'It's a big deal!' CNN reporter taken aback as Trump makes life harder for his officials

CNN's Kristen Holmes was floored on Monday after President Donald Trump's latest move to make life harder for his administration officials.

Holmes reported during CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront" that Trump administration officials have been conducting a "flurry" of back-door diplomacy over the last week to prepare for an upcoming meeting in Pakistan to end the war in Iran. However, Trump has made several public statements, both on social media and during press conferences, that have made negotiations much tougher for those officials, Holmes said.

Holmes was floored when she described a conversation with the president in which he claimed not to know who from the Iranian delegation was attending the meeting.

"President Trump was asked about it. He said at one point that he didn't know that they were going to be there. 'Maybe they'd be there.' 'It's not a big deal if they aren't there.'"

"Of course, it's a big deal!" Holmes emphatically declared. "They are trying to get a deal done. This administration is looking for an off-ramp, and they are hoping that these talks will lead to that."

Last week, Vice President JD Vance traveled to Pakistan to negotiate an end to the war but returned empty-handed. Trump said during a rally in Las Vegas last Thursday that he was considering traveling to the country himself to participate in the negotiations.