicting messages sow confusion over Iran war

Iran War News

Trump's conflicting messages sow confusion over Iran war
Donald TrumpAdam SmithMichael G. Rubin
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President Donald Trump describes the war with Iran as a success, even as his message about the conflict keeps shifting. Trump says the United States is winning even as he sends more troops to the Middle East. He blames other countries for not helping the American effort, then says he doesn't need their assistance.

Analysis: 1 month into war, Iran is using insurgent tactics and holding the world economy hostageSecret Service agent assigned to Jill Biden accidentally shoots himself in leg at airportTiger Woods released on bail hours after arrest at crash scene on suspicion of DUINew York City and Dr.

Phil’s son resolve dispute over NYPD reality showWhen stock markets are rattled, even by war, it usually pays for investors to be patientHe suddenly couldn't speak in space. NASA astronaut says his medical scare remains a mysteryPeople 'bathe' in nature to get respite from chaotic news cycleRaccoon goes on drunken rampage in Virginia liquor store and passes out on bathroom floorWorries about flying seem to be taking off. Here's how to cope with in-flight anxietyA photo captures black spots on clothespins that reveal the environmental toll of conflict in TehranUganda reintroduces rhinos into a protected area where they have been extinct since 1983Dietary supplement makers push the FDA to allow peptides and other new ingredientsAs demand for GLP-1 pills and shots surges, healthy habits are still keyAI is giving bad advice to flatter its users, says new study on dangers of overly agreeable chatbotsIndustria del cangrejo de río de Luisiana sufre por escasez de trabajadores extranjerosRubio denies Zelenskyy's claim that the US asked Ukraine to cede land to Russia for security dealThe Afternoon WireSecret Service agent assigned to Jill Biden accidentally shoots himself in leg at airportTiger Woods released on bail hours after arrest at crash scene on suspicion of DUINew York City and Dr. Phil’s son resolve dispute over NYPD reality showWhen stock markets are rattled, even by war, it usually pays for investors to be patientHe suddenly couldn't speak in space. NASA astronaut says his medical scare remains a mysteryPeople 'bathe' in nature to get respite from chaotic news cycleRaccoon goes on drunken rampage in Virginia liquor store and passes out on bathroom floorWorries about flying seem to be taking off. Here's how to cope with in-flight anxietyA photo captures black spots on clothespins that reveal the environmental toll of conflict in TehranUganda reintroduces rhinos into a protected area where they have been extinct since 1983Dietary supplement makers push the FDA to allow peptides and other new ingredientsAs demand for GLP-1 pills and shots surges, healthy habits are still keyAI is giving bad advice to flatter its users, says new study on dangers of overly agreeable chatbotsIndustria del cangrejo de río de Luisiana sufre por escasez de trabajadores extranjerosPoliticsPresident Donald Trump speaks at the Future Investment Initiative Institute’s summit Friday, March 27, 2026, in Miami Beach, Fla. President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One, Friday, March 27, 2026, at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla. From left, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick listen during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Washington. President Donald Trump speaks at the Future Investment Initiative Institute’s summit Friday, March 27, 2026, in Miami Beach, Fla. President Donald Trump speaks at the Future Investment Initiative Institute’s summit Friday, March 27, 2026, in Miami Beach, Fla. President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One, Friday, March 27, 2026, at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla. President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One, Friday, March 27, 2026, at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla. From left, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick listen during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Washington. From left, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick listen during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Washington. . He has both threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s energy plants if the vital waterway remains largely shuttered and said the U.S. was “not affected” by the closure. At one point this month, Trump said one of his predecessors — who, he strongly suggested, was a Democrat — privately told him he wished he had taken similar action against Iran. Representatives for every living former president As the war entered its second month on Saturday, Trump’s penchant for embellishments, exaggerations and falsehoods is being tested in an environment where the stakes are much higher than an isolated political fight. A president who has long embraced bluster and salesmanship to shape narratives and focus attention is confronting the unpredictability of war.Leon Panetta, who served Democratic presidents as defense secretary, CIA director and White House chief of staff, said he has “seen enough wars where truth becomes the first casualty.” “It’s not the first administration that has not told the truth about war,” he said. “But the president has made it kind of a very standard approach to almost any question to in one way or another kind of lie about what’s really happening and basically describe everything as fine and that we’re winning the war.” Michael Rubin, a historian at the American Enterprise Institute who worked as a staff adviser on Iran and Iraq at the Pentagon from 2002 to 2004, said Trump is “the first president of any party in recent history that hasn’t self-constrained to live within rhetorical boundaries.”To his critics, Trump’s style is a sign that doesn’t have a coherent long-term strategy. But for Trump, the zigs and zags seem like the point, a method that keeps his opponents — and pretty much everyone else — always on their heels. The approach was clear this week in the hours before he announced the second delay of the deadline for Iran to reopen the strait. Asked what he would do about the deadline, Trump said he did not know and that he had a day before he had to decide. “In Trump time, a day, you know what it is, that’s an eternity,” the Republican president said to laughter from members of his Cabinet., with U.S. stocks closing out their worst week since the war began. To some on Capitol Hill, the freewheeling is more frustrating than amusing. Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, lamented that Trump is “going back and forth and constantly contradicting himself.”Republicans were not willing to go that far, but their concern was apparent heading into a two-week break from Washington. Sen.of Texas, who sits on the House Budget Committee and is a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said his constituents were on board with “blowing some crap up.” Nonetheless, he expressed reservations about the prospect of ground troops and said the administration has not provided enough details in briefings for lawmakers. Such sessions, he said, only reveal information you “read in the papers.” “Taking out bad guys, taking out conventional , taking out or at least working to take out nuclear capability, pressing to keep the straits open, all those are good things and I’ve been supportive and will continue to be supportive,” Roy said. “But we’ve got to have a serious conversation about how long this is going to go, boots on the ground, all those things, press for further briefings and understanding of where it’s all headed.”The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research indicates that the president risks frustrating his voters if the U.S. gets involved in the kind of prolonged war in the Middle East that Although 63% of Republicans back airstrikes against Iranian military targets, the survey found, only 20% back deploying American ground troops. That reflects the political challenges ahead for Trump, who did not prepare the country for such an extensive overseas conflict. If the war drags on or escalates,could build before the November elections, when their majorities in Congress are at risk. Some in the party have said sending in ground troops would be a red line that Trump should not cross. The administration also will likely need congressional support for an additional $200 billion to support the war. That amount of money, which Trump has said would be “nice to have,” even as he said the war was “winding down,” would be a tough vote at any time. But it poses particular risks for budget-conscious Republicans in an election year. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement that Trump is “right to highlight the vast success of Operation Epic Fury.” “Iran desperately wants to make a deal because of how badly they are being decimated, but the President reserves all options, military or not, at all times,” she said.Rubin, the former Iran and Iraq adviser at the Pentagon, said there could be some “logic” to the president’s ever-evolving rhetorical approach to the war. He said Trump’s initial comments about ongoing negotiations, which Iran denied, could “spread suspicion and fear within the regime circles.” “Perhaps Donald Trump or those advising him simply want the Iranians to grow so paranoid they refuse to cooperate with each other or perhaps they even turn on each other,” he said. “But then again, there’s always a danger with Donald Trump of assuming that his rhetoric is anything more than shooting from the hip.”of Washington state, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said Trump is not going to be able to fully achieve his objectives, including the complete elimination of Iran’s nuclear program, “in the current trajectory.” And if that is the case, Smith said, the president has the option to rely on his rhetorical skills to simply say the U.S. won — and end the war. “As I’ve jokingly said, nobody I have ever met or heard of in human history is better at exaggerating his own accomplishments than Donald Trump,” Smith said. “So go knock yourself out and claim this was some great success.”Sloan is the Washington correspondent at The Associated Press. He managed the AP’s coverage of the 2020 and 2024 presidential campaigns.

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