'WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?': Trump admin unable to explain attack on Iran - The Briefing w/Jen Psaki - MS NOW

[Rhiannon12866]

Jen Psaki shares a dizzying collection of contradictions and nonsense from the Trump administration and its allies trying to explain the reason for attacking Iran, the goals of doing so, or even whether it's ok to call it a war. - Aired on 03/04/2026.

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1. MaddowBlog-Republicans can't even agree on whether the war in Iran is an actual 'war'

When the question is �Is the United States currently at war?� and the answer is �It depends on whom you ask,� there�s a problem.

When the question is, “Is the United States currently at war?” and the answer is, “It depends on whom you ask,” there’s a problem.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-03-03T19:28:30.429Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/republicans-cant-even-agree-on-whether-the-war-in-iran-is-an-actual-war

The list of questions surrounding Donald Trump�s military offensive in Iran is not short. At this point, neither the president nor anyone on his team has explained in a coherent way why the administration launched this offensive, what its objectives are, what the plan is to achieve those goals, whether the war is legal, how much it�s expected to cost or how long it�s expected to last.

But hanging overhead is a different kind of question: Is the United States currently at war?.....

On Monday morning, however, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested more than once during a briefing that the U.S. is currently engaged in a war. (But then, he would say that, having taken the trouble to rebrand his whole department as the �Department of War.�) A few hours later, however, Mullin appeared on CNN and insisted, �This isn�t a war.�

A day later, NOTUS reported, �In the talking-points memo that the White House reportedly sent to Hill Republicans, the suggested boilerplate response to the straightforward question, �Is the U.S. at war with Iran?� notably does not answer the question.�

White House talking points for congressional Republicans say we're not at war, we're just in "major combat operations against Iran" lol

— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein.bsky.social) 2026-03-02T23:57:38.969Z

When the question is �Is the United States currently at war?� and the answer is �It depends on whom you ask,� there�s a problem.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. Here is a pdf of the white house talking points