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Trump Stays Out of Public View After U.S. Launches Military Assault on Iran (NYT Gift link)
President Trump did not deliver a formal address to the American public to explain why the country was at war, a departure from his predecessors.
Link to tweet
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/28/us/politics/trump-iran-public-comments.html?unlocked_article_code=1.P1A.Vl4l.1ReAv-dEWZtu&smid=url-share
From the moment he announced an extensive military attack against Iran by posting an edited social media video at 2:30 a.m. Saturday, President Trump made clear that he would be taking a different tone and approach than his wartime predecessors.
Mr. Trump did not scramble back to the White House from Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence in Palm Beach, to oversee the U.S. and Israeli strikes. He did not deliver a televised address informing the public of the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was the nation’s supreme leader for nearly four decades.
Instead, the president capped an extraordinary day of U.S. aggression abroad by attending a glitzy fund-raising dinner at his club.....
Mr. Trump’s decision not to make a formal address to the public — besides the two videos and conversations with several individual reporters — also came after he made little effort before the attack to lay out the case for a military assault against Iran.
His lack of public engagement, after launching a military attack that could spur a broader conflict and has already cost the lives of at least three U.S. service members and dozens of people in Iran, Israel and other countries in the region, was a striking departure from how other presidents have handled the gravity of war.
“What Americans of our time are accustomed to is a president giving a White House speech — usually from the Oval Office — that befits the supreme importance of making war,” said Michael Beschloss, a presidential historian and the author of the book “Presidents of War: The Epic Story, from 1807 to Modern Times.”.....
But Mr. Trump’s approach Saturday was a departure from how even Mr. Trump himself has handled other major military actions. Last year, when the United States attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities, the president addressed the nation from the White House......
The president did not let the bombing of Iran upend his schedule, including his plans to attend a fund-raising dinner to support MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump super PAC.
Ms. Leavitt said Saturday that Mr. Trump had no intention of breaking that commitment. The fund-raiser, she said, was “more important than ever.”
Mr. Trump did not scramble back to the White House from Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence in Palm Beach, to oversee the U.S. and Israeli strikes. He did not deliver a televised address informing the public of the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was the nation’s supreme leader for nearly four decades.
Instead, the president capped an extraordinary day of U.S. aggression abroad by attending a glitzy fund-raising dinner at his club.....
Mr. Trump’s decision not to make a formal address to the public — besides the two videos and conversations with several individual reporters — also came after he made little effort before the attack to lay out the case for a military assault against Iran.
His lack of public engagement, after launching a military attack that could spur a broader conflict and has already cost the lives of at least three U.S. service members and dozens of people in Iran, Israel and other countries in the region, was a striking departure from how other presidents have handled the gravity of war.
“What Americans of our time are accustomed to is a president giving a White House speech — usually from the Oval Office — that befits the supreme importance of making war,” said Michael Beschloss, a presidential historian and the author of the book “Presidents of War: The Epic Story, from 1807 to Modern Times.”.....
But Mr. Trump’s approach Saturday was a departure from how even Mr. Trump himself has handled other major military actions. Last year, when the United States attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities, the president addressed the nation from the White House......
The president did not let the bombing of Iran upend his schedule, including his plans to attend a fund-raising dinner to support MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump super PAC.
Ms. Leavitt said Saturday that Mr. Trump had no intention of breaking that commitment. The fund-raiser, she said, was “more important than ever.”
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