CNN host Kaitlan Collins called out President Donald Trump Thursday over his ever-shifting timeline for an end to his war on Iran, citing all the disparate claims from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — and Trump himself.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty about what comes next between the United States and Iran, but at the White House today, one thing was made very clear — the president wants to stop being asked about the timeline for this war,” Collins said Thursday on “The Source.”
She noted the timeline Trump himself shared with the public after launching his war in February and announcing “Operation Epic Fury,” when he told The New York Times that the U.S. and Israel intend to stop bombing Iran in “four to five weeks.”
“The president alluded to this question, of how long this war could go on, when he posted today, ‘I am possibly the least-pressured person ever to be in this position’ and ‘I have all the time in the world,’” said Collins, quoting a social media post from Trump.
She noted that Trump took questions about his war and ceasefire extension “just a few hours later,” however, when Bloomberg reporter Jeff Mason asked Trump how long he’s “willing to wait” for a conclusive response from Iran amid ostensibly ongoing negotiations.
The president’s answer sparked widespread frustration among critics on social media.
“Well, don’t rush me,” said Trump. “Don’t rush me, Jeff … We were in the Korean War for seven years. I’ve been doing this for six weeks … I could make a deal right now … I don’t want to rush myself, you know, because every story says, ‘Oh, Trump is under time pressure.’”
He continued, “I’m not. No, no. You know who’s under time pressure? They are … I don’t want to rush it. I want to take my time. We have plenty of time. And I want to get a great deal … I can only tell you this, it’ll end. I don’t think It’ll be very long, by the way.”
Collins then noted that the war will enter its ninth week in a few days, and then played a montage of Trump, Leavitt and Hegseth assuring the American public that it would be over “soon,” in “four to five weeks” — or “five to six weeks.”
“It has now been seven weeks and five days,” said Collins after the clip concluded. “And of course, in this moment, and amid the questions of how long this can last, the effects of the war are certainly being felt here at home, and certainly being felt at the gas pump.”
The war has already cost at least 13 U.S. service members and more than 3,000 Iranians their lives, and led Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz — through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes — resulting in high gas prices and fear of a potentially global energy crisis.
