US Politics
Trump purposely contradicts himself on Iran war so not even his team knows what he’s thinking: ‘That’s the plan’
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President Donald Trump’s own team isn’t entirely sure what he’s thinking about the war with Iran — and some of his allies believe it’s intentional, according to a new report.
Trump has repeatedly sent mixed signals about the conflict, leaving the public with mounting questions about the path he hopes to take. Now, Axios reports his plans are unclear even to his own advisers, with one source claiming that “nobody knows in the end what he’s really thinking.”
But some allies, such as Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, have suggested it’s an intentional strategy.
“That’s the plan — for you to not have a clue,” he told Axios.
An unnamed Trump administration official also told the outlet: “This isn’t 3D chess — it’s 12-dimensional. He contradicts himself regularly, so nobody knows what he’s thinking. It’s on purpose.”
Insiders told Axios Trump appears to be improvising. The president also likes to keep various options available, discuss ideas with different people and jump on opportunities as they pop up, according to the report.
“They had a plan for the first week and since then, they are making the plan up as they go along,” a former U.S. official told the outlet.
When reached for comment, a White House official outlined Trump’s goals and said the U.S. military is “meeting or surpassing all of its benchmarks on these defined objectives.”
“President Trump outlined four distinct goals for Operation Epic Fury: destroy Iran’s ballistic missile capacity, annihilate their navy, ensure that terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region, and guarantee that Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon,” the official told The Independent.
This report comes amid mounting speculation about a potential ground operation in Iran. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters Tuesday the U.S. wants any possible moves to be “unpredictable.”
“Our adversary right now thinks there are 15 different ways we could come at them with boots on the ground. And guess what? There are,” Hegseth said. “So if we needed to, we could execute those options on behalf of the president of the United States and this department.”
“Or maybe we don’t have to use them at all,” he added. “Maybe negotiations work, or maybe there’s a different approach. The point is to be unpredictable in that, certainly not let anybody know what you’re willing to do or not do.”
However, an adviser to Trump told Axios he “doesn’t want to do boots on the ground.”
“And when he doesn’t want to do something, he goes to great lengths not to do it. … Of course that’s the kiss of death, when you think you can predict him,” they added.
Trump expects the military operation to end within “two to three weeks” he told reporters Tuesday. Still, an administration official told Axios that the president “said early on we might have to come back, and we might have to.”
Early Wednesday, Trump also claimed that Iran’s president had asked the U.S. for a “ceasefire.”
“We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear,” he wrote on Truth Social. “Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!”
He’s expected to give an “important update” on the war at 9ET Wednesday, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
