“We stagger from day to day, never knowing what’ll hit us next.”
That’s the mood these days among White House insiders, as uncertainty continues about the status of the Iran war, and the still-closed Strait of Hormuz. That’s according to Daily Mail columnist Andrew Neil.
The White House’s shifting arguments and promises to have many people around the world reeling, including the president’s own aides.
“The confusion suits the White House, where it is now generally accepted that Trump and those aides closest to him have no credible idea how to restore free navigation to the Strait of Hormuz – or how to bring the war to an acceptable end,” the Daily Mail column said. “One adviser told me he thought if Iran agreed to relinquish its control of the Strait – a power it has never enjoyed before, even in previous conflicts – then Trump would use that as a pretext for declaring victory and going home.”
‘We stagger from day to day, never knowing what’ll hit us next.’ Concerned White House insiders tell ANDREW NEIL how furious Trump is now a stranger to reason – and reveal his desperate next move https://t.co/5t19Md8GCj
— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) May 5, 2026
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Neal also noted a conversation with a Trump White House aide:
One adviser told me he thought if Iran agreed to relinquish its control of the Strait – a power it has never enjoyed before, even in previous conflicts – then Trump would use that as a pretext for declaring victory and going home.‘Even if that was only a return to the status quo ante – to what prevailed before Trump’s War?’ I asked. ‘We’d dress that up as victory,’ he replied.‘Even if it left the Iranian regime with the enriched uranium?’ I pushed.‘We’d dress that up too,’ he said. ‘We’ve already claimed to have obliterated Iran’s ability to make a nuclear bomb twice [last June and in the current attacks], so it shouldn’t be too difficult to sound convincing.’
