Trump Posts Unhinged Gun Meme in Threat to Iran, Hegseth Mocked Over Strait of Hormuz: A Closer Look

0:02 -Donald Trump posted an unhinged meme

0:03 of himself with an assault rifle threatening

0:05 Iran as oil prices soared to their highest point since the war began,

0:09 and Pete Hegseth was grilled by Congress about

0:11 the administration's failure to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

0:14 For more on this.

0:15 It's time for "A Closer Look".

0:21 Say what you will about Donald Trump, but one thing we can all agree on is

0:25 that he is an empathetic person with a high emotional IQ.

0:28 Don't laugh.

0:29 He knows when to tread lightly, and he treats everyone with dignity and respect.

0:34 Bear with me.

0:36 Like when he was in the Oval Office yesterday with the NASA administrator,

0:39 a billionaire who got the job because he's friends with Elon Musk.

0:43 And sure, Trump had a falling out with Elon,

0:44 but that doesn't mean he'll take it out on Elon's friends.

0:47 In fact, Trump went out of his way to make his billionaire NASA

0:51 buddy feel welcome by avoiding any

0:53 potentially awkward remarks about his personal appearance.

0:56 -Are you considering relocating NASA's headquarters out of DC?

1:01 Once the lease is up, states like Texas, Ohio and Florida.

1:04 -Well, the best man to tell you that is the man sitting right over here.

1:08 You heard that question with those beautiful ears of yours?

1:11 He's got great hearing, you know, super.

1:13 -He's got super hearing.

1:14 -Trick of the trade, Sir.

1:16 Laughter] -The [bleep]?

1:18 Don't call him out on camera!

1:22 Dude's in the Oval Office with the President of the United States

1:25 for what I'm sure is one of the most memorable milestones of his life.

1:28 And Trump decides to turn it

1:29 into the "Comedy Central Roast Of This [Bleep] Guy"?

1:33 As Trump] Quick ask him your question before he flaps his ears and flies away.

1:38 You know, he used to carry the feathers so he could fly,

1:41 but then it turned out— it turned out he never needed the feather.

1:45 He never needed it.

1:47 This poor guy.

1:48 Although I bet Trump actually believes he has super hearing.

1:51 When Trump first met him, I guarantee he asked if he's an X-Man.

1:56 As Trump] Are you a mutant?

1:57 Because we already have one of those.

2:00 As Robert Kennedy] I ate a raccoon testicle

2:03 and it gave me the power of night vision.

2:07 Laughter] Also, let me just say to the camera operator, how dare you?

2:12 You did my man— Why the zoom?

2:16 Who's doing cameras for CNN now?

2:19 Is it whoever used to direct "The Office"?

2:22 Don't zoom in on a physical feature right after someone makes fun of it.

2:26 I'm sorry, Wally, I can't see the cue cards.

2:29 -You can't?

2:30 They're almost as big as your forehead.

2:32 -What?

2:34 Audience boos, laughs] Oh, I'm sorry,

2:37 I should point out we now share a camera operator with CNN.

2:39 He's real sassy.

2:41 But when Trump isn't mocking other people's appearances,

2:43 he's focused on his own.

2:45 Not in real life, but in memes.

2:47 -President Trump delivering another social media threat to Tehran.

2:51 This middle-of-the-night post featuring what appears

2:53 to be an AI-created image of Trump

2:56 holding a rifle amid a backdrop of explosions with the words, "No More Mr.

3:01 Nice Guy!" -What appears to be.

3:06 Laughter] I don't think he went into his backyard.

3:13 I'm sorry.

3:13 Is this supposed to make you look cool?

3:15 Sorry, man, but you're not John Wick.

3:16 This looks like one of those movies where a bunch of old

3:20 guys break out of their retirement home to do one last bank robbery.

3:24 But the craziest, craziest part of this meme is when Trump posted it.

3:27 4:05 a.m.

3:30 that's the most unhinged time to post anything,

3:32 let alone a meme of yourself as some

3:35 sort of super soldier blowing up an entire country.

3:37 I mean, even if you just got a text from a friend at 4:05 that said,

3:41 "Hey, what's up?" You'd immediately write back,

3:43 "Is everything okay?" And they'd say, "I just heard you wake up." And you'd say,

3:46 "How did you hear that?" And they'd say, "I have super hearing!"[ Laughter] Now.

3:53 No, no.

3:56 If it worries you that this is the man

3:58 in charge of our military at a time of war, let me put you at ease.

4:01 There are plenty of adults in the room, experienced military leaders,

4:05 tacticians who have studied the history of armed conflict.

4:07 And they know how to get us out of this.

4:09 -Singer Kid Rock joined Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

4:12 for a ride along in Army helicopters yesterday.

4:15 Hegseth posted photos calling Kid Rock a patriot.

4:18 -I mean, we're so [bleep]!

4:20 I mean, why is Kid Rock going for a joyride

4:23 in an Army helicopter and addressing members of the military?

4:26 Oh, no.

4:27 Is this going to be the new military uniform?

4:30 I mean, don't get me wrong, it's great camouflage.

4:32 Except the only place you can hide is one of those roadside firework stores.

4:36 Trump's getting increasingly desperate when it comes to Iran,

4:39 because for weeks now,

4:40 he's been bull [bleep] us and claiming the war he started with no exit strategy.

4:45 is basically over.

4:47 -You know, you never like to say too early, you won, we won.

4:49 We won the bet.

4:50 In the first hour it was over.

4:52 We've had total regime change.

4:54 You can call it what you want, but I call it regime change.

4:56 And I think most people are giving us credit for that.

4:59 Well, they're agreeing with us on— on the plan.

5:01 I mean, we asked for 15 things.

5:04 It seems to be going very well in the Middle East with Iran.

5:07 -President Trump saying he expects a swift deal with Iran,

5:09 possibly in the next day or two to end the war.

5:11 He also just told CBS News Iran has agreed to everything.

5:15 Those are his words.

5:16 -We have a very good relationship with Iran right now.

5:19 As hard as it is to believe.

5:20 -It is hard to believe.

5:23 You just threatened Iran with a meme

5:25 of yourself starring in "The Bourne Stupidity".

5:28 That's not a good relationship.

5:30 Here's what makes a good relationship...consistency.

5:31 You are all over the place.

5:34 You're like a husband walking in at the end of the day saying,

5:35 "Hey honey, it's good to be home, but it's better to be at work,

5:38 because you're not there and I can't stand your guts.

5:40 But I love your face.

5:41 And I love it most when you're crying because I'm happy when you're sad.

5:44 I'm also sad when I'm happy because you have to be alive to feel happy.

5:47 And I wish I was dead." We have a good relationship.

5:52 Trump keeps waffling between deal maker and madman

5:55 because he doesn't know which one will work, and he's just grasping at straws.

5:58 He started a war he reportedly thought would be quick,

6:01 and now he can't figure out how to end it.

6:02 Right now, his team is trying this bizarre strategy

6:05 of blockading Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz,

6:09 a strategy that is getting mocked by Congress.

6:11 -How is this war going?

6:12 Do you think we're winning?

6:14 -Militarily on the battlefield?

6:15 It's been an astounding military success.

6:17 -No, but are we winning the war?

6:19 -Absolutely.

6:20 -Okay.

6:21 So do you call Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz winning?

6:23 -Well, I would say the blockade that we hold that doesn't

6:27 allow anything to come in or out of Iranian ports— -Okay,

6:30 so we've— so we've blockaded their blockade.

6:32 So they blockaded us, and then we blockaded their blockade.

6:36 That's like saying, "Tag, you're it." Or, you know,

6:38 if President Madison had said, well,

6:40 the British just burned down Washington, but don't worry,

6:42 we're going to burn it down as well.

6:43 -I mean, that is what they're doing.

6:46 Have you seen the east wing of the White House?

6:48 The redcoats could have never dreamed

6:50 of doing this much destruction to Washington, because the only thing worse than

6:54 a burned-down building is one mid-construction.

6:57 In British accent] General, I have an idea.

6:58 Perhaps instead of burning down the building, we just knock out a wall,

7:01 dig a few holes here and there, and then just sort of leave it like that.

7:05 In deep voice] That is an excellent idea.

7:06 Do you have a man for the job?

7:08 In British accent] Yes,

7:09 he's one of our best redcoats because he also has the pants.

7:13 Laughter] -But at least...

7:18 Cheers and applause] -But at least Hegseth was laser focused on America's foes,

7:25 the Ayatollah and the Iranian regime.

7:27 Right?

7:27 That's the world leader he was most focused on, right?

7:30 -Reverse the four years of underinvestment and mismanagement of the Biden

7:35 administration because of the austerity of the Biden administration...

7:38 Joe Biden, Joe Biden, Joe Biden, Joe Biden, Joe Biden.

7:40 Joe Biden.

7:41 Was it Joe Biden?

7:42 The Biden administration, Joe Biden, by the way, Joe Biden, Joe Biden.

7:45 -You talk about Joe Biden more than Joe Biden talks about Joe Biden.

7:49 Joe Biden talks about Joe Biden a lot.

7:52 And at least Biden could pull off a pair

7:53 of aviators without looking like an off-brand Terminator.

7:58 Trump's strategy of blockading Iran's blockade isn't helping anyone.

8:01 We're just hurting ourselves.

8:02 Gas prices are still soaring and so are prices for pretty much everything else.

8:06 -Tonight, no official talks.

8:07 The Strait of Hormuz remains closed, and gas prices here in the U.S.

8:11 marking a new high tonight.

8:12 Now at their highest point in four years.

8:14 And of course, it's not just gas.

8:16 It's diesel used to deliver goods

8:18 and groceries and the prices you're now paying.

8:20 -Gas prices today hit their highest level in four years.

8:23 The average price for a gallon of gas now $4.20.

8:26 That's up $1.26 since the start of the Iran war, with peace talks stalled,

8:31 and no sign that oil tankers will start

8:34 moving anytime soon through the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices are still climbing.

8:38 -I just talked to a veteran analyst, Andy Lipow,

8:40 and he said that in the next 7 to 10 days,

8:42 he thinks the national average will go to 4.25 to 4.30 a gallon.

8:47 -That's insane.

8:49 Gas is at its highest point since COVID,

8:51 and COVID was something we couldn't control,

8:52 though, based on the fact that Trump blockaded a blockade,

8:54 I wouldn't put it past him to try and bring COVID back,

8:56 so he had something to blame it on.

8:58 As Trump] Look who got out again.

9:01 You better not mess with our gas prices, you rascal, you.

9:05 And the crazy thing is,

9:07 gas prices were like the one thing Trump could actually brag about.

9:10 His proudest accomplishment.

9:11 The thing he's talked about more than anything else.

9:14 -Gasoline is less than $2 in many places...a gallon,

9:18 which nobody expected to see, but I did.

9:20 We had yesterday, three states where oil was at $1.99 a gallon.

9:27 I was in a beautiful place called Iowa two weeks ago,

9:30 $1.85 a gallon for gasoline.

9:34 When I visited the great state of Iowa just a few weeks ago,

9:38 I even saw $1.85 a gallon for gasoline.

9:43 We have people now getting gasoline for $1.99, $1.96, $1.95, $1.92 yesterday.

9:52 -He wants all of us to be so impressed.

9:54 He can keep listing numbers under $2.

9:58 As Trump] $1.90, $1.95, $1.92.

10:00 Get ready for this one.

10:02 If you think I've run out, I have it at $2.05.

10:05 [Bleep]!

10:05 Wait...$1.91.

10:10 Of course, none of this was a problem.

10:11 Before the war started, the Strait of Hormuz was open.

10:13 Tankers could sail through it with ease.

10:15 We did this to ourselves.

10:17 Although Trump's allies on Fox News really wish he would stop saying that.

10:20 -I wish the talking point of that the strait was open before the conflict.

10:25 People got to stop doing it.

10:27 It was a beautiful day the morning of 9/11.

10:30 -Sorry...

10:32 If you're ever thinking of comparing anything to 9/11,

10:34 a good rule of thumb is to just stop talking.

10:38 Especially since in that analogy, you made us 9/11.

10:41 In fact, that should be someone's job.

10:43 We should appoint someone to be on alert for bad 9/11 comparisons.

10:46 Someone who can hear those analogies, no matter where they are.

10:49 Someone in the world with super hearing.

10:51 Oh, I think I know the perfect man for the job.

10:53 There he is!

10:55 Cheers and applause] -You know,

10:57 for anyone who thinks it's mean, I keep doing that.

11:00 I don't care, there's nothing anybody can do to me.

11:03 Oh, they're zooming in again, aren't they, on my forehead?

11:05 All right, all right.

11:06 I learned my lesson.

11:07 Americans are furious with Trump's handling of both

11:09 the economy and the war in Iran,

11:11 which is why he keeps hitting new lows in polls.

11:13 But Trump doesn't care.

11:14 He's not listening.

11:15 That's why he needs someone with...

11:17 -Super hearing.

11:18 This has been "A Closer Look."♪♪[ Gasps]