President Trump’s off-the-cuff remarks on Iran, made via phone calls and social media, force White House corrections and breach security protocols.
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s communication style is creating significant confusion over US policy towards Iran.
He has been making real-time, seemingly impromptu comments to reporters who call his cell phone, leading to multiple official corrections.
On Sunday, Trump told ABC that Vice President JD Vance would not lead a US delegation to talks in Pakistan, a statement quickly retracted by official sources.
He then told the New York Post on Monday that negotiators were en route to Islamabad, which was also false.
Communication studies professor Robert Rowland said these conversations undermine norms that the president’s “time is precious” and that he “must always use secure communications.”
Rowland noted Trump adopts an extremely partisan tone during conflict, unlike previous presidents who sought unity.
The Republican has lashed out at Democrats as “traitors” and attacked media coverage of the conflict.
A Wall Street Journal report revealed Trump consults no one before posting on Truth Social and that his inner circle kept him partially unaware of a recent rescue mission in Iran over fears his “impatience” might disrupt it.
This impulsiveness extends to diplomatic and military protocol. In March, he wore a “USA” cap sold by his company during a solemn repatriation ceremony for fallen soldiers, drawing bipartisan criticism.
He also shared an AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus with a soldier and a fighter jet, which was later deleted.
On Tuesday, he claimed on CNBC he would have won the Vietnam War “very quickly.”
His messaging is further diluted by frequent digressions into construction topics. During the same CNBC interview, he critiqued renovations at the Federal Reserve building and boasted about his new White House ballroom project, which he mentions roughly once every three days.
