President Trump keeps boasting that a deal with Iran is at hand. But now officials leaked word to CNN that Trump’s public posturing has hurt the negotiations. One noted that by “negotiating through social media,” Trump implied Iran had agreed to things “they hadn’t yet agreed to,” complicating the talks. That’s humiliating, given Trump’s bragging of success. Meanwhile, in two cult-like tirades, Karoline Leavitt attacked the media for being insufficiently worshipful of Trump, and gushed over his greatness with extraordinary sycophancy. Can any good outcome be envisioned here? We talked to former National Security Council veteran Emily Horne. She explains why Leavitt’s spin is so absurd, why this fiasco is so hard for Trump to extricate from, why there may be no good options ahead, and what it means that Trump has indefinitely extended the ceasefire, which he announced while we were recording. Listen to this episode here. A transcript is here.
PODCAST
Trump Press Sec Goes Full Cult as Damning War Leaks Humiliate Him Anew
As Karoline Leavitt spins wildly amid new revelations about Trump’s war blunders, a national security expert explains why this whole fiasco is structurally so hard to exit from—and what to expect next.
Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in Washington, DC on April 15, 2026.
