WATCH: Trump Tells Jake Tapper to Stick to Lindsey Graham After Iran Question
President Trump called into CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday for what was supposed to be a discussion about the sudden death of Senator Lindsey Graham.
But the interview quickly took a turn.
Jake Tapper brought up Graham’s support for recent U.S. strikes against Iran, then moved straight into questions about whether America was back at war and who controlled the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump was not interested in letting the segment get dragged away from Graham.
According to the report, Graham died Saturday night from heart complications. His death came after the U.S. military carried out another round of strikes against Iran following an Iranian attack on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. Central Command said the strikes continued Sunday night, targeting dozens of Iranian sites “to degrade Iran’s ability to continue attacking international shipping flowing through the Strait of Hormuz,” according to the source article.
Tapper asked Trump about the escalating situation, saying Graham had been “very supportive” of the strikes. He then asked, “Are we back at war? And who controls the Strait of Hormuz?”
Trump answered, “Well, I don’t want to — out of respect for Lindsey, I’m not talking about that. We hit them very hard last night. So I don’t want to talk about it, but I will say, we hit him very hard last night. We had a deal with them yesterday. They were giving up everything. And then, all of a sudden, two hours after that, they hit a ship with a drone. And I said, these people, there’s something wrong with them. But I’m talking about a man who had nothing wrong with him. And that’s Lindsey Graham.”
Tapper pressed again, asking about Iran’s claim that the Strait of Hormuz had been closed.
Trump shut that down too.
“It’s open as far as we’re concerned. Don’t talk about it. Talk about the reason that you asked me to speak,” Trump said.
Tapper then moved back to Graham and asked if Trump had any final words for Americans about the senator.
Trump pointed to Graham’s defense of Brett Kavanaugh during the bruising Supreme Court confirmation fight as one of the senator’s defining moments.
“No. I think his finest moment was his defense of Brett Kavanaugh, who is a terrific guy and was treated very, very unfairly by the Democrats, very unfairly. I have never seen anything like it, maybe the worst I have ever seen anyone treated. That includes me. Well, maybe not me. But it includes just about everybody. He was treated so unfairly. And Lindsey, as you remember, had that moment. And I will tell you, Jake, I think it was a top 10, maybe a top five moment in the history of the Senate. It was an incredible display. And he did it from the heart. He felt strongly about Brett, and he did it from the heart. And it turned that whole thing around. He was really amazing. That was a — that was one they should replay,” Trump said.
Tapper closed by saying he wanted Trump back on the program for a broader interview.
“Well, I know you don’t want to talk about any other issues out of respect for Lindsey Graham, but we would love to have you back sometime, because I do have a lot of other questions for you, sir,” Tapper said.
Trump replied, “Sure. we’ll do that. We’ll do that.”
Then he added a shot at CNN.
“We’re trying to have CNN go on a normal path, and we will do that,” Trump said.
Tapper responded, “Well, I’m on a normal path right here, sir, and I appreciate your time.”
The exchange was brief, but it showed the tension clearly. Trump wanted the focus on Graham. Tapper wanted to use the moment to press on Iran. Trump gave a short answer on the Strait, made it clear the U.S. viewed it as open, and then forced the conversation back to the reason he said he joined the show in the first place.