Trump Violates Iran War Deadline, Claims "Mini War" Is Over as US and Iran Trade Fire: A Closer Look

0:01 -The Trump administration is now arguing that the war

0:04 with Iran is over because it has a new name,

0:07 but it might start again if Iran doesn't agree to what it's already agreed to.

0:11 And the goal is to open the Strait of Hormuz,

0:13 which was already open before the war started.

0:16 For more on this, it's time for "A Closer

0:18 Look."[ Cheers and applause] From day one,

0:23 almost everything about this war has been confusing and unclear.

0:26 What are the objectives?

0:26 How long will it take?

0:27 Which country are we bombing?

0:29 -He has the ability to come back and declare

0:32 war and ask for Congress to declare war on Iraq.

0:36 -Ooh!

0:37 So close.

0:39 So you were off by just one letter.

0:42 Terrifying time to have a name one letter away from Iran.

0:45 If you're watching this and your name is Ira, you better watch the [bleep] out.

0:49 "Yeah, I've been guilty of some nuclear fusion.

0:52 In the bedroom.

0:55 Stop by if you ever want to enrich some uranium." Not that I

0:59 want to be too hard on Markwayne Mullin for being one letter off.

1:01 I've made that mistake many times.

1:03 My wife's name is Alexi,

1:04 and I can't tell you the number of times I've gotten in a fight with Alexa.

1:08 Gotten so bad that now my Alexa and I are in couples therapy.

1:13 "I just feel like we don't communicate anymore.

1:15 I try to connect with you, but you don't listen." "Mm-hmm.

1:19 Alexa, would you like to respond to that?" -I'm sorry.

1:22 I'm having trouble understanding.

1:24 Please try again.

1:26 -The point is everything about this war has been unclear,

1:28 except for one thing that everyone can agree on.

1:30 It is not a war.

1:31 -I wouldn't call this a war as much as I'd call it a conflict.

1:34 -Strategic strikes are not war.

1:36 -We are not at war.

1:37 We have no intention of being at war.

1:39 -Nobody should classify this as war.

1:40 It is combat operations.

1:42 -This isn't a war.

1:43 -I don't know if this is technically a war.

1:45 -So we are still at war with Iran?

1:48 -Uh, you know, I don't know what the definition of war is.

1:53 -Oh.

1:53 Well, you're in luck, my man.

1:55 I got it right here.

1:57 Um...

1:57 Clears throat] Uh, it's a small benign growth on the skin or mucous membrane.

2:03 My— Wait, my bed.

2:04 That's wart.

2:05 That's wart.

2:05 Man, being one letter off really does make a difference.

2:09 Here we go.

2:11 It's a state of armed conflict

2:12 between nations characterized by military operations.

2:15 See, I don't need you, Alexa.

2:17 -He does one thing for himself and now he wants a parade.

2:22 -See, Dr.

2:22 Henderson?

2:23 This is the sort of hurtful language I've been talking about.

2:25 -Oh, grow the [bleep] up.

2:26 I already have three kids.

2:28 I don't need a fourth.

2:30 -So Republicans are desperate to avoid calling the war with Iran a war.

2:33 And as much as I'd love to prove them wrong,

2:35 there is just no evidence that we are, in fact, in a war.

2:39 -We're in a war.

2:40 -Damn it!

2:42 Come on, you guys, you gotta tell me in rehearsal if I'm sarcastically

2:46 setting up a clip that's going to prove the opposite of what I'm saying.

2:49 What's that?

2:50 There is no rehearsal.

2:51 Then what have I been going to?

2:53 "Schmigadoon!"?

2:55 Alright.

2:56 So I guess that means I won't have a song today.

2:59 So Donald Trump called it a war one time.

3:02 One time.

3:02 It's a slip of the tongue, you monsters.

3:05 Have you never said the wrong word one time?

3:10 One time by— Oh, there's a whole clip package.

3:12 Well, just show it.

3:14 -The stock market just now hit a new high during the war.

3:19 -During a war, we have the highest stock market.

3:22 During a, you know, a war.

3:24 During a war, we have the highest stock market.

3:26 We have unlimited middle and upper ammunition,

3:30 which is really what we're using in this war.

3:32 We may have casualties.

3:34 That often happens in war.

3:36 It's a war.

3:37 The war with Iran.

3:40 We have a war right now.

3:41 We've totally won the war.

3:42 I will say the war in Iran is going along swimmingly.

3:46 -Now, for the first time,

3:47 I think it might not be a war because wars don't go swimmingly.

3:50 That's not how you describe a war.

3:52 That's how you describe a garden party in the Cotswolds.

3:55 You know, you just can't picture General George S.

3:57 Patton saying, "Better put on your Speedos, boys,

4:00 because this war is going swimmingly." But at some point,

4:05 someone must have whispered in Trump's ear to stop calling the war

4:08 he started without approval from Congress a war because that would be illegal.

4:12 So he started using some other dumber euphemisms.

4:15 -I saw what was happening in Iran, and I said, I hate to make this excursion.

4:20 I had to take an excursion.

4:22 This was an excursion.

4:23 We took a little bit of a journey, a little bit of an excursion.

4:27 I said, Susie, do you mind if I take a little excursion here?

4:30 I didn't want to make that little journey to Iran.

4:33 It was a journey.

4:35 We have to make a journey down to Iran.

4:37 We have to take a little journey down to a beautiful country known as Iran.

4:42 We had to do a little journey down to Iran.

4:45 We did an excursion.

4:46 Do you know what an excursion is?

4:48 We had to take a little trip.

4:49 -We all know what an excursion is.

4:53 Stop being dumb as [bleep] and also acting like you're a professor.

4:56 Your Vocabulary is only complicated to you.

4:59 It's not like you're up there using obscure language.

5:03 As Trump] We're gonna break through the Strait of Hormuz like a bodkin.

5:05 A bodkin, for those who don't know,

5:07 it's a sharp, slender instrument for making holes in cloth.

5:11 So now we've all learned a new word thanks to me.

5:15 Normal vice] Also, can we go back to this?

5:17 -We had to do a little journey down to Iran.

5:20 -Oh, you went down to Iran.

5:23 Were they happy to see y'all?

5:27 Does he think Iran is south of the U.S.?

5:29 I just don't think of it as south because,

5:30 you know, it's literally called the Middle East.

5:33 So Trump called it a war, but then he stopped calling it a war when

5:36 someone told him if it's a war, it's illegal.

5:38 But sometimes he gets tripped up by his own bull[bleep].

5:40 Here are three moments only minutes apart.

5:43 -I don't call it a war.

5:44 Despite the fact that we are in what some people would call a war.

5:48 The gas will go down as soon as the war is over.

5:50 It'll drop like a rock.

5:52 -Is it possible your brain dropped like a rock while you were talking?

5:56 Like it shook loose from the brain stem and then just fell down

5:58 your neck and into your belly like a stone falling into a well.

6:01 Actually, you know what?

6:02 If you listen back, I think you can actually hear that happening.

6:05 -I don't call it a war.

6:05 Brain rattling] Despite the fact that we are

6:07 in what some people would call a war.

6:09 The gas will go down as soon as the war is over, it will drop like a rock.

6:13 Brain splashes] -And then a few days ago, Trump just gave the whole game away.

6:17 If it's a war, it's illegal because he didn't get permission from Congress.

6:20 So he just doesn't call it a war.

6:23 -You know, they don't like the word war,

6:25 and they call it a military operation, because that way you don't have a war.

6:30 You don't have legal problems.

6:32 -You don't not break the law if you use different words for the illegal act.

6:37 "You can put the cuffs away, Officer.

6:39 My grandma wasn't murdered.

6:41 She's just sleeping in a backyard dirt hole." In fact,

6:45 we've now passed 60 days since the start of the war,

6:48 and that's the deadline by which Trump

6:50 is required to ask Congress for permission,

6:52 which is why he's not calling it a war.

6:54 But if it's not a war, then how do you explain this?

6:58 -We begin with the U.S.

6:59 and Iran exchanging fire in the Strait of Hormuz.

7:01 -U.S.

7:02 Central Command says that Tehran launched multiple cruise missiles,

7:04 drones and small boats.

7:06 The U.S.

7:07 says it's blown up at least six of those Iranian small boats.

7:10 -Well, this sounds like the worst [bleep]

7:12 journey I've ever been on, and that includes

7:14 last week when I was on a Spirit Airlines flight while spirit shut down.

7:19 The pilot got on the PA, said, "Peace out, bitches," and grabbed a parachute.

7:25 So if we're firing shots at each other but it's not a war, then what is it?

7:31 -Our country is booming now,

7:32 despite the fact that we're in a— I call it a mini war.

7:35 -Aww.

7:38 Aww, that's fun.

7:40 It's a little mini war.

7:42 It can't be illegal if it's just a little ol' thing.

7:45 As Trump] I call it World War 0.003.

7:48 It's just a little— my beautiful little war.

7:52 Now, of course, there's no such thing as a mini war,

7:54 so now they're trying a new thing.

7:56 The war can't be illegal because the war has a new name.

7:59 -Yesterday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio

8:01 declared an end to Operation Epic fury, saying that the U.S.

8:04 has achieved its objectives.

8:06 -President Trump says the U.S.

8:07 will begin escorting neutral ships through the Strait

8:10 of Hormuz as soon as this morning.

8:12 President calling the plan Project Freedom.

8:14 -That's right, they're going from Operation Epic Fury to Project Freedom.

8:17 They're just renaming it.

8:18 They're treating the war like it's HBO.

8:20 They went from HBO to HBO Go, to HBO Now to HBO Max, to Max, back HBO Max.

8:25 Although if you ask me, a much simpler name would just be the one that has

8:29 "Game of Thrones." But before you get used to Project Freedom,

8:33 just FYI, Trump is already paused it.

8:36 So bad news for your MAGA loving aunt who always buys the merch on day one,

8:40 and good news for your woke nephew who loves giving her [bleep].

8:43 "Oh, cool shirt, Aunt Jean.

8:45 Shame that's already not a thing." "[Bleep] you!

8:47 You're not my blood!" So they've gone from claiming there is no war

8:51 to it is a war to it's a mini war to the war is over,

8:55 but now there's a new wrinkle.

8:56 The war might start again if Iran doesn't agree to a deal.

9:00 -President Trump posted just moments ago, seeming to reference a potential deal.

9:06 This is what he wrote, "Assuming that Iran agrees to give what has

9:10 been agreed to, which is perhaps a big assumption,

9:14 the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end,

9:17 and the highly effective blockade will allow the Hormuz

9:21 Strait to be open to all, including Iran.

9:23 If they don't agree, the bombing starts and it will be, sadly,

9:27 at a much higher level and intensity than it was before." -"Assuming Iran agrees

9:32 to what has been agreed to, which is perhaps a big assumption." I mean,

9:37 personally, I think the bigger assumption is assuming you know how

9:40 your sentences are going to end when you start writing them.

9:44 Do you think Iran knows what the [bleep] you're talking about?

9:46 How can you expect to get an outcome when no one knows what outcome you want?

9:50 You're like a mugger who says, "Give me all your money,

9:51 but keep your wallet because I already have a wallet which is full of money,

9:54 so I don't need yours.

9:55 But I'm still gonna stick you with my bodkin."[ As Trump]

9:58 A bodkin can also be a thin blade that's easily concealed.

10:00 So we're learning a lot of new words today.

10:04 Normal voice] Trump can't hold one position for even a day.

10:06 Just take this comment a few days ago when

10:08 he addressed reporters on a possible deal with Iran.

10:11 -They told me about the concept of the deal.

10:13 They're going to give me the exact wording.

10:19 -Well, I wouldn't have to.

10:20 I didn't say that.

10:21 -And now let me take you on a little journey,

10:24 or perhaps an excursion to one day earlier when

10:28 he said the exact same thing he denied saying.

10:30 -I'm so busy with the Iranians calling, trying to make a good deal,

10:35 and we're not going to let that happen.

10:36 But got to make it bad.

10:38 They've got to make a bad deal.

10:39 But if they make a deal at all, because, frankly,

10:41 maybe we're better off not making a deal at all.

10:43 Do you want to know the truth?

10:44 Because we can't let this thing go on.

10:46 -When you say we can't let this thing go

10:48 on, do you mean your answer to any question concerning Iran?

10:52 What do you mean you're so busy with Iranians calling you to make a deal?

10:55 Are these real Iranians, or is it possible you're just getting prank calls?

10:59 As Trump] The Iranians are calling me all day.

11:01 They want to make a deal, but they'll only make it with one man,

11:04 our special representative for the Middle East and they keep asking for him.

11:07 They say his name is Seymour Wiener.

11:10 So I say hold on and then I shout, We need Seymour Wiener!

11:14 Seymour Wiener.

11:15 I need Seymour Wiener." But they never there.

11:17 He's never there.

11:18 We can't find him, and then I hear laughing on the other end of the phone.

11:21 And then I hear them say, "You're on Morning Zoo with Jimmy and the Shark.

11:25 Say hello, Cleveland." And I say, "Hello, Cleveland,

11:27 you have to help me find the Seymour Wiener's guy."[

11:31 Normal voice] We're more than two months into the war.

11:32 Trump still trying to [bleep] his way out of it.

11:34 He created this mess, he can't escape.

11:36 It's a departure from his campaign promises.

11:38 And that's why there's been an evolution from war to excursion to...

11:42 -Journey.

11:43 This has been "A Closer Look."[ Cheers and applause]