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White House Holds Briefing as Israel-Iran Conflict Escalates; Trump to Decide on Action in Iran Within Two Weeks. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired June 19, 2025 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:30:00]
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Is dramatically ramping up efforts to arrest and deport all of the millions of criminal illegal aliens that Joe Biden let into our country over the past four years. President Trump has directed all of our ICE officers to do everything in their power to carry out the single largest mass deportation operation in history. Illegal criminals who are hiding in America's largest so called sanctuary cities will be increasingly targeted for removal.
Radical Democrats will no longer be allowed to shelter illegals who threaten public safety as part of their cynical efforts to expand political power, drain the American taxpayer and artificially lower wages and steal American jobs. ICE officers are courageous heroes upholding the rule of law and keeping our citizens safe and they have the full and unwavering support of this president.
And economic news, President Trump's pro growth agenda is delivering for the American worker. Through the first five months of the Trump administration real blue collar wages are up nearly 2 percent. It's the strongest growth in nearly 60 years and a stark contrast from the negative wage growth seen during the first five months of the Biden administration. America is quickly returning to the successful formula of the first Trump administration, low inflation and rising wages.
Once the Big Beautiful Bill is passed, this positive trend will only accelerate. Senate Republicans are continuing to push this critical legislation forward. The one Big Beautiful Bill will drive growth and supercharged the American economy.
The council of economic advisors found that the one Big Beautiful Bill will raise take home pay by nearly $14,000 for a year for the average family of four. The CEA also found that the one Big Beautiful Bill will increase wages as much as $11,000 for the average worker in America. The one Big Beautiful Bill expands the child tax credit and makes it permanent for more than 40 million families with children. And the bill will deliver no tax on tips, no tax on overtime and substantial tax cuts for our incredible seniors.
Simply put, the one Big Beautiful Bill is a massive win for middle class Americans. When nearly 9 -- 80 million Americans sent President Trump back to this White House, they were doing so expecting these popular policies to be enacted. Republicans in Congress have a mandate to deliver and President Trump demands they send this historic bill to his desk for signature by Independence Day July 4th.
The American people are fully behind President Trump. According to new brand new polling from Insider Advantage, a clear 54 percent majority of Americans approve of the job President Trump is doing. That's because this president is keeping his promises and taking action every day to improve their lives and passing this bill will help fulfill a number of President Trump's core campaign promises.
Now, regarding the ongoing situation in Iran, I know there has been a lot of speculation amongst all of you in the media regarding the president's decision making and whether or not the United States will be directly involved.
In light of that news, I have a message directly from the President and I quote, Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future. I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.
That's a quote directly from the President for all of you today. So we'll kick it off for questions here in our new media seat. we have Eli Lake from The Free Press.
Eli, go ahead.
ELI LAKE, THE FREE PRESS REPORTER: Thanks so much for having us --
LEAVITT: Thank you.
LAKE: -- from The Free Press. The decision to extend the I guess delay in enforcing the TikTok ban.
LEAVITT: Sure.
LAKE: Can you talk about how the White House understands its constitutional authority in light of the Supreme Court's decision in January that said that the president had to enforce the ban?
LEAVITT: Sure. Well, as all of you know, because the president put it out on his Truth Social today, he did sign an executive order to extend TikTok -- the TikTok ban for 90 days. So in the effort to make a deal. And White House counsel in the Department of Justice have reviewed this executive order, and I can get it for you. I think it's on our website by now. If it's not, my team will now put it up immediately.
And you can read the language in that executive order and the White House counsel's office in the Department of Justice strongly believe in the legal rationale for this executive order. They wouldn't have the president's pen hit it if they didn't. And the political reasoning for this, of course, is because the president made a promise to keep TikTok on.
There are 100 million Americans who use this app. It's wildly popular. He also wants to Americans data and privacy concerns on this app, and he believes we can do both things at the same time. So he's making an extension so we can get this deal done.
LAKE: Can I get a follow up?
LEAVITT: Sure.
LAKE: A few weeks ago there, Tucker Carlson reported on a meeting between the President, Mark Levin and others of the White House. Is there a leak investigation? And can you say who else was in that meeting?
LEAVITT: I'm not aware of a leak investigation at this time.
[13:35:00]
I, for one, do not reveal details about the President's private meetings without his permission to do so. But certainly, the President does not like when people leak. He takes that very seriously.
This entire administration takes that seriously, and that's why you've seen at agencies some of the Cabinet secretaries have been given the authority by the President to let go of staff who are engaged in such leaks, especially those that risk American national security. Sure, go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Karoline, thank you. So, Rhino warmonger Lindsey Graham, he recently called on the U.S., you know, all in.
LEAVITT: That's quite the lead-in to a question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. What's your message to everyday Trump supporters, not the Tucker Carlson's or other big names, but everyday Trump supporters, grassroots, who voted for President Trump to stop the wars, rejected this in the primary, going into another war with voting against Nikki Haley, and they want to see non-U.S. involvement in this war? What's your message?
LEAVITT: Trust in President Trump. President Trump has incredible instincts, and President Trump kept America and the world safe in his first term as President in implementing a peace-through-strength foreign policy agenda. And with respect to Iran, nobody should be surprised by the President's position that Iran absolutely cannot obtain a nuclear weapon.
He's been unequivocally clear about this for decades, not just as President, not just as a presidential candidate, but also as a private citizen. In fact, I have some quotes for you.
In 2011, President Trump said, America's primary goal with Iran must be to destroy its nuclear ambitions. We cannot allow this radical regime to acquire a nuclear weapon that they will either use or hand off to terrorists.
In 2015, the President said: The problem is that Iran poses an existential threat to Israel, our Middle Eastern allies, and the United States.
And, of course, the President has repeated that in his first term as President and his second term as President as well.
That's why he was adamantly opposed to the disastrous Iranian nuclear agreement that was implemented by President Obama. And it's why he has given great latitude and given a lot of effort to achieving a diplomatic solution. But he's been very clear.
Iran went for 60 days when he gave them that 60-day warning without coming to the table. On day 61, Israel took action against Iran. And as I just told you from the President directly, he has -- he will make a decision within two weeks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A follow-up?
LEAVITT: Sure. Go ahead, Natalie.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks, Karoline. Can you confirm whether Steve Witkoff has been in touch with the Iranian foreign minister? And does Witkoff plan to go to Geneva tomorrow for talks?
LEAVITT: I am not tracking that on Mr. Witkoff's travel schedule, but I can certainly check in with him to be sure. As for correspondence between the United States and the Iranians, I can confirm that correspondence has continued. As you know, we were engaged with six rounds of negotiations with them in both indirect and direct ways.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks, Karoline. Just to clarify the President's statement just now, when he says that he'll make a decision in the next two weeks, is he saying that if Iran does not come back to the negotiating table within the next two weeks, that the President will strike?
LEAVITT: The President is saying that he will make a decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks. It's very clear and direct.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And is he seeing any signs of progress? He obviously is holding out hope for negotiations, but is he seeing any inklings of progress that give him that hope that talks are still possible?
LEAVITT: Well, that's why he said in the statement that I just read for all of you, based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, he will make that decision within the next two weeks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What makes him think there's still a substantial chance, is my question.
LEAVITT: I'm not going to get into the reasoning and the rationale the President believes that, but that's his position, and he will make a decision within the next two weeks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, Karoline. President Trump has said previously, in regard to Russia, he's used this phrase about two weeks several times, in terms of, like, we expect a two-week deadline, and then you get another two-week deadline. How can we be sure that he's going to stick to this one on making a decision on Iran? LEAVITT: Well, in those deadlines, as you've seen, in respect to Russia, Ukraine, might I add, these are two very different, complicated global conflicts, as you know, that the President inherited from our previous incompetent President and the weakness of the previous administration. And the President has spent a tremendous amount of time and effort cleaning up these crises that were caused by the last administration's just complete dereliction of duty on the world stage and American weakness. Now we have American strength again.
With respect to Russia and Ukraine, because of that American strength and the President's leadership, we have seen these two sides engage in direct negotiations. And the last time the President said two weeks, you saw Russia and Ukraine have direct negotiations for the first time in years. And so, the President is always interested in a diplomatic solution to the problems and the global conflicts in this world.
Again, he is a peacemaker-in-chief. He is the peace-through-strength President. And so, if there's a chance for diplomacy, the President's always going to grab it.
But he's not afraid to use strength as well, I will add. Francesca.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks, Karoline. What exactly would a deal with Iran need to entail?
LEAVITT: No enrichment of a uranium.
[13:40:00]
And it would absolutely not -- Iran is absolutely not able to achieve a nuclear weapon. The President has been very clear about that. And by the way, the deal that Special Envoy Witkoff proposed to the Iranians was both realistic and acceptable within its terms. And that's why the President has sent that deal to them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To follow up on what you told Natalie. Are the talks that the United States is currently having with Iran direct, or are those through intermediaries? And if so, which countries are acting as the intermediary right now?
LEAVITT: Out of respect for the ongoing discussions and negotiations, I'm not going to get into the details of them. We've provided you confirmation for now.
Go ahead. Sure. And then behind you, too.
Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, thanks. Sorry. On the topic of negotiations and talks, does the
President have any hopes or specific expectations for the talks tomorrow between European foreign secretaries and their Iranian counterpart?
LEAVITT: Well, certainly the entire world is on the President's side when it comes to the fact that Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon. This is something that pretty much all of humanity, except for the Iranian terrorist regime themselves, agree upon. And so the President expects that Europe will deliver that message directly to the Iranians.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why does President Trump believe that this 90-day extension on TikTok will provide more runway, perhaps, than the previous extensions that haven't led to a divestment deal?
LEAVITT: Because it's more time. More time to make a good deal. Simple question.
Dasha.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much. I know things are going day by day. Right now, the President wants maximum optionality.
Is the possibility of the U.S. getting involved in regime change in Iran at all on the table at this point? And I have a --
LEAVITT: Sure, the President's top priority right now is ensuring that Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon and providing peace and stability in the Middle East.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And on Medicaid, Karoline, the Senate put forward Medicaid provisions, particularly a lower cap on state provider taxes that hospitals have said would lead to mass closures, particularly in rural communities. Is the President willing to sign a bill that includes those provisions that Republican senators like Josh Hawley say will lead to hospital closures?
LEAVITT: Out of respect for the ongoing discussions that the White House is very much actively involved in with our friends in the United States Senate, I won't comment on that specific provision. Look, the bill hasn't been sent to the President's desk yet. There's more room for change.
The President, for one, I will reiterate, has been very clear on his priorities with respect to Medicaid. He wants to see waste, fraud, and abuse ridden from the system to protect it for taxpaying citizens who deserve those much-needed benefits. He wants to prioritize the sick, the needy, the poor in this country who deserve those benefits, not the 1.4 million illegal aliens who are receiving them. And he wants to make sure this one Big, Beautiful Bill kicks those illegal aliens off of this program to preserve it and protect it and strengthen it for the American people. And the President has been very clear in that message to his friends in the Senate. Jackie.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Karoline.
LEAVITT: Sure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Logistically, if the Iranians are getting to Geneva, does that mean they've found a way to get to the White House?
LEAVITT: I am not going to get into hypotheticals, but as you heard from the President yesterday, they have expressed interest in doing so. Phyllis.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is a lot of pressure on the President to come to the aid of Israel. There's a lot of pressure on him to finish the job with force. How is he balancing the concern that if he doesn't choose to do that, that it would send a message to Xi Jinping about the U.S. commitment to Taiwan?
LEAVITT: Well, the President enjoys a very respectful and cordial relationship with China's President. He has long maintained that, even in his first term. And China and the United States share many strategic interests, both in terms of economics and also, of course, global affairs and foreign policy as well.
However, when it comes to balancing these different viewpoints, the President is balancing a lot of viewpoints. And he is listening not just to other world leaders, but to his advisors and to people here in the country and the American people, too. And I think that's what makes this President such a great leader, is his ability to listen and make a good decision on behalf of the American public based on his instincts and his experience.
Don't forget, this is a President who was here before, and the world was a much more peaceful and stable place when he left office than when he came back in after the past four years of complete incompetence by the previous President. Philip, go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Karoline. Two quick questions. When the President says Iran is very close to a nuclear weapon, is he relying on U.S. intelligence or intelligence sharing from an ally to make that assessment?
LEAVITT: It is a fact, and the United States government maintains this fact, that Iran has never been closer to obtaining a nuclear weapon.
[13:45:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then, if the U.S. were to take some type of military action, would the President go to Congress to seek war authority?
LEAVITT: I'm not going to engage in hypotheticals. I gave you the statement from the President. He'll make a decision within two weeks.
Sure. Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks, Karoline.
LEAVITT: Carrie, and then Elizabeth.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two questions, one on Iran, and then the second on something that Jasmine Crockett said this morning. So, given that we know the Iranian government did order an operative to assassinate the President, is there concern that Iran might respond with nontraditional military ways to some kind of strike on Iran? Such as another assassination attempt?
And has the Department of Justice looked into this last attempt on the President's life?
LEAVITT: I believe Secret Service and the FBI have looked into the two assassination attempts that took place against the President, both of which were sad days in our nation's history. So, I would defer you to the Department of Justice on where those investigations stand.
But as for your question regarding Iranian retaliation, I'm not going to engage in hypotheticals again, but I can assure the American public and the world that this administration is prepared and ready to defend American interests and assets, not just in the region, but here on our homeland as well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. And then, really quick on Jasmine Crockett. She said, I believe, that Trump supporters are mentally ill before calling for bipartisan support against the President. Can you respond to that, especially considering she's a rising star in the Democrat Party right now?
LEAVITT: She is a rising star. It's quite something to behold, actually. I hope that she continues to be a rising star for the Republican Party, at least.
I think it's incredibly derogatory to accuse nearly 80 million Americans of mental illness. The last time I checked, Jasmine Crockett couldn't dream of winning such a majority of the public as President Trump did. And the America First movement, which President Trump has built, is filled of hardworking patriots, the forgotten men and women, business owners, law enforcement officers, nurses, and teachers, and middle America, as we all know, you know, from where you all grew up, outside of this beltway.
That's who makes up this President's movement. And Jasmine Crockett should go to a Trump rally sometime, and she can see it for herself. Jennifer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One on North Korea and one on China. On North Korea, they launched some rockets into the ocean today. What does the White House make of that? Do you read any meaning into that timing of that launch?
And then on China, do you have any reaction to Xi Jinping's offer of intervening in Iran diplomatically, and are you seeing any signs that China would get involved militarily to support Iran?
LEAVITT: I don't believe we're seeing any signs of that at this moment in time. As for Xi Jinping's offer, I will leave it to the President to respond to that himself. As for your question about North Korea, we are monitoring the situation.
The Trump administration is in close contact with our new South Korean counterparts as we work together to deter our adversaries and preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific. And no matter where, our adversaries and our allies alike know that President Trump will not tolerate threats against our interests on his watch, even as he works to resolve the wars that he inherited.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I get a question?
LEAVITT: Alex, go ahead, and then I'll come to you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. Is the President concerned about the economy if farms and hotels, et cetera, struggle to find workers?
LEAVITT: The President's always concerned about the economy. That's on his mind every day. He wakes up, he checks the markets, he checks wage growth, as I pointed out. It's a record high today for middle class and American workers.
So, the President's always wanting to ensure that we have a strong and robust economy for the American people and worker, and we do. As for the specific concerns regarding jobs. Look, the President has made it very clear we need to remove public safety threats from the interior of our country, and that remains the focus and the priority of this administration when it comes to deportations.
No matter where somebody works, if they're an illegal alien rapist or murderer that was allowed into this country in the past four years by this administration, the American people want those types of criminals to be deported from our country, and that's what the President is backing ICE to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks. There was an apparent skirmish between the Chinese and the Philippines in the South China Sea. Just curious if you had any reaction to that, and if the steps you're taking towards the Middle East right now are reducing your capacity to deal with that situation.
LEAVITT: I believe that happened as I was preparing and coming out here, so we'll get you a response to that. Certainly, we have one, and our teams are always monitoring situations all around the globe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, and then one more just on Iran. Just over the past 24 hours, we've seen some Israeli strikes on Natanz, Isfahan, and Khondab nuclear facilities. Is there any assessment just of how effective or what the result of those strikes will be?
LEAVITT: What I can share is that the IDF and Israel, I think, have exceeded a lot of people's expectations in their ability to really hinder Iran's nuclear facilities, but also they've taken out key people in the Iranian regime's leadership as well. So, this is something, of course, we are monitoring and watching every day. And the President was just in an intelligence briefing.
[13:50:00]
He continues to be briefed by his National Security Council, and he will throughout the duration of this war and conflict. And he also remains in constant communication with our Israeli counterparts, most notably Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Kristen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Jon. We have conflict, and he also remains in constant communication with our Israeli counterparts, most notably Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Karoline. We have heard from a number of U.S. officials who say that Iran doesn't want to make a deal, that they are just stringing the United States along. What is to say that they are not going to continue to do so if we continue to give them extensions now two weeks before 60 days?
LEAVITT: Look, Iran is in a very weak and vulnerable position because of the strikes and the attacks from Israel. And with respect to the President's statement, I shared that with all of you. And he has been very direct and clear.
Iran can and should make a deal. We sent a deal to them that was practical, that was realistic, or they will face grave consequences.
HOLMES: Why is Steve Witkoff not participating in the talks this week?
LEAVITT: I can ask Mr. Witkoff why he is not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, Karoline. Does the President object if Israel attempts its own operation against Fordow in the next two weeks?
LEAVITT: I won't decide that for the President, nor will I share that here. I'll let him speak to that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then just another one. Iran is apparently warning Europeans that if struck by the U.S., it may withdraw from the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty. That will result in throwing out inspectors and taking the program to dark.
What does the President think of the value of having Iran as a full signatory of that treaty?
LEAVITT: Well, that's reckless rhetoric, but I understand the Europeans are meeting with the Iranians tomorrow.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: All right, we are listening to the White House Press Briefing and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. As we see the President considering U.S. involvement in the Iran and Israel conflict that is happening, she said she brought a quote directly from the President saying, and I'm paraphrasing but hardly here, based on the fact that there is a substantial chance of negotiation. He says he's going to make a decision about what to do here in the next two weeks.
We do just need to be clear here. That would ordinarily be quite a deadline, but the President says two weeks all of the time.
It's really this kind of verbal crutch that he uses that he often doesn't mean. So it's hard to know exactly what he means here. He's used this recently when he's talking about Ukraine, what to do about Ukraine and Putin. It's going to be in two weeks.
All the way back to the beginning of his term, whether it was a healthcare plan to replace Obamacare or it was his infrastructure plan. Most of these two-week promises never happen. Some of them do, but not within two, or sometimes the two to three weeks, as he will sometimes say.
He makes a lot of these fortnight references. And so this is really tricky as we try to parse this.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Yes, I think one of the first times I heard him say that we should wait and see within two weeks was when he was talking about Barack Obama's birth certificate, which never came to fruition. Obviously the birther lie that he espoused before ultimately running for president.
We should note that Leavitt was asked about the President considering regime change, a policy of changing the leadership in Iran.
She said that the President's top priority is preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and providing peace and security in the Middle East. She also affirmed that U.S. intelligence shows that Iran is within weeks of developing a nuclear weapon.
This has been a point of contention, even within the administration, because in March, just a few months ago, you had the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, assessing that Iran was not mobilizing to generate a nuclear weapon.
Some of that could be attributed to a discrepancy over whether Iran is developing the ability to deliver a nuclear weapon or not.
Nevertheless, a lot to parse through. We have Jeff Zeleny with us, as well as Evelyn Farkas. She's a former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia. Thanks both for being with us.
Jeff, what did you make of these remarks, and specifically that promise of a decision within two weeks?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Look, what this is is President Trump not necessarily putting the brakes on but slowing down the conversation that he and his administration are in a rush toward war. He's been hearing a lot of criticism, as we know. Interestingly, Steve Bannon, one of his longtime advisors, came into the White House this morning.
Steve Bannon has been leading the charge to get the administration, the president, to not launch military strikes. We do know -- we don't know what role that played, but what this is, is the president -- and you are right, Brianna -- I've lost track of the number of times the two-week mantra has been used. Most recently with Vladimir Putin, he will give him two weeks.
But I think on this matter specifically, clearly the president is trying to buy himself some time here and to see if a diplomacy can work. But the question is, what does this do for Israel? Because there has been a sense of urgency.
There was an urgent need when you heard some of the hawkish voices like Lindsey Graham and others saying, now is the time. Other presidents have not had this moment. President Trump clearly does not see this as urgent as some of the hawkish views do, as Israel clearly sees it.
[13:55:00]
So that is the question. Is this going to sort of just go off into the night here? Or is this actively something that the president will sort of stay on top of?
The bombing is going to continue with or without U.S. involvement here. So now what we will have to see is what Israel does in response to this. But for now, the big picture here is the president buying himself some time.
KEILAR: Exactly, he's buying time, Evelyn. Israel certainly doesn't believe that he has time on this. What do you think?
EVELYN FARKAS, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR RUSSIA, UKRAINE AND EURASIA: Well, I think, Brianna, that he does have some time, certainly to make a decision about whether to use military force. But I think that that window probably already closed because at the end of the day, even if you were to bomb, you know, deep underground and take out those facilities, the Iranians still would need to come to a negotiating table and agree that they're going to abandon their plans for a nuclear arsenal and that they would, you know, agree to having verification in place. So you still need diplomacy.
And I think at this stage of the game, if we use military might, it makes it harder to get to diplomacy. So I predict that we probably will not use force to take out those facilities. And instead, we will use diplomacy.
But I think the open question is, as your commentator just said, your correspondent, the Israelis, how long do they plan to fight this fight? Because if the United States and, you know, doesn't exercise its diplomatic might, and if the Europeans fail, then this war, like the war in the Russia-Ukraine context will continue. So that is the danger, frankly, that the war will continue and that it could actually spread.
SANCHEZ: Evelyn, please stay with us. Jeff, a quick question to you. We have less than a minute before we go to break, but to Kristen Holmes' question of Karoline Leavitt, how do we know Iran isn't stringing the U.S. along?
ZELENY: We don't. We don't know that at all. I mean, in fact, the president himself has suggested that. He said the time for diplomacy has run its course just a couple days ago. So we do not know that. That is certainly part of the history here.
But look, this is something that the president, his whole public life over 10 years has been not engaging in this kind of war. So I'm not sure that we should find this all that surprising. Over the last couple of days, there has been sort of a rush, but this is more in keeping in lines of his fairly consistent views.
KEILAR: Yes, such a good point, Jeff. All right, we have more on this story. We have a reaction from Israel here in just a moment.
Stay with us.
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