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MaddowBlog-White House scrambles to change the meaning of 'regime change' (among other phrases)
Trump and his team aren’t just eyeing targets in Iran, they’re also taking aim at the dictionary.
Trump and his team aren’t just eyeing targets in Iran, they’re also taking aim at the dictionary.
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-04-01T18:32:42.833Z
Ahead of tonight’s remarks, remember: “Regime change†is one of several phrases they think they can redefine to suit their purposes.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/white-house-scrambles-to-change-the-meaning-of-regime-change-among-other-phrases
In a piece for The Bulwark, Will Saletan explained, “Donald Trump’s war in Iran has shocked and confused people around the world, including foreign officials. One reason might be that many of these people learned English before Trump came to power. In Trump’s war, words no longer mean what they used to mean.”
But perhaps no phrase has been targeted with the vigor and enthusiasm as “regime change.” On Tuesday morning, for example, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boasted during a press briefing that “regime change has occurred” in Iran.
A day earlier, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt used similar language, arguing that there’s been “regime change” in Iran because so many Iranian officials have been killed as part of the war.
The president, meanwhile, has begun pushing a similar message on a nearly daily basis. On Sunday night, for example, during a Q&A with reporters on Air Force One, he declared, “We’ve had regime change.”
Pressed on the point, he added, “We’re dealing with different people than anybody’s dealt with before. It’s a whole different group of people. So I would consider that regime change.”...
There’s no great mystery as to the motivation here: The war hasn’t exactly gone as smoothly as the White House hoped, so Team Trump is scrambling to manufacture objectives and concoct victories it can brag about to the public.
But that this effort apparently relies on changing the meaning of established words and phrases speaks volumes about its merits.
But perhaps no phrase has been targeted with the vigor and enthusiasm as “regime change.” On Tuesday morning, for example, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boasted during a press briefing that “regime change has occurred” in Iran.
Hegseth: "Regime change has occurred"
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-03-31T12:15:20.864Z
A day earlier, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt used similar language, arguing that there’s been “regime change” in Iran because so many Iranian officials have been killed as part of the war.
The president, meanwhile, has begun pushing a similar message on a nearly daily basis. On Sunday night, for example, during a Q&A with reporters on Air Force One, he declared, “We’ve had regime change.”
Pressed on the point, he added, “We’re dealing with different people than anybody’s dealt with before. It’s a whole different group of people. So I would consider that regime change.”...
There’s no great mystery as to the motivation here: The war hasn’t exactly gone as smoothly as the White House hoped, so Team Trump is scrambling to manufacture objectives and concoct victories it can brag about to the public.
But that this effort apparently relies on changing the meaning of established words and phrases speaks volumes about its merits.
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