President Trump hasn’t delivered a major address to the public to build support for his war against Iran.
But he’s on a grand media tour, dialing up print and television outlets at a rapid clip to boast about the pace of the operation and float ideas about what comes next in Tehran.
Mr. Trump is a media-hungry president, even if he loves to beat up mainstream reporters in public comments. Still, the volume of recent interviews is remarkable and amounts to a sales pitch for a war that began over the weekend and has low public support in polling.
Mr. Trump told The Atlantic he was open to speaking with remaining Iranian leaders, though he did not say when that would occur, and told CNBC that military options were “ahead of schedule.”
The president boasted of progress Monday with CNN’s Jake Tapper, though said the “big wave” is yet to come.
Mr. Trump discussed the possible length of the war with The Daily Mail, saying it might last around four weeks. He also floated possible candidates to lead Iran with CBS and explained his rationale for the war with NBC.
“They weren’t willing to stop their nuclear research,” Mr. Trump told NBC. “They weren’t willing to say they will not have a nuclear weapon. Very simple.”
Mr. Trump ordered joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran early Saturday.
Tehran retaliated after the strikes killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top officials, raising fears of a widening and prolonged conflict.
New polling shows relatively low public support for the war, with majorities opposing the strikes in polls conducted by CNN and The Washington Post.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll found 27% approved of the strikes, while 43% disapproved, and the rest were unsure.
The polls show partisan dividing lines. Republicans largely support the strikes and Democrats oppose them, so Mr. Trump mainly needs to convince independents.
The president kept a low public profile over the weekend but updated the American public with two lengthy social media videos. He also addressed his objectives for the war in remarks at the start of an unrelated White House ceremony on Monday.
At times, Mr. Trump’s flurry of media interviews has offered mixed messages on the ultimate goal of the strikes.
Mr. Trump told NBC he wanted to get rid of Iran’s “whole group of killers and thugs,” though he also told Fox News’ Bret Baier he wanted to deploy the Venezuelan model, in which he left top lieutenants in place after capturing President Nicolas Maduro on drug-related charges.
In notable comments to ABC’s Jonathan Karl, he said top choices to succeed Khamenei were killed in the initial strikes, too. He also alluded to an alleged 2024 assassination plot against him.
“I got him before he got me. They tried twice. Well, I got him first,” Mr. Trump said.
The White House said the media blitz underscored Mr. Trump’s commitment to being the “most transparent and accessible President in American history.”
“The American people have never had a more direct and authentic relationship with a president of the United States than they have with President Trump,” White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said Tuesday.
Mr. Trump’s main partner in the operation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is also making the rounds. He addressed the operation late Monday with Fox News host Sean Hannity, one of Mr. Trump’s favorite news personalities.
Mr. Netanyahu said the operation would be a “quick and decisive action.”
“We’re going to create the conditions, first, for the Iranian people to get control of their destiny, to form their own democratically elected government, which will make Iran a different Iran altogether,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “I think if we go through what we plan to do, it will create conditions for peace.”
