Trump is asleep at the wheel as his administration scrambles over his war in Iran

This is an adapted excerpt from the March 11 episode of “All In with Chris Hayes.”

When Donald Trump began his war with Iran almost two weeks ago, he echoed the old George W. Bush administration argument about U.S. forces being greeted as liberators. 

“To the great proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand,” the president said. “America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force. Now is the time to seize control of your destiny and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach.”

The president made that pledge in a prerecorded video from his golf home. He announced a war to the American people in a white trucker hat you can buy from his campaign website. 

Then, a few hours later, an American Tomahawk cruise missile struck a girls’ elementary school in Iran, killing 175 children and staff. An act, in my view, that gruesomely rebutted the argument that our invasion was being done on behalf of the Iranian people.

It is not clear that Trump knows there is no exit plan. It is not even clear that he understands this war is unpopular.

Instead of taking responsibility for what happened, Trump on multiple occasions blamed Iran for blowing up its own school.

However, we are one of only three countries with Tomahawk missiles: It’s us, the United Kingdom and Australia. Not only does Iran not have Tomahawk missiles, but it also does not have the technology or the infrastructure to fire them.

If that was not convincing enough, bomb fragments recovered from the scene say “Made in the USA” on them, because we are the only country that makes them and we determine who gets to have them.

On Wednesday, The New York Times reported, and MS NOW matched, that an early investigation from Trump’s own government concludes that the United States was responsible for the attack. The preliminary findings suggest it was a mistake with the targeting system — a mistake that killed nearly 200 people, most of whom were children. 

When the president was asked about this investigation and whether he, as commander in chief, took responsibility for the mistake, he told reporters, “I don’t know about it.”

It’s clear this guy is completely asleep at the wheel — all while his administration is scrambling.

After speaking with a dozen U.S. officials, the Times, in a separate report, said that “inside the administration, some officials are growing pessimistic about the lack of a clear strategy to finish the war. But they have been careful not to express that directly to the president, who has repeatedly declared that the military operation is a complete success.”

It is not clear that Trump knows there is no exit plan. It is not even clear that he understands this war is unpopular. Apparently, his people were not even prepared for the possibility that Iran could retaliate against the U.S. by shutting down the crucial trade route through the Strait of Hormuz.

Again, according to the Times, “Even during the Israeli and U.S. strikes against Iran last June, [Energy Secretary Chris Wright] said, there had been little disruption in the markets.” 

The Times reported that some of the president’s other advisers shared similar views in private, “dismissing warnings that — the second time around — Iran might wage economic warfare by closing shipping lanes carrying roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply.” They just didn’t think it would happen, and they had no plan for what would happen if it did. 

It appears they are dead serious about grinding it all to a halt, at least as it pertains to us. This strategy is widely known. The problem here is that the U.S. does not seem to have a strategy of its own. 

Now, Trump has been forced to release oil from the strategic reserves; 172 million barrels are coming this week.

Meanwhile, Iran is still sending millions of barrels of oil to China, they are firing on oil tankers in the strait, and reporting indicates they are mining the sea as well. It appears they are dead serious about grinding it all to a halt, at least as it pertains to us. This strategy is widely known. The problem here is that the U.S. does not seem to have a strategy of its own.

This is how Faisal Abbas, the editor-in-chief of Arab News, described the situation during an interview with Sky News:

Nobody really knows what the declared mission of this war — and I’m not really sure that I’ve heard the United States call it a war, it’s been called Operation Epic Fury, military strikes, I’m not sure if they’ve called it a war yet — but the continuous sort of flip-flopping on what is the target makes everybody a bit anxious.

By the way, Trump himself isn’t even sure if he should call it a war.

During an event at a manufacturing facility in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Wednesday, the president was questioned as to whether the U.S. was at war, after he referred to the military operation in Iran as a “little excursion.”

“Well, it’s both,” Trump said. “It’s an excursion that will keep us out of a war, and the war is going to be — I mean, for them, it’s a war; for us, it’s turned out to be easier than we thought.”

That event in Ohio was part of the president’s tour across the heartland to convince voters that everything is just fine. Meanwhile, the average price of gas in the state is $3.44 a gallon. Last month, it was $2.89.

I am not sure any amount of glad-handing at a factory can distract voters from what is happening.

Allison Detzel contributed.