CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Calls Trump Out With Barrage of Video Receipts on Ending War

CNN anchor and senior White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins called out President Donald Trump’s Iran War rhetoric with a barrage of video receipts that say it should already be over.

As the Iran war hurtles toward its ninth week, the Strait of Hormuz remains blockaded by the U.S. and choked off by Iran as the president insists he’s under no pressure and wants to take his time getting a deal.

On Thursday night’s edition of CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins, Collins contrasted Trump’s indefinite non-timeline with a pile of clips featuring Trump and his officials promising the end of the war after “four to six weeks”:

KAITLAN COLLINS: Nearly eight weeks into a war that the President said would last six weeks at most. He told reporters today, Don’t rush me.

I’m Kaitlan Collins. And this is THE SOURCE.

There is a lot of uncertainty about what comes next, between the United States and Iran. But at the White House today, one thing was made very clear. The President wants to stop being asked about the timeline for this war, including the timeline that he put in place at the beginning of it.

The President alluded to this question of how long this war could go on, when he posted, today, I am possibly the least-pressured person ever to be in this position. And, I have all the time in the world.

Then, just a few hours later, inside the Oval Office, when questions started popping up about Iran, about the ceasefire that he’s now extended in this Iran war, this is how the President responded when he was asked how much longer Americans should expect this war to last.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF MASON, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, BLOOMBERG: On the war with Iran, how long are you willing to wait until you get a unified response?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, don’t rush me. Don’t rush me, Jeff.

We were in the Korean War for seven years. I’ve been doing this for six weeks.

I could make a deal right now.

I don’t want to rush myself, you know, because every story says, Oh, Trump is under time pressure.

I’m not. No. No. You know who’s under time pressure? They are.

I don’t want to rush it. I want to take my time. We have plenty of time. And I want to get a great deal.

I can only tell you this, it’ll end. I don’t think it’ll be very long, by the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The reporter who started that line of questioning there, the Jeff, in Don’t rush me, Jeff, was Jeff Mason of Bloomberg, who’s going to join me here on set in just a moment.

This comes, though, as this war is now going in, is now in its eighth week, going into its ninth week, in just a couple of days from now. And what Americans were initially told, is why it’s such an important question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that.

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Operation Epic Fury, we expect to last about four to six weeks.

REPORTER: Are you thinking this week it will be over, or are you talking about days?

TRUMP: No, but soon. I think soon.

REPORTER: OK. And with respect to–

TRUMP: Very soon. Look.

We won. We won the bet. In the first hour it was over.

I don’t think it’s going to be long.

PETER DOOCY, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, FOX NEWS CHANNEL: Can we wrap this war up this week?

TRUMP: Yes, sure, yes.

DOOCY: Will we?

TRUMP: I don’t think so. But it’ll be soon. Won’t be long.

LEAVITT: It would take approximately four to six weeks to achieve this critical mission.

TRUMP: So, we estimate it would take approximately four to six weeks to achieve our mission. 26 days in, we’re extremely, really, a lot ahead of schedule.

LEAVITT: Four to six weeks estimated timeline for Operation Epic Fury.

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: You know, he said, four to six weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: It has now been seven weeks and five days.

And of course, in this moment, and amid the questions of how long this can last, the effects of the war are certainly being felt here at home and certainly being felt at the gas pump.

Watch above via CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins.

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