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President Donald Trump's call for reinforcements to open the Strait of Hormuz just created the "worst of all possible worlds," according to one analyst.

On Monday, Trump made several contradictory statements about whether the U.S. needs other countries to help it open the Strait of Hormuz, which accounts of 20% of all global energy trade. The Iranian regime has effectively closed the Strait to the U.S. and Israeli ships in retaliation for the two countries' conducting a coordinated bombing campaign in Iran that began in late February.

MS NOW's Rachel Maddow was beside herself on Monday as she discussed the Trump administration's latest "show-stopping scandal."

Earlier in the day, Mother Jones reported that the Trump administration is working to free Alexander Smirnov, a Russian spy who was indicted for passing false information about former President Joe Biden to the FBI. A recent court filing revealed that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is working on the effort to get Smirnov out of prison, which stunned Maddow.

A former White House ethics lawyer yelled on MS NOW while discussing President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as he entered what the lawyer described as the "World Series of corruption."

Over the weekend, The New York Times reported that Kushner has been soliciting funds for his investment firm while conducting diplomatic business on behalf of the U.S. government. Kushner is seeking to raise $5 billion from countries in the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, according to the report. This is happening at a time when Kushner is working with representatives for these countries on international issues, like releasing the hostages in Gaza and negotiating a settlement for the war in Iran.

Political analysts and observers were stunned on Monday after President Donald Trump casually dropped a threat to start a new war during a press conference in the Oval Office.

During an exchange with Peter Doocy of Fox News, Trump said he will take Cuba "in some form" at some point during his presidency.

A CNN political insider floated a new theory on Monday about the "former president" that President Donald Trump claims he spoke to about his decision to strike Iran.

Trump claimed during a press conference in the Oval Office that he had spoken with a "former president" who said he "wished" he had made the same decision to bomb Iran as the Trump administration. When pressed by reporters about the claim, Trump did not reveal who he was referring to. Former President Bill Clinton's team told CNN Senior Reporter Daniel Dale that Trump has not spoken with Clinton about Iran. Trump also denied speaking with presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

President Donald Trump raised eyebrows on Monday after he admitted to saying a "horrible thing" about California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Last week, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that Newsom showed he is a "cognitive mess" during a recent interview. "While we all want to be politically correct, having a mental disorder is not a positive campaign event," Trump wrote in the post, adding that Newsom had disqualified himself from running for President during the interview.

President Donald Trump got more than he bargained for during an exchange with a Fox News reporter in the Oval Office on Monday.

Trump and multiple administration officials gathered in the Oval Office to commemorate his formalization of a new federal anti-fraud task force, which he announced during his State of the Union address in February. During a question-and-answer segment, Trump was asked by Fox News' Peter Doocy whether the U.S. can wrap up the war in Iran this week.

President Donald Trump raged at "independent" Supreme Court judges on Monday during a bill signing ceremony in the Oval Office.

Trump and several administration officials held a ceremony in the Oval Office commemorating the signing of an executive order to establish a federal anti-fraud task force. During the question and answer portion, Trump was asked about the prospects of Congress approving the SAVE Act, which Trump said was "imperative" for lawmakers to pass. Trump seemed noncommittal about the bill passing, but he quickly digressed into a diatribe about the Supreme Court.

President Donald Trump appears to be having a hard time getting his story straight about whether the U.S. needs international help reopening the Strait of Hormuz, according to one CNN host.

During a press conference on Monday, Trump made several contradictory claims about the Strait of Hormuz, which is the key shipping corridor that Iran has effectively shut off to U.S. and Israeli vessels following the coordinated bombing campaign by both countries.

President Donald Trump on Monday asked his new federal fraud task force to investigate a Democratic lawmaker.

Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump told Vice President JD Vance and Andrew Ferguson, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, to ensure the new fraud task force they are leading will investigate Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN). Republicans have routinely accused Omar of marrying her brother as a way of skirting U.S. immigration law. Omar has denied the accusation, and Snopes has said the rumor "lacks evidence."

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes announced he was "no longer MAGA," even though he was headed to Mar-a-Lago on Friday to ask President Donald Trump for a pardon.

While guest-hosting for conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on Monday, Rhodes revealed that he had broken with Trump over the war in Iran.

Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) confronted Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) after crashing his press conference on funding the Transportation Security Administration amid the ongoing partial government shutdown.

Before Cornyn could begin his press conference at the airport in Austin, Casar began speaking to members of the media. The incident was caught on video by Texas Tribune correspondent Kayla Guo.