Trump officials decline Sunday show invitations amid Iran strikes
By Brian Stelter, Kit Maher, CNN
(CNN) — No senior Trump administration officials or cabinet members appeared on the Sunday show television circuit a day after the US and Israel began a major military operation in Iran, killing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The absence of any Trump officials was noteworthy because many administration officials recognize the steep task they have in explaining the reasoning behind and the overall objective of the Iranian attacks to the American public.
The major TV networks requested representatives from the Trump administration for interviews. Such requests are standard practice but are considered especially important right now.
The White House’s communications operation indicated that it would let allies on Capitol Hill do the talking, three people familiar with the discussions said.
And many Republican Senators did just that, defending the President’s actions on CNN and other networks.
“Cabinet members were with the President and in the Situation Room during the mission throughout the weekend. Multiple Congressional members and allies went out on Sunday shows and cable news networks,” White House communications director Steven Cheung told CNN. “We held a messaging call with them on Saturday to go over details and topics.”
Sens. Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, Dave McCormick, James Lankford, Rick Scott and Tom Cotton all appeared on Sunday morning news shows.
Graham told NBC’s “Meet the Press,” “The goal of this operation is to change the threat, not the regime.” McCormick told “Fox News Sunday” that the Trump administration’s actions in Iran are “totally justified,” citing intelligence that Iran was continuing to work on its nuclear program and calling it “an imminent threat to Americans around the region and around the world.”
The White House’s Rapid Response social media account has been reposting clips from many of the lawmakers.
They also clipped comments from Democrats, including from Sen. John Fetterman, who argued Trump’s actions didn’t violate the War Powers resolution and Sen. Mark Warner, who told CNN’s Dana Bash that Khamenei’s death is “good for the region, good for the world.”
However, they left out that Warner said Trump “started a war of choice” and he should make the case to Congress and the American people.
Later in the day, Trump told the Daily Mail in a phone call that he is “getting ready” to address the public about the conflict, but gave no specifics about when he will do so.
CBS “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan alluded to the administration’s absence from the airwaves when she concluded her interview with Cotton by saying, “We have more questions, and we would love to put them to the administration as well.”
As the operation continues, Trump remains with his national security team in Palm Beach, Florida, where he is staying at his private club, Mar-a-Lago, for the weekend. Photos released on Saturday showed Trump alongside chief of staff Susie Wiles, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino.
Other than a video address posted to Truth Social early Saturday morning, Trump has yet to be seen publicly since the combat operations began.
But he has been picking up the phone. Trump has exuded confidence about the military campaign in brief phone interviews with reporters from Axios, ABC, NBC, CBS, The Atlantic, Fox News and other outlets.
Reporters, in some cases, have been calling the president on his cell phone, hoping to land an interview without coordinating with the White House press office.
While top officials have yet to appear in TV interviews, senior administration officials held a background call with reporters on Saturday.
And Trump’s United Nations ambassador, Mike Waltz, appeared at the UN Security Council, presenting justification for the administration’s military action, emphasizing how Iranians have celebrated the killing of Khamenei.
After the US struck Venezuela and captured Nicolás Maduro, Trump held a press conference alongside Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Rubio also appeared on three Sunday shows the next day.
Sunday morning on “Face the Nation,” when Cotton praised Trump’s social media video announcing the attack, Brennan followed up and asked, “Do you believe that the American public is owed something more than a Twitter video?”
“I think an eight-minute address to the American people, whether the president posted on social media or whether it happens on your network, is in keeping with presidential custom of addressing the American people,” Cotton said. “Again, I’m sure that he’s going to be speaking more in coming days.”
CNN’s Alayna Treene contributed reporting.
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This story has been updated with additional content.
