‘Don’t Talk About It’: Trump Tells Journalists to Stop Asking About Strait of Hormuz After Latest Closure
Article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Despite the strait’s closure, Trump insisted it was “open as far as we’re concerned.”
US President Donald Trump on Sunday twice told journalists to stop asking him about the status of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran once again closed after the president declared an end to the ceasefire deal between the two countries.
The first instance came during an interview with NBC News’ Kristen Welker, who pointed to conflicting statements from the Iranian government and US Central Command about the status of the strait, which is an essential shipping lane for global petroleum supplies.
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Trump replied that “it’s open, and I don’t want to talk about it because I want to honor the life” of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who died on Saturday from what his office described as “a brief and sudden illness.”
“So I don’t want to talk about it,” Trump continued. “I told you that before the call.”
Shortly after, during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Trump was again asked whether the strait was still open.
“It’s open as far as we’re concerned,” Trump told Tapper. “Don’t talk about it. Talk about the reason you asked me to speak.”
“Okay,” Tapper replied. “We appreciate your time, sir.”
Iran shut down shipping traffic in the strait after Trump launched an illegal war against the country in late February. The strait’s closure resulted in spiking oil and gasoline prices, which coincided with further erosion in Trump’s approval ratings.
Although traffic through the strait initially picked up in the wake of a June memorandum of understanding signed by the US and Iran, it has since slumped as the ceasefire between the two nations has fallen apart.
Ana Marie Cox, contributing editor at The New Republic, bashed both Welker and Tapper for heeding the president’s requests and not pushing him to answer questions about the war he unlawfully started.
“Frankly astonished that supposed news sources agreed to terms to interview Trump and appeared to be deferential to them,” Cox wrote in a social media post, “enough that they were apologetic in brining up other topics.”
Cox’s sentiment was echoed by Kai Ryssdal, host of NPR’s Marketplace, who remarked that “the guy being interviewed doesn’t get to pick the questions.”
Journalist Helen Kennedy challenged Trump’s assertion that asking about the status of the Iran war was irrelevant when talking about Lindsey Graham.
“Making war with Iran was Lindsey Graham’s favorite thing,” Kennedy observed. “It’s not like it’s unrelated.”
Article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
