Karoline Leavitt, the youngest press secretary in American history, has reportedly been left in the dark as President Donald Trump fields a growing stream of one-on-one calls with journalists — offering contradictory accounts of the United States' ongoing war in Iran without consulting his own communications team. According to White House officials, Trump has even taunted Leavitt directly, telling her he has leaked information to a reporter and that she will have to 'wait and see' along with everyone else.
The situation has placed the 28-year-old in an increasingly untenable position: publicly defending a president whose private messaging to the press has repeatedly contradicted what the White House has officially said.
A Cascade of Conflicting Claims
Trump told CNN the US was 'ahead of schedule' in its four-week bombardment of Iran. Two days later, he told Time magazine there was 'no time limit.' He then told Axios there was 'practically nothing left to target in Iran,' then threatened to wipe out a 'whole civilisation' if Iran refused to adhere to his demands. The latter declaration is posted on Truth Social without coordination with advisers.
The New York Times, after a brief phone interview with Trump, said he offered 'several seemingly contradictory visions' about a transition of power in Iran. When Trump spoke with an Axios reporter, he suggested the military campaign might not take long: 'I can go long and take over the whole thing, or end it in two or three days.' Then, on Sunday, he told the Daily Mail that 'it's always been a four-week process.'
As of mid-April, journalists had counted nine different phone interviews in which Trump gave reporters nine different answers about when the war might end — including 'two or three days,' 'four or five weeks,' and a 'six-week period.'
Aides Warned Him — He Listened, Then Stopped
Trump's frequent phone interviews with the press were not coordinated with his press team, who told him he should curtail his media appearances because of the contradictory messages he was putting out. He listened to them for a short time, then went back to speaking with multiple media outlets every day.
Between 1 and 17 April, Trump participated in five press gaggles — half the number he participated in during the same period in March, according to an analysis by The Washington Times. A White House source told the outlet the shift to one-on-one phone calls was driven partly by convenience, but also by the sensitivity of ongoing Iran negotiations.
His senior advisers pushed him to give a formal address, but Trump was reportedly sceptical. 'What would he say? He couldn't declare victory. He didn't know where it was going,' the Journal reported. In the end, he gave a talk on 1 April, but it did not clarify how the war would end or do much to increase public support.
Karoline Leavitt: “President Trump’s Truth Social post depicting him as Jesus was a doctored image.”
— ThePatrioticBlonde™🇺🇸 (@ImBreckWorsham) April 14, 2026
HE JUST FUCKING ADMITTED HE POSTED IT!!!!
Leavitt Stands Firm Despite the Chaos
Despite the disarray, Leavitt has remained publicly loyal. She told the Journal that Trump remains 'a steady leader our country needs,' adding that he 'campaigned proudly on his promise to deny the Iranian regime the ability to develop a nuclear weapon.'
The New York Times reported that before the war began, Leavitt attended a Situation Room meeting alongside White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, where Trump asked his closest advisers for their views. Cheung reportedly warned the president that a war would spark a public relations crisis. Leavitt, according to the report, told Trump it was his decision and that the press team would manage it as best they could.
That promise has been tested daily since. Trump's threat that 'a whole civilisation will die tonight' was issued without coordination with advisers, in what was described as another attempt to pressure Iran into agreeing to a deal.
When Trump told CBS News White House reporter Weijia Jiang that the Iran war was 'very complete, pretty much,' his remarks rocketed around social media, arresting sliding stocks and taming spiking oil prices. Trump publicly reversed himself less than two hours later.
The White House has not issued a formal clarification of Trump's various statements on the Iran war timeline. Leavitt has not publicly commented on the contradictions documented by named outlets. The US-Iran ceasefire is due to expire on 21 April 2026.
