As this week got underway, and Donald Trump started making a series of claims about a purported agreement with Iran, among the initial problems was the unsettling fact that U.S. officials and Iranian officials issued contradictory statements on key aspects of the framework.
But in the hours that followed, as Monday unfolded, a related and parallel problem emerged: Not only were Trump administration officials contradicting Iran, they were also contradicting Trump.
Senior U.S. officials told reporters on a background call, for example, that the still-hidden text of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding (MOU) would be made public in the next 24 to 48 hours, in the interest of “full transparency.” Shortly after, the American president, speaking to reporters during the G-7 summit in France, was asked when the public could expect to see to MOU.
“I would say sometime after Friday,” the Republican replied.
The White House has not yet explained in any meaningful way why the finished document is being kept from the public, but just as notably, U.S. officials also failed to explain why Trump and his own team offered entirely different timelines for disclosure.
If this were the only contradiction, it’d be easy to overlook, but as the day progressed, a broader pattern emerged.