President Donald Trump avoids answering questions about the Strait of Hormuz during a Sunday appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” after hosting Jake Tapper asks whether the United States is “back at war” with Iran and who controls the strait. Tapper presses Trump about Iran’s claim that the Strait of Hormuz is closed, and Trump responds that it is “open as far as we’re concerned,” then tells Tapper not to focus on the issue and to instead “talk about the reason” Trump was asked to appear. According to both accounts, Trump is on the show to discuss the death of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who dies at age 71 the day prior. Trump says he does not want to address the Iran question “out of respect” for Graham, while making remarks that reference recent U.S. strikes. He claims U.S. forces “hit them very hard last night,” and says Iran had agreed or was “giving up everything” before firing again, including an account that Iran hit a ship using a drone. The reports also note mixed messaging from the U.S. and Iran over strait control as both sides claim authority over access to the waterway.
Trump declines questions on Strait of Hormuz, citing respect for Lindsey Graham’s death
President Donald Trump avoids answering questions about the Strait of Hormuz during a Sunday appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” after hosting Jake Tapper asks whether the United States is “back...
- On CNN’s “State of the Union,” Jake Tapper asks Trump who controls the Strait of Hormuz and whether the U.S. is “back at war” with Iran.
- Trump says he does not want to discuss the Strait of Hormuz “out of respect” for the death of Senator Lindsey Graham.
- Trump tells Tapper the strait is “open as far as we’re concerned,” while declining to provide further detail.
- Trump says the U.S. conducted strikes and describes Iran as having changed course after talks, including allegations involving a drone strike on a ship.
- Iran and the United States give conflicting claims about whether and how the Strait of Hormuz is closed.
In a Sunday talk show appearance, President Donald Trump used the death of Senator Lindsey Graham the day prior as a get-out-of-answering-questions-free card.The weekend saw the unexpected death of the Republican senator at age 71. It also saw the United States and Iran trade fire in the Middle East, reaffirming the apparent collapse of the June memorandum of understanding between the two countries. When CNN’s State of the Union host Jake Tapper queried Trump about the latter development, the president used the former as an excuse not to answer.“Are we back at war, and who controls the Strait of the Hormuz?” Tapper asked. Before he had even finished the question, the president was dodging it: “Well I don’t want to—out of respect for Lindsey, I’m not talking about that. We hit ’em very hard last night, so I don’t want to talk about it, but I will say we hit ’em very hard last night.” The president went on to allege that Iran’s leaders had been “giving up everything” during talks on Saturday before they turned on a dime, hitting “a ship with a drone.” Such rhetoric is consistent with Trump’s past attempts to portray Iran, despite the evidence to the contrary, as desperate and on the verge of surrender.“These people, there’s something wrong with them,” Trump said of Iran, “but I’m talking about a man who had nothing wrong with him, and that’s Lindsey Graham.”Later in the interview, Tapper tried again to get information about the war out of Trump, asking if the Strait of Hormuz is closed as Iran has claimed. But his luck was no better this time, with the president responding, “It’s open as far as we’re concerned. Don’t talk about it. Talk about the reason that you asked me to speak.”Come Monday morning, Iran and the U.S. were both claiming to be in control of the strait.
9 hours agoPresident Donald Trump hit out at questions about Iran during a phone conversation on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday after host Jake Tapper grilled him over the latest closure of the Strait of Hormuz. “Iran has declared the Strait of Hormuz closed. Is that true, Mr. President?” Tapper questioned. Trump replied: “It’s open as far as we’re concerned. Don’t talk about it. Talk about the reason that you asked me to speak.” Trump joined the show to discuss the death of Senator Lindsey Graham on Saturday night. (R-S.C.) While paying tribute to Graham, he veered off topic by renewing his focus on the SAVE America Act and attacking Democrats and CNN. Moments before Tapper and Trump’s clash about the Strait, Tapper asked Trump if America is “back at war” with Iran. “[Graham] obviously was very supportive of the strikes against Iran. The US and Iran have been engaging back and forth in strikes over the last few days and overnight … Who controls the Strait of Hormuz?” the CNN host asked. Trump replied that he didn’t want to discuss the topic “out of respect” for Graham — and then proceeded to talk about it anyway. “We hit them very hard last night. So, I don’t want to talk about it, but I will say we hit them very hard last night,” he said of Iran. “We had a deal with them yesterday. They were giving up everything. And then all of a sudden, two hours after that, they hit a ship with a drone.” Trump added: “And I said, ‘These people, there’s something wrong with them’. But I’m talking about a man who had nothing wrong with him, and that’s Lindsey Graham.” Trump launched renewed airstrikes against Iran on Saturday following an Iranian strike on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz that set it ablaze and left one US civilian crew member missing, the US military said on Saturday night in a statement on X.Trump’s remarks on “State of the Union” came after mixed messaging from the US and Iran over the status of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for the global supply of oil and natural gas. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard said on Saturday that it closed the strait to all ship traffic “until further notice,” adding that it “will remain closed until the United States ends its intervention in the region,” according to the Iranian state news outlet PressTV. Trump disputed Iran’s claim during appearances on “State of the Union” and NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
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