Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) pointed out on Wednesday that after he questioned National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, it appeared that the Trump administration still couldn't get its story straight on what prompted the Iran war.
The top Democrat and veteran spoke with CNN anchor Kasie Hunt after the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing with Gabbard and several other senior intelligence officials, who were asked about global threats as the Trump administration has continued to send mixed messages about the military operation in the Middle East and its objectives.
Lawmakers pressed the administration members to clarify whether the Trump administration knew the pending economic fallout, including rising gas prices or the Iranian regime's move to close the vital shipping route, the Strait of Hormuz. They also wanted clarification over claims that Iran posed an "imminent threat," something the Trump administration has cited in the last several weeks.
Hunt asked Kelly if the Trump administration had underestimated how Iranians would respond to the military strikes.
"They're flailing. This has been a train wreck," Kelly said. "They have not been able to tell the American people, you know, why we are in this fight. You know, what is the strategic goal? What is the plan? What's the timeline? How do you get out of it? And today we were trying to figure out what did the president know and when did he know it? And was he briefed on something pretty basic, which was the Strait of Hormuz, whether or not the Iranians would try to shut it down. And we've gotten different answers from the White House."
Kelly also pointed out how the word "imminent" means something is about to happen, yet the Trump administration had gone back and forth, saying Iran was expecting to strike the United States and its allies in "the near future," which is not what the word "imminent" actually means.
"And I even got to the point I was trying to make this very simple for the DNI, for Tulsi Gabbard," Kelly said. "Was there a request for a brief, or did you offer a brief on the Strait of Hormuz? I didn't even ask her if it was given or what was in it. She would not even answer that question."
He explained that getting to the truth hasn't been a problem with just Gabbard, but also with other Trump cabinet members and White House insiders.
"And this is what happens when you put a lot of yes people in an administration where their number one priority is to please the commander in chief," Kelly added. "And when you do that, this is why this is a lot different than Donald Trump's first term with a lot of very professional people around him. This is what you get. You get a lot of non-answers, you get a lot of just trying to get around some pretty basic things."