Trump stumped: Trump SQUIRMS as media presses for answers on Iran

[0:00] But it is day 25 of Donald Trump's war of choice in Iran, and what a day it was on that front, [0:07] because today in the Oval Office, when the president of the United States was asked a very [0:11] reasonable set of questions by reporters in the room about the status of negotiating with [0:17] Iranians to bring an end to the war, something everybody should want, he decided it was the [0:22] right moment to brag about an expensive gift. They did something yesterday that was amazing, [0:30] actually. They gave us a present, and the present arrived today. It was a very big present [0:37] worth a tremendous amount of money, and I'm not going to tell you what that present is, [0:42] but it was a very significant prize, and they gave it to us, and they said they were going [0:51] to give it, so that meant one thing to me would deal with the right people. [0:54] I'm sorry, what? What was that? So the Iranian regime gave Donald Trump a present, [1:04] he does love presents, we know that, a secret prize worth, quote, a tremendous amount of money, [1:11] and that gift makes the president of the United States suddenly feel like he's talking to the [1:15] right people. I mean, these are people who give expensive gifts. How could they be bad? How could [1:19] they be? I should also note, we don't know who he's talking to, or what they're talking about, [1:24] or how those conversations are bringing an end to the war he started. And naturally, [1:29] as they should, the press had some follow-up questions. [1:37] Is that nuclear-related? No, it wasn't nuclear-related. It was oil and gas-related. [1:47] Was it related to the straight-up removes and the flow? [1:50] Yeah, it was related to the flow and to the straight, yeah. [1:54] Was it bigger than a breadbox? Was it smaller than a breadbox? I mean, [1:58] Trump just decided to play a guessing game with the press, [2:01] dropping enigmatic clues about his Iranian mystery prize. So if you're thinking to yourself, [2:08] the White House must be right, you're wrong. You're wrong. You're wrong. You're wrong. You're wrong. [2:09] They must have tried to clean up or explain those comments later in the day. I mean, believe me, [2:13] that's a moment where you're hiding under your pillow, you're putting your jacket over your [2:16] head, you're hoping nobody asks you about it. Of course, they're going to. Well, if you thought [2:20] they were going to clean it up, you would be mistaken. The White House press office declined [2:24] to answer any follow-up questions when Politico tried to clarify what the heck the president was [2:30] talking about. But they report, Politico, that is, that, quote, several people close [2:35] to the White House said they were baffled by the president's remarks. [2:39] No kidding. [2:40] Of course they were baffled. [2:42] And this was not even the only baffling thing [2:45] Trump has said recently about these negotiations [2:47] with the Iranian government. [2:49] I mean, here he was just yesterday [2:50] talking about efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. [2:53] The Strait of Hormuz, who's going to be in control of that? [2:58] That will be opened very soon, if this works. [3:00] How soon? [3:02] And who's in control of it? [3:03] Will Iran still be able to control the flow of oil? [3:05] Be jointly controlled. [3:08] By whom? [3:09] Maybe me. [3:11] Maybe me. [3:11] You want the United States to be in control? [3:12] Me and the Ayatollah, whoever the Ayatollah is, [3:15] whoever the next Ayatollah. [3:16] Look, and there'll also be a form of a, [3:20] a very serious form of a regime change. [3:23] Now, in all fairness, [3:24] everybody's been killed from the regime. [3:27] They're really starting off. [3:28] There's automatically a regime change. [3:31] But we're dealing with some people [3:32] that I find to be very reasonable, very solid. [3:38] The people within know who they are. [3:40] Okay, none of this is funny, [3:43] but Donald Trump's lack of understanding [3:45] of all things seems, is a bit funny. [3:49] I mean, he just two weeks ago [3:51] was calling for Iran's unconditional surrender. [3:53] Remember that? [3:54] And now he's musing about overseeing [3:57] the Strait of Hormuz in partnership [3:59] with his new besties, [4:01] the Ayatollah or a future Ayatollah, [4:04] according to him. [4:05] That was what he said. [4:06] And again, he's negotiating with somebody [4:08] about all of this. [4:09] He wouldn't say who exactly, [4:10] but he says they're very reasonable. [4:14] And then there's what Trump's own Secretary of Defense [4:16] is saying. [4:16] He's saying about his role [4:17] in these so-called negotiations. [4:21] We see ourselves as part of this negotiation as well. [4:24] We negotiate with bombs. [4:29] We negotiate with bombs. [4:31] I mean, that's what Pete Hicks has said today [4:34] in the Oval Office, [4:35] while standing right beside President Trump. [4:36] You could see him. [4:38] Which is even crazier, [4:39] given that just a few hours later, [4:41] we got this reporting from the New York Times, [4:43] which said, quote, [4:43] the United States has sent Iran a 15-point plan [4:46] to end the war in the Middle East, [4:48] according to two officials briefed on the diplomacy, [4:50] reflecting the Trump administration's eagerness [4:53] to find an off-ramp from the conflict. [4:55] It was unclear how widely the plan had been shared [4:58] among Iranian officials [4:59] and whether Iran was likely to accept it [5:01] as a basis for negotiations. [5:03] Nor was it clear whether Israel, [5:04] which has been bombing Iran together with the United States, [5:07] was on board with the proposal, [5:09] which seems like a pretty key factor here. [5:11] So, just to recap, [5:14] Trump claims his secret negotiations [5:15] with secret Iranians are going so great [5:18] that we're winning extra double super-secret [5:20] expensive prices, [5:21] meanwhile, [5:22] the Secretary of Defense is chest-thumping [5:24] about dropping more bombs on Iran [5:25] on the same day Trump is sending Iran [5:28] a 15-point plan, [5:30] which we don't have any of the details about [5:32] and nobody knows if the leaders of the country [5:34] that dragged the United States into the mess [5:36] have even seen it. [5:38] There's that. [5:40] That's my summary. [5:41] All of this seems like a big, freaking hot mess. [5:45] And here's the thing. [5:46] Donald Trump himself seems to realize [5:48] it is a big, freaking hot mess. [5:51] Because in the most, [5:52] most Trumpian move imaginable, [5:54] the president is now trying to pass the buck [5:56] for this war onto Pete Hegseth. [6:01] I called Pete. [6:02] I called General Kane. [6:03] I called a lot of our great people. [6:06] And Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up. [6:09] And you said, let's do it. [6:10] I said, Pete and General Raisin Cane, [6:13] I think this thing's going to be settled very soon. [6:16] And here they go. [6:18] Oh, that's too bad. [6:20] Pete didn't want it to be settled. [6:24] This was all Pete's idea. [6:26] Pete wanted to go to war. [6:27] Pete didn't want it to be settled. [6:29] If this war drags on, [6:31] if it's a big, hot mess, [6:34] blame Pete. [6:35] Look, the chaos and confusion [6:36] coming out of this White House [6:38] is maddening. [6:39] It's scary. [6:40] It's horrible. [6:42] And it's worth asking the question, though, [6:44] who benefits from all of this? [6:46] Who benefits from a president [6:48] and his staff contradicting themselves [6:50] over and over, [6:51] whipsawing back and forth [6:52] on major decisions [6:53] that affect the fate of the entire world? [6:56] And so many people [6:57] in this country. [6:58] Who benefits from Trump's random statements [7:00] about secret negotiations [7:02] that are so hard to decipher? [7:04] Because somebody is benefiting [7:06] from all of this. [7:07] And it's not you. [7:10] Trump first announced [7:10] his supposed negotiations from Iran [7:12] in a Truth Social post [7:14] at 7.23 a.m. Eastern time yesterday morning. [7:17] 7.23 a.m. [7:18] Remember that time. [7:19] But just 15 minutes [7:20] before Trump's announcement, [7:22] there was an unusual spike [7:24] in oil futures trading. [7:26] Traders placed bets [7:27] worth more than half [7:28] a billion dollars [7:29] right before [7:30] the price of oil plunged. [7:33] Experts say it looks [7:34] a whole lot like insider trading. [7:36] In other words, [7:37] it appears that [7:38] one or more people [7:39] likely knew that Trump [7:40] was about to announce [7:41] his so-called negotiations [7:42] with Iran [7:43] and made a ton of money [7:44] off that knowledge. [7:46] And it's far from [7:47] the only suspicious trading [7:49] we've seen take place [7:50] around this war. [7:51] I mean, today, [7:52] CNN reports that someone [7:53] using the betting website [7:54] PolyMarket [7:55] has made nearly a million dollars [7:57] by placing remarkably accurate bets [7:59] predicting the future. [7:59] So, I mean, [7:59] the U.S. and Israeli [8:01] military action in Iran. [8:03] Now, to be clear, [8:04] we don't know for sure [8:05] that any of these transactions [8:06] were illicit. [8:07] We cannot say for sure [8:08] that this is insider trading. [8:09] But all of this [8:11] is eye-popping [8:12] and certainly notable, [8:14] especially when you consider [8:15] who has access [8:16] to this kind of information. [8:18] I mean, for all their crowing [8:20] about transparency, [8:21] the Trump administration [8:22] has been incredibly guarded [8:24] about their decisions [8:25] in this war. [8:26] Just today, [8:27] the Pentagon imposed [8:28] new restrictions on journalists [8:29] even after a judge [8:30] on Friday ruled [8:31] that their previous limits [8:32] on the Pentagon press corps [8:33] were unconstitutional. [8:35] And the New York Times [8:36] reports today [8:37] that Republicans in Congress [8:38] are deferring [8:38] to the Trump administration [8:39] by refusing to hold [8:41] any public hearings [8:42] with Trump officials [8:43] about the war. [8:45] In other words, [8:45] Trump wants to keep [8:46] journalists and the public, [8:48] you and me [8:49] and your neighbors [8:50] and everybody [8:51] from getting access [8:52] to consequential decisions [8:54] about this war. [8:56] At the same time, [8:57] nobody in this administration [8:59] seems concerned [8:59] about the possibility [9:00] that some of these [9:01] with a White House credential [9:03] could make a million dollars [9:04] betting on what's inside [9:05] Trump's mystery prize box [9:07] from Iran. [9:07] And I'm sure people [9:08] are betting on that. [9:10] When Trump ran for president, [9:11] he claimed, remember, [9:12] he was standing up [9:13] for everyday Americans [9:14] by opposing new foreign wars. [9:15] I didn't believe that. [9:16] I doubt you did either. [9:18] But now that he is president, [9:19] he's launched a war [9:20] that feels like [9:21] it's almost exclusively [9:22] about indulging his own whims [9:24] as well as the whims [9:25] of other rich and powerful people [9:26] in his orbit. [9:28] Today, the New York Times [9:28] reports that the crown prince [9:29] of Saudi Arabia [9:30] has had multiple calls [9:31] with Trump, [9:32] pushing him to continue [9:33] his war with Iran. [9:35] And at the same time, [9:35] Reuters is now reporting [9:36] that Trump's initial decision [9:38] to strike Iran [9:39] came after Israeli Prime Minister [9:40] Benjamin Netanyahu [9:41] told him [9:42] they could get revenge [9:43] for Iran's failed attempts [9:44] to assassinate Trump himself. [9:47] All of this is maddening [9:50] for every day, [9:51] every American [9:52] who will bear the cost [9:53] of this war. [9:54] And just imagine [9:55] how it must feel [9:56] to be one of the men [9:57] and women in uniform [9:58] who are being asked [9:58] to risk their lives for this. [10:01] One of the people [10:01] who understands that sacrifice [10:02] is Senator Ruben Gaye. [10:04] Before joining Congress, [10:05] Senator Gaye served in Iraq [10:07] as part of a Marine battalion. [10:08] He lost his best friend [10:09] to combat operations [10:11] during the war. [10:12] And yesterday, [10:13] Senator Gaye held a town hall [10:14] with veterans [10:15] in San Antonio, Texas, [10:17] where he talked about [10:17] Trump's war of choice in Iran [10:19] with people who have [10:20] actually served their country. [10:22] Here's a little look [10:23] of what that looked like. [10:27] The most patriotic thing [10:28] you could do, [10:29] the most patriotic thing [10:31] you could do for veterans [10:32] is to not send us [10:34] to stupid wars.