Trump struck dumb as realities of war make a mockery of his bluster

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The Briefing with Jen Psaki 44 min 7 speakers 7 chapters transcribed 3 months ago
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

Jen Psaki 0:01
As President Trump continues implementing his ambitious agenda, follow along with the MSNOW newsletter, Project 47.
David Noriega 0:09
You'll get weekly updates sent straight to your inbox with expert analysis on the administration's latest actions and how they're affecting the American people.
Unknown 0:17
The American people are basically telling the president that they are not okay with any of this.
David Noriega 0:22
Sign up for the Project 47 newsletter at ms.now slash project47.
Jen Psaki 0:30
Well, over the past few weeks, we've heard a lot of bluster from the Trump administration about the war in Iran. We've heard a lot about how the United States is dominating Iran, how we've obliterated their military, how we've already won the war. And amid all that bravado, there's been one specific boast that Trump and his allies have come back to over and over again. And that is the claim that the U.S. has complete and total control over the airspace over Iran. We're over the skies with the most beautiful planes you've ever seen. Roaming free, there's not a damn thing they can do about it. The two most powerful air forces in the world. will have complete control of Iranian skies, uncontested airspace.
Jen Psaki 1:14
They are roaming the skies over Tehran. They're not even being shot at because their equipment's been totally decimated. They have nothing to shoot.
Unknown 1:23
We expect to have complete and total dominance over Iranian airspace in the coming hours.
Jen Psaki 1:29
And we literally have planes flying over Tehran and other parts of their country They can't do a thing about it. We're flying wherever we want, Pete. We have nobody even shooting at us. We're flying wherever we want, Pete. Nobody's even shooting at us. Well, it turns out that's not true. Today, Americans woke up to the news that Iran had shot down a US F-15 fighter jet flying over Iranian airspace. Two crew members were ejected from the plane before it crashed inside Iran. American forces then proceeded to carry out a search and rescue operation inside Iran, looking for the stranded crew members. One of those crew members has been rescued. A search continues for the second crew member. And that rescue mission has put more American service members in harm's way as they navigate Iranian territory in aircraft, as you can see here, that are slower moving and having to fly closer to the ground.

What military claims has Trump made about Iran?

Jen Psaki 2:25
The Washington Post cites multiple U.S. officials who say the two Black Hawk helicopters involved in the rescue operation were hit by Iranian fire, injuring U.S. personnel on board. Both aircraft were reportedly able to safely return to base. Now MS Now has matched reporting that a second plane involved in the rescue mission took fire and was damaged. The pilot of that plane was forced to eject over the Persian Gulf and was safely recovered. Meanwhile, the Iranian government is offering Iranian citizens a reward for the capture of the missing crew member. Needless to say, this entire situation is incredibly precarious and incredibly grave. But the president, who spent the last few weeks boasting about our control over Iranian airspace, seems almost unbothered by the whole thing.
Jen Psaki 3:10
His first public comment didn't come until 3.20 p.m., hours after the news broke, and it came in the form of a four-word social media post. He said, quote, keep the oil, anyone? End quote. So American troops were in the middle of a rescue mission for a soldier stuck behind enemy lines, and Trump was casually musing about taking Iranian oil like someone at brunch ordering fries for the table. Oil, anyone? Trump then went on to give a series of short phone interviews in which he repeatedly brushed aside the implications of this crisis. He told NBC News that he didn't think any of this would affect his negotiations with Iran and complained about news coverage of the rescue operation. He was later asked by The Independent what he'd do if the missing crew member is captured or harmed by Iran.
Jen Psaki 4:02
He told the outlet, well, I can't comment on it because we hope that's not going to happen. And he ended the call shortly thereafter. Trump's flippant attitude about this very serious situation is galling, but it's completely consistent with the way that he's treated this entire war, which, incidentally, he's tried very hard to avoid calling a war because legally he'd have to get congressional approval for a war.

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