The White House struggled Wednesday to explain and defend President Donald Trump’s threat to end Iranian civilization, with his top spokesperson crediting his tough talk with fostering a fragile two-week ceasefire deal already being tested in the Strait of Hormuz and Lebanon.
Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary, was peppered with questions from reporters about why the commander in chief on Tuesday morning threatened to take out not just the Islamic Republic government, but also Iranian civilians.
“I understand the questions about the president’s rhetoric,” Leavitt told one reporter during a rare, second press briefing in one week at the White House. She then attempted to defend Trump’s Tuesday threat without explaining exactly what he meant by “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”
