For a brief moment, it sounded like the interview would unfold exactly as planned.
But then the exchange hit a brick wall.
President Donald Trump called into CNN to remember South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, but the conversation veered off the rails when Jake Tapper asked about Iran, prompting Trump to snap at the host, saying he should “talk about the reason that you asked me to speak.”
The tense dialogue immediately became the story, eclipsing Trump’s viewpoints about Graham. The president bristled when Tapper broadened the conversation to include mounting tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, leading to a testy back-and-forth that critics seized on as another example of Trump’s hostility toward the press and questions he did not want to answer.
The confrontation unfolded Sunday during Tapper’s live phone interview with Trump on CNN’s State of the Union. After discussing Graham, Tapper shifted to developments in the Middle East.
“Iran has declared the Strait of Hormuz closed. Is that true?” Tapper asked.
Trump responded, “It’s open as far as we’re concerned.”
He then cut off any further discussion of the issue.
“Don’t talk about it. Talk about the reason that you asked me to speak,” Trump said.
The interview then returned to Graham, with Trump offering additional comments about the late Republican senator, including praise for Graham’s defense of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
As the conversation wrapped up, Tapper acknowledged that he wanted to ask about more than Graham.
“I know you don’t want to talk about any other issues out of respect for Lindsey Graham,” Tapper said. “But we would love to have you back sometime, because I do have a lot of other questions for you.”
Trump replied, “Sure. We’re trying to have CNN go on a normal path. And we’ll do that.”
Tapper answered, “Well, I’m on a normal path right here, sir.”
“Good. You are,” Trump responded before the interview ended.
The exchange quickly spread across social media, where many users argued that Trump’s refusal to engage with the Iran question overshadowed his remarks about Graham.
One commenter wrote, “and he used his serious deep tone while giving his commands just…..like…..all…..abusers.”
Another user connected Trump’s response to broader concerns over the Strait of Hormuz, writing, “SO AGAIN! Trump doesn’t want to talk about the STRAIT BECAUSE IT’S CLOSED AGAIN and they are playing him like the fool he is! Incompetence at its highest!”
Others mocked Trump’s insistence on sticking to the original subject of the interview.
“Don’t talk about sh-t I’m clueless about..talk about what I TOLD you to talk about,” one post read.
Another user wrote, “The Trump policy of ‘If we don’t talk about it, it’ll magically disappear’ ain’t working!” Tennessee Holler added, “Journalism! This is tough to watch.”
A separate reaction summed up the sentiment in two words: “What a loser”.
The clash added another chapter to Trump’s often-contentious relationship with Tapper and CNN. The two have sparred publicly before, including last year when Tapper defended CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins after Trump called her “stupid and nasty” following questions about his White House ballroom project. Tapper responded at the time with a series of posts defending Collins’ reporting and criticizing Trump’s attacks on the network.
Earlier Sunday, Trump also discussed Graham’s death during an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” where he said he had spoken with the senator shortly before he died.
According to Trump, the senator appeared to be in normal spirits during their conversation and died not long afterward.
Graham’s office announced in a statement posted on X that the South Carolina senator died Saturday following what it described as a “brief and sudden illness,” an episode that later was revealed to be a ruptured aorta.
