CNN’s “NewsNight” on Monday aired a supercut highlighting the conflicting messages coming from Donald Trump and members of his administration about the U.S.-Israeli military attacks on Iran ― and whether they actually think the U.S. is at war right now.
The clip opened with the president acknowledging the risks involved, saying, “We may have casualties. That often happens in war.”
It then cut to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who suggested it may not “technically” be a war.
Footage of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth followed, with Hegseth declaring, “We didn’t start this war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it,” before Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) insisted, “This isn’t a war. We haven’t declared war.”
The montage later returned to Hegseth, who said America sets “terms of this war, from start to finish,” and added, “War is hell and always will be.”
After the clip aired, anchor Abby Phillip said:
“The congresspeople that you saw in that clip are all convinced that it’s not a war because that would mean they would have had to have done their job beforehand to authorize this.”
“But it does seem like we’re in a war,” she added.
