Trump official posts false claim about the US Navy — and then deletes it

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, who has worked for President Donald Trump since the start of the latter’s second term, posted and then deleted a statement claiming the Iran war has escalated to the point where the US escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz.

“The Navy has yet to escort an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. official tells me AFTER Trump’s energy secretary posted, then deleted, that naval assets had escorted an oil tanker through the contested waterway,” reported CNN’s Zachary Cohen.

He added that Wright later posted on X that “the U.S. Navy successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz to ensure oil remains flowing to global markets.” He did not include additional details, and that post “was deleted a few minutes later.”

Wright’s oil tanker post reflects a larger environment of volatility regarding gas prices. On Tuesday oil prices wildly fluctuated due to conflicting reports from the Strait of Hormuz, which is vital to global distribution of petroleum. Through the course of a single day U.S. crude oil has fallen more than 16% to below $77 per barrel, then risen to being valued at roughly $85 per barrel. It was within this context that Wright posted and then deleted his comment claiming to have escorted an oil tanker. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later claimed, "The U.S. Navy has not escorted a tanker or a vessel at this time,” although she added that the offer remains available. Overall crude oil prices have risen by more than 15 percent since the start of the Iran war.

In addition to leaving Americans vulnerable to rising gas prices, the Iran war has also put Americans at risk in terms of national security.

"President Donald Trump began his second term with a promise to cut 'billions and billions of dollars' in government spending, empowering Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to eliminate programs and fire workers it deemed wasteful,” reported CNN’s Jeremy Herb, Annie Grayer, Jennifer Hansler, Sean Lyngaas and Gabe Cohen on Tuesday. “One year later, cuts to programs and personnel at federal agencies that had been declared unneeded mere months ago have hampered the U.S. government's abilities to prepare for domestic emergencies; monitor terror threats; guard against cyber-attacks; broadcast U.S. information into Iran; and quickly help U.S. citizens stranded abroad, current and former government officials told CNN."

Meanwhile Ian Birrell, a columnist at The i Paper, shamed Trump for declaring an unprovoked war when he himself avoided combat.

Trump is a "draft dodger" who does not comprehend "the terrible realities of war” and "failed to learn the most obvious lesson" of modern warfighting, claimed Birrell. He added that the Iran war has shown that "the world's most powerful nation has failed to spot that warfare has changed,” as the Iranian government has withstood the joint US-Israeli bombardment.