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The unrelenting flow of statements about the state of the war with Iran, with positions and plans changing from hour to hour depending on who is speaking, has the White House “flailing” to come up with a coherent message for a deeply skeptical US populace, according to analysts.

On Wednesday morning, Donald Trump was on Truth Social claiming the end of war is at hand, which Iran immediately disputed, less than 24 hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the war is already over.

President Donald Trump suggested a possible deal might be on the table to end the war in Iran.

The 79-year-old president sent out a Truth Social post Wednesday morning following a flurry of developments this week, such as the start and quick end to Project Freedom, an effort to ensure safe passage for commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, and reports that the White House believes it's close to an agreement with Iran.

Former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul admitted he was startled that Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared the war with Iran over at a time when hostilities continued and no agreement is in place in particular with regard to future nuclear capabilities.

Speaking with the hosts of “Morning Joe,” McFaul noted Rubio’s remark that “The Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of that operation. I'm not going to, you know - we're not cheering for an additional situation to occur. We would prefer the path of peace. What the president would prefer is a deal.”

An offhand comment about the war in Iran by Vice President JD Vance during a speech in Iowa on Tuesday set off a chorus of harsh criticism on MS NOW on Wednesday morning.

The vice president spoke at a manufacturing facility during a rally to boost the candidacy of Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA) to fill the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Joni Ernst (R) and, while downplaying the economic devastation being visited on US consumers by the war, he awkwardly admitted, "We also know that a lot of our farmers are struggling with high fertilizer prices. I'm aware of that. As the president of the United States has said, we got a little blip in the Middle East. We gotta take care of some business on the foreign policy side."

President Donald Trump's legacy hinges on an issue he has no interest in addressing, according to one of his biographers.

Journalist Michael Wolff argued during a new episode of the "Inside Trump's Head" podcast, co-hosted by Nico Hines, the Daily Beast’s global editorial director, that Trump's war in Iran is shaping up to end a lot like the oil crisis that plagued former President Jimmy Carter long after he left office. Wolff noted that Americans have become increasingly sensitive to rising gas prices resulting from the war, similar to the crisis Carter faced when the former Iranian regime fell, he added.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio showed an impressive command of the issues when going to bat for the Trump administration at his press conference on Tuesday, former George W. Bush strategist Mark McKinnon told MS NOW's Katy Tur on Tuesday, but it won't be enough to salvage the administration's credibility.

During the speech, Rubio — who in recent months has been eyed more intensely for another presidential run — did his best to justify the president's decisions in the Iran war, and insist that the United States was on track for a strategic victory.

A man who formerly worked for the U.S. government found himself in a shouting match with Russian "Merchant of Death" arms dealer Viktor Bout on Tuesday.

During a segment on The Alex Jones Show, a caller from Kansas named Lee spoke to Bout about Russia's war in Ukraine.

President Donald Trump struggled to demonstrate his athletic prowess to a group of children at the White House, failing on several attempts to putt a golf ball.

After arriving on the White House lawn to "Eye of the Tiger" on Tuesday, Trump walked over to a group of kids who were on hand to promote the Presidential Fitness Test. The president observed the kids playing golf for several minutes before grabbing a club.

During a relatively subdued Pentagon briefing on the Iran War on Tuesday morning, both Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine were caught by surprise by a question about “kamikaze dolphins” being deployed in the Strait of Hormuz.

During the question and answer segment following the opening statements, a reporter identifying herself as Mary Margaret Olohan from the far-right Daily Wire addressed her question to both of the Pentagon officials.