MS NOW host Jen Psaki tore into President Donald Trump on Tuesday, offering three theories for what she described as his latest “weird lying” about the ongoing Iran war—ultimately concluding that the truth is likely a combination of confusion and deliberate fabrication.
During her show “The Briefing” on March 18, 2026, Psaki dissected Trump’s claim that a former president privately expressed regret about not launching military action against Iran. The problem? All four living former presidents—Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden—have confirmed through representatives that they never spoke to Trump about Iran.
Trump told reporters on Monday that one of his predecessors said, “I wish I did it, I wish I did,” referring to military action against the nation of 93 million people. MS NOW contacted representatives for Clinton, Obama, and Biden, while CNN confirmed with Bush’s team that no such conversation occurred.
Psaki called out the president’s pattern of questionable claims. “I’m just going to turn to Donald Trump’s latest attempts to sell his disastrous war of choice in Iran,” she said, “because despite the fact that this war is incredibly unpopular with the American people, Donald Trump is now claiming that his war got, well, a surprise endorsement from a former president.”
The MS NOW host proceeded to detail additional falsehoods from Trump about the Iran conflict. She pointed out that Trump claimed on Monday that nobody in his administration warned him Iran might retaliate against U.S. allies in the region—despite the Iranian government openly confirming such plans in February. Psaki noted this would have been “a natural part of any briefing.”
Psaki also challenged Trump’s assertion that his administration doesn’t know whether Iran has placed mines in the Strait of Hormuz, through which one fifth of the world’s oil passes. She pointed to a New York Times headline reading “U.S. Officials Say Iran Is Laying Mines in the Strait of Hormuz” as evidence contradicting the president’s claims.
The segment comes as Trump’s Iran war faces mounting criticism. The conflict is driving up gas prices, fracturing the GOP, and proving deeply unpopular with the American public. The Pentagon is seeking more than $200 billion in additional funding for the war effort—a request that has sparked resistance from lawmakers in both parties.
Meanwhile, fellow MS NOW host Stephanie Ruhle recently offered insight into Trump’s mindset after attending a White House lunch with the president. Speaking with Rachel Maddow before the State of the Union in February, Ruhle described Trump as living in a “gilded bubble” surrounded by wealthy businesspeople at Mar-a-Lago who tell him only what he wants to hear.
Ruhle noted that Trump repeatedly points to stock market performance and 401k gains when discussing the economy, seemingly disconnected from Americans who aren’t invested in the markets or who face rising costs due to the Iran conflict and tariffs.
“It’s as though his vantage point of the American people and the economy ends at the edge of the Mar-a-Lago property,” Ruhle said, “because he spends his weekends there surrounded by very wealthy businesspeople.”
The criticism from MS NOW hosts reflects broader skepticism about Trump’s handling of the Iran situation. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries fired back after Trump called Democrats the nation’s “greatest enemy” on Truth Social on Sunday, telling CNN that Trump “should keep his reckless mouth shut before he gets somebody killed.”
As the war continues with no clear end in sight—and with the Pentagon acknowledging it has no “timeframe” for achieving its objectives—Psaki’s dissection of Trump’s fabrications highlights growing concerns about whether the administration is providing accurate information to the American people about a conflict reshaping Middle East geopolitics.