Trump 'making up the plan' on Iran as he goes along: WH official

President Donald J. Trump oversees Operation Epic Fury at Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, FL, Feb. 28, 2026. White House photo by Daniel Torok

Over the course of the war on Iran, President Donald Trump’s mixed messaging has confused not only citizens, journalists and world leaders, but according to new reporting from Axios, his advisors are often “just as uncertain” about his intentions as everyone else.

Trump is well known for his unprepared media statements and dramatic proclamations via Truth Social, which can often contradict one another.

For example, on Tuesday he suggested that the U.S. would break off conflict with Iran without reopening the Strait of Hormuz, telling allies to “get your own oil.” At the same time, he asserted that Hormuz would open “automatically” after the U.S. departure. The following day, however, he claimed to have received a ceasefire request from “Iran’s New Regime President," but that no ceasefire would be considered until the Hormuz Strait is “open, free, and clear.”

There is no shortage of back and forth on the president’s position, even within a few short social media posts spanning a matter of hours. Depending on which Trump official you listen to, his chaotic messaging is either improvisation — a way to “keep his options open, spitball with different audiences, then capitalize if he thinks he sees an opportunity” — or all by design. Whatever the case, “his own team” is often just as confounded by his signals as everyone else.

According to Axios, Trump’s advisors themselves often waver on whether they think the president is considering major escalation or fast resolution, with one senior official saying, “Nobody knows in the end what he's really thinking.”

“They had a plan for the first week and since then, they are making the plan up as they go along," said another.

But some Trump allies assert that the confusion is intentional. "That's the plan — for you to not have a clue," said Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has made similar claims, asserting, “The point is to be unpredictable ... certainly not let anybody know what you're willing to do or not do."

And as one official claimed, “This isn't 3D chess — it's 12-dimensional. He contradicts himself regularly, so nobody knows what he's thinking. It's on purpose."

But as Axios notes, the stakes are much higher than those during a game of chess, as “Trump's off-the-cuff musings and Truth Social postings can have life-or-death consequences for the war, and massive implications for the market.”

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