Jon Karl Calls Out Trump Admin Over Emergency Hotline — That Tells Americans ‘Do Not Rely’ on Them for Evac Help

ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl called out the Trump administration’s hotline for Americans in the Middle East over a recorded message that told them, ““Please do not rely on the U.S. government for assisted departure or evacuation.”

Trump posted an announcement on Saturday that the United States was in the process of attacking Iran, and since then, at least six American servicemembers have been killed in the fighting. The strikes took out senior Iranian leaders, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

But there have been Iranian counterstrikes throughout the region, including U.S. assets, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Tuesday that he needed their help in getting the message out to Americans in the region:

It all starts by knowing that, where you are and how we can get ahold of you.  So I’m asking the networks and all of the media outlets, please publicize the two phone numbers that we’ve put out, as well as the website, so people can contact us and register.  We’ve had thousands of people call already.  As I’ve said, we’ve identified 1,500, almost 1,600 that are requesting assistance with departure.  But we need you to, please, be able to identify that.

He reiterated that plea later in the presser, saying “we have about – a little over 1,500, maybe closer to 1,600 Americans requesting assistance, and we know that we’re going to be able to help them.  That’s going to take a little time because we don’t control the airspace closures.

“That said, there may be more people out there that need help.  We need to know who you are, so please, I’m asking the media:  Publicize the phone numbers and the website because we need people to call in so we have their name, we have their contact information, we have their location and their request, so as these opportunities begin to open up, we can act very quickly to reach them and get them out of harm’s way.”

But on Tuesday night, an incredulous Karl posted a video on X that included a portion of the message that Americans were getting from that website:

ABC NEWS CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT JONATHAN KARL: All right, so Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged news organizations to put the 24-7 State Department emergency line out so that Americans who are stuck in the Middle East can get help getting out of the region, register their names and not, but listen to what happens when you dial the number.

STATE DEPT. PHONE MESSAGE: Please do not rely on the U.S. Government for assisted departure or evacuation at this time. There are currently no United States evacuation points. Please continue to check the embassy’s website for updated information…

ABC NEWS CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT JONATHAN KARL: So the bottom line is if you’re looking for help, you’re stuck in the Middle East and you can’t evacuate, there’s no help yet from the United States government.

You can call that number. You can go through the website, you can register your name so you might get updates later, but the number that the secretary of state gave out, what it does for you is it tells you right now that there is no help from the United states government in getting out of the Middle East.

As of Wednesday morning, the message had been changed. After some prompts, callers are now told “The U.S. has committed to helping U. S. citizens who want to leave the region to do so. If you are calling for assistance with travel, please stay on the line.”

After selecting another prompt, the message says, “We are expecting a high call volume today and anticipate longer than average wait time,” followed by hold music.

Watch above via Jon Karl and the U.S. Department of State.

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