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MaddowBlog-More than three weeks later, Trump still can't decide whether his war is a war
When the question is “Is the U.S. currently at war?” and the answer from the White House is “It depends on who you ask and when,” there’s a problem.
More than three weeks later, Trump still can’t decide whether his war is a war - MS NOW apple.news/AnSthd2ILQVi...
— (@oc88.bsky.social) 2026-03-25T15:23:11.781Z
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/more-than-three-weeks-later-trump-still-cant-decide-whether-his-war-is-a-war
In the early days of the war with Iran, leading Republican officials were divided over the basic issue of whether to call the war a war.
When Donald Trump initially announced the military offensive in the Middle East, his prerecorded video message included this line: “The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties. That often happens in war.” One day later, then-Sen. Markwayne Mullin (before the Oklahoma Republican became the Homeland Security secretary) appeared on Fox News and told viewers, “We are not at war with Iran.”....
Three weeks later, not only is the debate ongoing, but the president himself has positioned himself on both sides of the question.
At an event on Monday, for example, Trump said, in reference to Democrats, “They call it a war, we call it a military operation.” A day later, in the Oval Office, the Republican echoed the phrase, word for word.
Ten minutes later, at the same White House gathering, the president added, “People don’t like me using the word ‘war,’ so I won’t, but the Democrats call it a war.”
In between these two quotes, Trump also declared, “You know, I don’t like to say this, we’ve won this, this war has been won.”
It led MS NOW’s Catherine Rampell to summarize, “The war that is not a war has been won.”
Since the opening days of the conflict, Trump has referred to the war as a war. As the military offensive approaches its one-month mark, it seems the president has been advised to rewrite the narrative, but it’s clearly not going well, since he keeps using the very word he’s supposed to avoid.
As for the bigger picture, when the question is “Is the United States currently at war?” and the answer from the White House is “It depends on who you ask and when,” there’s a problem.
When Donald Trump initially announced the military offensive in the Middle East, his prerecorded video message included this line: “The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties. That often happens in war.” One day later, then-Sen. Markwayne Mullin (before the Oklahoma Republican became the Homeland Security secretary) appeared on Fox News and told viewers, “We are not at war with Iran.”....
Three weeks later, not only is the debate ongoing, but the president himself has positioned himself on both sides of the question.
At an event on Monday, for example, Trump said, in reference to Democrats, “They call it a war, we call it a military operation.” A day later, in the Oval Office, the Republican echoed the phrase, word for word.
Trump: "They call it a war. I call it a military operation."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-03-24T18:43:27.360Z
Ten minutes later, at the same White House gathering, the president added, “People don’t like me using the word ‘war,’ so I won’t, but the Democrats call it a war.”
In between these two quotes, Trump also declared, “You know, I don’t like to say this, we’ve won this, this war has been won.”
Trump: "This war has been won. The only one that likes to keep it going is the fake news."
— The Bulwark (@thebulwark.com) 2026-03-24T19:40:45.444Z
It led MS NOW’s Catherine Rampell to summarize, “The war that is not a war has been won.”
Since the opening days of the conflict, Trump has referred to the war as a war. As the military offensive approaches its one-month mark, it seems the president has been advised to rewrite the narrative, but it’s clearly not going well, since he keeps using the very word he’s supposed to avoid.
As for the bigger picture, when the question is “Is the United States currently at war?” and the answer from the White House is “It depends on who you ask and when,” there’s a problem.