Outside the Beltway

Gee, I Wonder Whose Job it is to Inform Us?

Trump’s ongoing disinformation campaign.

Steven L. Taylor
4

Comments

I found this interchange to be both infuriating and oh-so-typical.

R: There are no signs that Iran intends to stop fighting—so, what is the plan?Trump: How do you know that? Do you know something that I don’t know?R: They continue to attack our allies and kill Americans.

— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2026-07-21T15:26:28.937Z

The first thought that came to mind was: whose job is it to inform the public as to the conduct of a war? And the answer, of course, is the president and his cabinet.

And yet, we get very little actual information.

The second thought was, it would appear that yes, yes, we do know more than you do.

The third thought was: this is the same damn thing he has been saying for months.

Here’s a list, which is not comprehensive, that Claude pulled for me:

March 9 – At a press conference in Doral, FL, Trump said the US was “achieving major strides toward completing our military objective,” adding “some people could say they’re pretty well complete,” and that the war would be over “very soon.” The same day, he told Time the war was “very complete, pretty much,” claiming Iran had “nothing left.”
🔗 Time: Trump Signals War With Iran May End Soon PolitiFact

March 10 – Speaking to Republican lawmakers near Miami, Trump described the operation as a “little excursion” to “get rid of some evil” and predicted it would be a “short-term excursion.”
🔗 Euronews: Trump says Iran war will be over ‘very soon’

March 11 – In a phone interview with Axios, Trump said there was “practically nothing left” to target in Iran and that the war would end “soon,” adding “any time I want it to end, it will end.”
🔗 Al Jazeera: Trump says Iran war to end ‘soon’ aol

March 24 – Trump claimed his administration had been negotiating with Iran “for a long time” and said he believed a deal to end the war was close, saying Iran “means business.”
🔗 Euronews Iran coverage euronews

March 31 – Trump told reporters in the Oval Office the US could end its military campaign within two to three weeks, saying “we’ll be leaving very soon.”
🔗 Reuters via AOL: Trump says U.S. could end Iran war in two to three weeks aol

April 1 – In a primetime address to the nation, Trump said, “We are going to finish the job, and we’re going to finish it very fast. We are getting very close,” and that the U.S. was “on track to complete all of America’s military objectives shortly, very shortly.”
🔗 LA Times: Trump says Iran war will be over ‘shortly’ aol

April 15 – In a Fox News interview, Trump said he believed the war was “very close to over,” pointing to resumed negotiations.
🔗 Time: Trump Says Iran War ‘Close to Over’

April 16 – At an event in Las Vegas, Trump said “the war in Iran is going along swimmingly” and “it should be ending pretty soon.”
🔗 CNBC: Trump says war in Iran is going ‘swimmingly’ CNBC

June 11 – From the Oval Office, Trump said the US had “ended the war with Iran,” touting a “great settlement” he expected to be finalized within days, with a signing ceremony possibly in Europe. Iran had not confirmed a deal at that point.
🔗 CNN: Trump cancels planned strikes and touts progress CNN

June 14 – Trump, along with Iranian and Pakistani mediators, announced a deal had actually been reached to end the war, with the U.S. agreeing to lift its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
🔗 NPR: Trump says there is a deal to end the war with Iran NPR

Speaking of delusion and unreality.

Q: Americans are firmly against this war—TRUMP: Well, Americans aren't against the war. A poll just came out. Americans don't want high gasoline prices, but they're not against the war. That just came out loud and clear in a poll.

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-07-22T13:54:36.364Z

Whatever you say, sir (source). Of course, he is probably talking about a poll of MAGA Republicans only.

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4 responses to “Gee, I Wonder Whose Job it is to Inform Us?”

  1. Kylopod Avatar
    Kylopod

    This gets to the surprisingly elusive question of how much Trump’s rhetoric involves knowingly lying and how much of it is because the sycophants surrounding him are only telling him what he wants to hear. What makes this question hard to answer is that both factors are absolutely real.

    2
    1. Ken_L Avatar
      Ken_L

      I expect Trump’s aides and advisers are reluctant to tell him what he doesn’t want to hear, but I also expect he wouldn’t hear it even if they tried. Trump has a very short attention span, no time for detail (unless he’s supervising a building project) and gives the impression he’s impatient for other people to shut up so he can hog the conversation again. I imagine an attempt by Vance to give an update on negotiations wouldn’t go for more than a minute or two without Trump interrupting to focus on his pet hobbyhorses. For example “The dust, they’ll hand over the dust, right?”, ignoring whatever else Vance might have been trying to explain.

      Topping it all off is Trump’s reluctance ever to admit ignorance in response to a question, so he just makes things up in the belief positive thinking will see them come true sooner or later.

      2
      1. Kylopod Avatar
        Kylopod

        Agree on all fronts. We know this for a fact, given that he was told about the Strait of Hormuz situation prior to invading, and simply ignored the warnings. I will say, though (and I don’t think I was clear about this in my first comment), that I think it’s worse than it was in his first term–partly due to his mental deterioration, partly due to his belief that his greatest mistake during his first term was hiring semi-competent people who occasionally pushed back against him, and whom he occasionally listened to. Remember the Bob Woodward conversation early in the pandemic where Trump appeared to understand perfectly well the danger Covid posed? I have my doubts there’s anything like that now, private convos where he “gets” the deep doo-doo the US is in. Hell, it’s occurred to me that even the mild level of pushback he supposedly got in his inner circle about invading had less to do with the actual risks to the global order than with the political fallout from going back on his promise not to start new wars.

  2. Kathy Avatar
    Kathy

    It’s hard to be informative when El Taco’s preoccupation is gaslighting and bullshitting.

    1

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