Trump Gets A Daily Video Montage Briefing About The Iran War

WASHINGTON — Each time since nan commencement of nan war successful Iran, U.S. subject officials compile a video update for President Donald Trump that shows video of nan biggest, astir successful strikes connected Iranian targets complete nan erstwhile 48 hours, 3 existent U.S. officials and a erstwhile U.S. charismatic said.

The regular montage typically runs for astir 2 minutes, sometimes longer, nan officials said. One described each regular video arsenic a bid of clips of “stuff blowing up.”

The item reel of U.S. Central Command bombing Iranian instrumentality and subject sites isn’t nan only briefing Trump gets astir nan war. He’s besides updated done conversations pinch apical subject and intelligence advisers, overseas leaders and news reports, nan officials said.

But nan video briefing is fueling concerns among immoderate of Trump’s friends that he whitethorn not beryllium receiving — aliases absorbing — nan complete image of nan war, now successful its 4th week, 2 of nan existent officials and nan erstwhile charismatic said.

They said nan videos are besides driving Trump’s expanding vexation pinch news sum of nan war. Trump has pointed to nan occurrence depicted successful nan regular videos to privately mobility why his management can’t amended power nan nationalist narrative, asking aides why nan news media doesn’t stress what he’s seeing, 1 of nan existent U.S. officials and nan erstwhile U.S. charismatic said.

White House property caput Karoline Leavitt rejected nan conception that Trump doesn’t person accusation astir nan afloat scope of developments successful nan war, some successes and setbacks.

“That’s an perfectly mendacious assertion coming from personification who has not been coming successful nan room,” Leavitt said successful a statement. “Anyone who has been coming for conversations pinch President Trump knows he actively seeks and solicits nan opinions of everyone successful nan room and expects afloat throated honesty from each of his apical advisors.”

Chief Defense Department spokesperson Sean Parnell said successful a statement: “Operation Epic Fury has been an overwhelming success, pinch our forces executing nan ngo pinch unmatched precision and achieving each nonsubjective group retired from nan beginning. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is successful changeless connection pinch President Trump regarding each facet of Operation Epic Fury. We are proud of nan exceptional capacity by our warfighters and stay afloat assured successful nan commander-in-chief’s decisions.”

One of nan U.S. officials said that while discussions astir delicate subject operations are constricted to a smaller group, Trump continues to solicit input broadly and encourages each subordinate to measurement successful candidly. The charismatic added that Trump often takes calls from a wide scope of extracurricular advisers, regularly proceeding really they consciousness and getting their perspectives connected nationalist opinion.

Public sentiment astir nan warfare remains sharply divided on partisan lines, according to NBC News polling this month, though a mostly of voters reason Trump’s handling of it.

Within Trump’s Make America Great Again movement, however, support is overwhelming: Self-identified MAGA respondents gave a 100% support standing for Trump, pinch 90% supporting his subject action successful Iran.

The mobility of really a president consumes information, peculiarly antagonistic developments, and what specifications are shared by aides tin beryllium peculiarly acute during wartime. For immoderate president, aides person historically had to equilibrium providing a afloat image of events and emphasizing successes connected halfway objectives.

During erstwhile wars — from Vietnam to Iraq to Afghanistan — administrations were accused of succumbing to “groupthink” erstwhile they briefed nan president, pinch officials and subject commanders downplaying aliases omitting inconvenient facts and refusing to admit signs that their strategy was failing. President Lyndon Johnson complained that American tv news sum of nan Vietnam conflict was misleading and overly negative, and George W. Bush’s management accuse journalists of focusing connected car bombs alternatively of connected advancement successful rebuilding Iraq.

The existent and erstwhile U.S. officials said nan subject can’t little Trump connected each onslaught — location are hundreds each time — and truthful nan curated video, while it showcases U.S. capabilities, doesn’t bespeak nan afloat scope of nan conflict.

“We can’t show him each azygous point that happens,” a existent U.S. charismatic said. The charismatic noted that Trump’s briefings thin to tie amended feedback from his aides erstwhile they attraction connected U.S. victories.

Overall, nan charismatic said, nan accusation Trump gets astir nan warfare tends to stress U.S. successes, pinch comparatively small item astir Iranian actions.

One illustration came this period erstwhile 5 U.S. Air Force refueling planes were deed successful an Iranian onslaught astatine Prince Sultan Air Base successful Saudi Arabia, according to 1 of nan existent U.S. officials. Trump wasn’t briefed astir nan strikes, and he learned what had happened from media reports, nan charismatic said. When Trump inquired, he was told nan planes weren’t severely damaged, nan charismatic said.

The charismatic said Trump reacted angrily down nan scenes to nan news coverage. Publicly he posted connected Truth Social calling sum of nan onslaught misleading and accusing media organizations of wanting nan U.S. “to suffer nan War.”

Leavitt defended Trump’s disapproval of nan media.

“Trust successful nan mainstream media is astatine an all-time debased and their overwhelming antagonistic and biased sum of Operation Fury, which has been a monolithic success, proves why nan president is rightfully frustrated,” Leavitt said successful a statement. “The media spends much clip utilizing clone anonymous sources to sow chaos than attraction connected nan successes and victories of our awesome United States subject against nan Iranian regime.”

Some of Trump’s friends position his vexation arsenic a motion of a constrained travel of information, 2 of nan existent U.S. officials and nan erstwhile U.S. charismatic said.

Among their concerns is that Trump whitethorn not beryllium equipped to make captious decisions astir options he’s presented pinch for imaginable adjacent steps successful nan warfare if he’s not receiving a afloat scope of accusation astir nan position of nan conflict, nan erstwhile charismatic and a personification acquainted pinch nan concerns said.

Some of Trump’s friends person sought to supply him pinch further context, including imaginable scenarios for really nan conflict could germinate and options for winding it down, to broaden nan scope of perspectives reaching him, according to nan erstwhile charismatic and nan personification acquainted pinch nan concerns. Recently, immoderate of them tried to bring caller polling to Trump’s attention, showing his support standing sinking respective points since nan warfare began, according to nan personification acquainted pinch nan concerns.

Since nan warfare began Feb. 28, Trump has been some shaping and consuming a dependable watercourse of news astir it. He has taken dozens of telephone calls from journalists, explaining his positions and hinting astatine adjacent steps. He maintains regular interaction pinch overseas leaders, including holding near-daily conversations pinch Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and he has predominant discussions pinch leaders of Persian Gulf states, officials said.

And he has publically acknowledged seeking accusation independently.

Last week Trump said that he called a apical subject wide aft he saw video of nan USS Abraham Lincoln successful flames and that nan wide told him Iran fabricated nan video utilizing artificial intelligence.

“I called nan general. I said, ‘General, what’s pinch nan Abraham Lincoln, it looks for illustration it’s burning down?’” Trump said astatine a luncheon for Kennedy Center committee members. He said nan wide told him: “‘No, it’s not burning down. Not a slug was ever fired astatine it, sir. They cognize better.’”

One of nan U.S. officials said that nan USS Abraham Lincoln has been targeted aggregate times since nan warfare began but that nan strikes person either grounded to scope nan vessel aliases person been intercepted.

Trump besides said he had seen fabricated video of “buildings successful Tel Aviv burning to nan ground,” arsenic good arsenic successful Qatar and Saudi Arabia. “And they weren’t burning,” he said. “They weren’t hit. It was each AI.”

Asked for remark connected nan briefings Trump receives astir nan war, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard’s agency pointed to her grounds to Congress past week, erstwhile she told lawmakers that she and different intelligence officials “continue to supply nan president pinch each of nan champion nonsubjective intelligence disposable to pass his decisions.”

The head of nationalist affairs astatine nan CIA, Liz Lyons, summarized successful a connection legislature grounds from CIA Director John Ratcliffe past week, saying he told lawmakers, “President Trump is perpetually briefed by his nationalist information advisors and provided pinch nan champion intelligence disposable to supply a decisive strategical advantage successful making argumentation decisions.”

Ratcliffe said astatine a legislature proceeding past week that he briefs Trump astir 10 to 15 times a week connected important nationalist information issues.

Gabbard and Ratcliffe besides testified that nan White House received intelligence assessments earlier nan warfare that, if it was struck, Iran would beryllium apt to retaliate pinch attacks connected power sites successful nan Middle East and frighten commercialized shipping successful nan Strait of Hormuz, pinch imaginable fallout for lipid prices and nan world economy. But Trump suggested past week that Iran’s guidance came arsenic a astonishment and that “no expert” predicted specified a response.

Concerns astir nan warfare among immoderate Trump supporters surfaced publically past week erstwhile Joe Kent, who until precocious led nan National Counterterrorism Center, said soul gatekeeping had constricted Trump’s entree to a wider scope of dissenting views during nan war. “A bully woody of cardinal decision-makers were not allowed to travel definitive their sentiment to nan president,” Kent told Tucker Carlson successful an question and reply aft he near nan administration. “There wasn’t a robust debate.”

Leavitt wrote connected societal media astatine nan clip that Trump “had beardown and compelling evidence” that led to his determination to onslaught Iran.

Days earlier, Trump was asked astir comments by his erstwhile AI czar, David Sacks, who said connected a podcast that nan U.S. “should effort to find nan disconnected ramp” and that “this is simply a bully clip to state triumph and get out.” Trump told reporters that Sacks hadn’t shared his views pinch him.