Senator Torpedoes Key Trump Talking Point With Simple Question

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) asked a straightforward question about President Donald Trump that totally undercuts the president’s claims about the Iran war.

About two hours before markets in the U.S. opened, Trump claimed on Truth Social that he is in “serious discussions” with Iran and that “great progress” had been made toward ending the war. It was later reported that the president was in talks with Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has previously denied speaking with the Trump administration. The Dow jumped about 300 points before closing the day up 50.

On Sunday, Ghalibaf even suggested Trump would post something markets would interpret as bullish news.

“Heads-up: Pre-market so-called ‘news’ or ‘Truth’ is often just a setup for profit-taking. Basically, it’s a reverse indicator,” the speaker tweeted. “Do the opposite: If they pump it, short it. If they dump it, go long. See something tomorrow? You know the drill.”

Van Hollen appeared on Monday’s edition of The Arena on CNN, where guest host Abby Phillip asked the senator if believes Trump is actually talking to the Iranians.

“Do you think it’s possible that they are speaking with someone in the Iranian regime?” she inquired. “And do you believe that those talks represent progress?”

“Look, we know Donald Trump is a serial liar,” Van Hollen responded. “Of course, the big lie he told the country was that he was going to keep us out of foreign wars and not drag us into another war in the Middle East. We also know he’s been lying when he claimed that we were in direct negotiations with the Iranians, and that they’re going to give us everything we wanted. As to whether or not we’re in indirect negotiations through third parties, that’s certainly possible.”

The senator then pointed to remarks Trump made since almost the beginning of the war, where he has repeatedly said the U.S. had “won” the war or that the war was close to ending.

“But the notion that we’re near a big breakthrough is delusional,” Van Hollen continued. “And let’s remember that Donald Trump, about three weeks ago, said that we won the war. Those are his words. We won the war. So the question is, what are we negotiating about right now, Abby, if we already won the war?

Watch above via CNN.

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