{"id":400247,"date":"2026-04-19T14:32:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T14:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/400247\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T14:32:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T14:32:10","slug":"trump-managing-iran-war-based-on-conflicting-caprices-that-blindside-his-aides-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/400247\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump managing Iran war based on conflicting caprices that blindside his aides — report"},"content":{"rendered":"

US President Donald Trump has been making key decisions about the war in Iran in a slapdash manner without input from his advisers, and was eager for a ceasefire to address rising fuel prices, according to a Saturday report from The Wall Street Journal.<\/a><\/p>\n

The report, which cited several unnamed senior administration officials, said that Trump has waffled between pushing for going all-out against Iran with military force, and expressing a deep aversion to further entrenching himself and the US armed forces in a tactical, strategic and political mire in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

At other times, the president seemed to lose interest in the entire situation, shifting his attention elsewhere and leaving his aides unsure what his next moves would be, the report said.<\/p>\n

Throughout the war, Trump was focused on tactical metrics like how many Iranian targets were destroyed, and enjoyed seeing footage of spectacular explosions in Iran, US officials told the conservative American newspaper.<\/p>\n

But when he learned that two US pilots were shot down<\/a> over Iran this month, Trump screamed at aides \u201cfor hours,\u201d according to the report.<\/p>\n

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His team kept him away from the situation room, because \u201cthey believed his impatience wouldn\u2019t be helpful,\u201d according to a senior administration official.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tFrom left, US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick listen during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, March 26, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/p>\n

According to the report, Trump had expressed concern in March, after weeks of relentless US and Israeli bombing, that his campaign in Iran could doom him, similar to what the 1979 Iran hostage crisis and oil shock did to former president Jimmy Carter.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at what happened with Jimmy Carter\u2026 with the helicopters and the hostages, it cost them the election,\u201d Trump said, according to the report. \u201cWhat a mess.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the second airman was rescued in a dramatic US operation,<\/a> Trump unleashed a series of threats on Truth Social. On the morning of Easter Sunday, Trump wrote, \u201cOpen the Fuckin\u2019 Strait, you crazy bastards, or you\u2019ll be living in Hell,\u201d and signed off with \u201cPraise be to Allah.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the report, that was one of several \u201crisky pronouncements\u201d that the president made \u201cwithout input from his national security team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republican senators and Christian leaders called the White House that day, concerned about the president using vulgar language and a Muslim saying on Easter, the Journal said.<\/p>\n

Trump told an adviser that he came up with the Allah line himself in order to scare the Iranians to the negotiating table by seeming unstable.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tUS President Donald Trump talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at UFC 327 at Kaseya Center, April 11, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo\/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)<\/p>\n

His threat that \u201ca whole civilization will die tonight\u201d days later was also issued off-the-cuff without coordination with advisers, according to administration officials, and was another Trump move to try to spook the Iranians and get them to agree to a deal.<\/p>\n

A major reason for Trump\u2019s eagerness to reach a deal with the Iranians is the economic pressure created by Iran\u2019s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the report said, with some White House officials surprised at how quickly and easily the Iranians were able to shut down the waterway.<\/p>\n

According to WSJ, Trump has \u201cmarveled\u201d at how easily \u201ca guy with a drone\u201d can close Hormuz.<\/p>\n

CEOs of energy companies expressed their concerns to Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about the closure\u2019s impact on the energy market, which at times seemed to weigh heavily on Trump\u2019s considerations \u2014 while at other times the US president showed that he was willing to keep fighting.<\/p>\n

According to the report, Trump\u2019s close aides began \u201cgrowing worried the war was becoming a political albatross,\u201d lamenting his \u201ccompeting impulses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s frequent phone interviews with the press were also not coordinated with his press team, who told him that he should curtail his media appearances because of the contradictory messages that he was putting out. He listened to them for a short time, then went back to speaking with multiple media outlets every day.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tUS President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, April 16, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Manuel Balce Ceneta)<\/p>\n

His senior advisers pushed him to give an address, but Trump was skeptical, the report said. \u201cWhat would he say? He couldn\u2019t declare victory. He didn\u2019t know where it was going,\u201d the Journal said. In the end, he gave the talk on April 1, but didn\u2019t clarify how the war would end or do much to increase support.<\/p>\n

As Trump\u2019s deadline approached for Iran to agree to talks or else face the destruction of its civilization, Trump was focused on other topics, aides tell the outlet, including an Indiana state election race, the US midterms, artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency. On Iran, he told top aides, including envoy Steve Witkoff, to simply push Iran to make a deal.<\/p>\n

Trump has tried to shift attention to pet projects, including the renovation of the White House ballroom and the 250th anniversary of American independence, aides told the outlet.<\/p>\n

As of the report\u2019s publication, the fate of the war was still unclear, with the original 14-day ceasefire set to expire on Wednesday. Trump and several officials from mediating countries have expressed optimism that the truce will be extended<\/a> ahead of the deadline, though Iran\u2019s reimposition of its Hormuz closure on Saturday, and Trump\u2019s various reactions,<\/a> threatened to upend the calm and throw the region back into war.<\/p>\n


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