CNN host Kasie Hunt was left baffled on Monday after airing a compilation of clips showing President Donald Trump flip‑flopping repeatedly on the U.S. response to the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz.
It comes after Trump demanded NATO allies help him reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil choke point, amid his war with Iran.
The war has effectively halted commercial traffic through the Strait, which has about 20 percent of the world’s oil, causing oil prices to spiral.
The U.S. oil benchmark is now hovering around $99 a barrel, up from $87 a barrel.
Amid the crisis, Trump has been urging NATO allies and other major countries—including the U.K., France, Japan, South Korea and even China—to send warships or naval support to help secure the Strait, warning that NATO could face a “very bad future” if allies fail to assist.
But allies have pushed back. Most European nations, including Germany, France, Italy and the U.K., have rejected sending naval forces into the conflict zone or ruled out military involvement altogether, saying the crisis is not their war.
In a press conference this week, aired by CNN, Trump commented on the lack of support.
“If we ever needed help, they won’t be there for us,” he said.
But only moments later he claimed: “We have some that are really enthusiastic. They’re coming already.” He also vacillated between saying the U.S. was so strong “we don’t need anybody” and that if help was needed, “they should be jumping to help us.”
Following the clip, Hunt appeared baffled, asking viewers: “Did you follow that? We had a hard time following that,”
She continued: “Let’s underscore. We’re now more than two weeks into this war. Oil and gas prices only climbing, the national average now $3.70 a gallon for gas. That’s more than 75 cents higher than it was just a month ago. That has the administration looking for any way to get more oil flowing as soon as possible.”
In response, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told the Daily Beast: “President Trump is the greatest communicator in modern politics, and its no surprise that the liberal media can’t keep up with his unmatched brilliance.”
Since the airstrikes earlier this month, Trump has repeatedly offered conflicting explanations for the military action. Initially, he described the strikes as targeting Iran’s nuclear program and hinted they might spur a change in leadership. As the operation unfolded, however, his messaging evolved.
Within a week, he began portraying the strikes as a defensive effort aimed at protecting the United States and its allies from potential Iranian attacks.
Meanwhile, at the outset, Trump suggested the conflict would last “four weeks or so.”
Just days later, he characterized the campaign as “very complete, pretty much,” only to clarify later that the war would not end that week but would conclude “very soon.”
The lack of clarity has rattled Democrats, as well as some of Trump’s MAGA base.
But the White House has publicly pushed back against claims that Trump’s stated objectives in the Iran war have shifted or that he’s contradicting himself.
In mid‑March, the administration released a compilation of comments from Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and other senior officials asserting that the goals of Operation Epic Fury have remained consistent, focusing on degrading Iran’s missile capabilities, dismantling its navy, preventing nuclear development, and reducing its ability to project military power.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said those objectives have not changed since the campaign began.
“We are well on our way to achieving those objectives — annihilating Iran’s navy… taking out the ballistic missile threat that Iran posed to the United States and our troops and bases in the region… ensuring Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon, as well, and significantly weakening their proxies in the region.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
