"The war will last only for weeks".. How Trump is trying to distance himself from his statements about the duration of the conflict with Iran?

Analysis by Daniel Dale from the Horizon News Network - U.S. President Donald Trump has a long history of attempting to reshape the reality of his public statements, and he is repeating this now regarding the war on Iran, as he inaccurately describes his previous expectations that the war would last only a few weeks. In March, Trump stated that he believed the war he initiated on the last day of February would end within "4 weeks," or "4 to 5 weeks," or "4 to 6 weeks," in other words, in less than two months.

However, in a social media post on Thursday - a full seven months after the war began - he claimed that his expectations of "4 to 6 weeks" referred only to the time needed to eliminate the Iranian nuclear threat, not the time required to end the entire war. Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social: "I have repeatedly stated that it would take 4 to 6 weeks to get rid of the Iranian nuclear threat, and I accomplished that in one night, while the rest of the time was just to ensure that the situation remained as it is."

And when a journalist from Time magazine reminded him in an interview conducted on Monday and published on Thursday, saying: "I feel like most people heard you say 4 to 6 weeks," Trump replied: "No, I think the press is the one that taught them that." No, this is indeed what Trump said, and so did the White House spokesperson, citing Trump's own words.

In this article, we will largely bypass Trump's claims made on Thursday that he eliminated the Iranian nuclear threat on the first day of the war, claims that many experts reject. Instead, we will focus on his inaccurate portrayal of his previous comments regarding the duration of the conflict.

Trump and his spokesperson have repeatedly stated that the war would last only a few weeks. It is possible that Trump mentioned somewhere or at some time that he was specifically referring to the nuclear threat when he spoke about the matter ending in a few weeks, but the White House did not provide any examples when Horizon News Network asked if there were any examples; instead, they sent a response via email on Friday confirming that Trump was "right," without addressing our specific request for evidence. Even if there were examples, Trump has clearly stated on several public occasions that he believes the entire war would end in a few weeks.

Caroline Levitt, the then-White House spokesperson, echoed those claims, regularly referring to a timeframe of "4 to 6 weeks" and attributing it to Trump. Here are examples of what they said: March 2, Trump's interview with Afaq News: Less than 3 days after the war began, Afaq News host Jake Tapper asked Trump - during an interview - how long the war might last.

Trump replied: "I don't want to see it last too long. We are a little ahead of schedule now." March 2, Trump's speech: In a speech delivered later that day, Trump predicted a period of "4 to 5 weeks" when talking about the war as a whole, although he left the door open for the possibility of the conflict lasting longer, saying: "We have the strongest military in the world without a doubt, and we will win easily.

We are already significantly ahead of our time estimates. And whatever it takes, we always expected from the beginning a period of 4 to 5 weeks, but we have the ability to continue for much longer than that." March 10, Levitt's press briefing: In response to a question about the current timeline for the war, Levitt reiterated that "4 to 6 weeks" was the initial timeline to achieve all war objectives, not just dealing with the Iranian nuclear threat.

She said: "The initial timeline from the president and the U.S. military was between 4 and 6 weeks to achieve the full objectives of Operation Epic Fury, and I repeat: to destroy their missiles and manufacturing capabilities, to destroy their naval forces, to permanently and forever deprive them of nuclear weapons, and of course to weaken their evil terrorist proxies in the region." She added that the military was "significantly ahead of schedule," but it was Trump who would ultimately decide when the objectives were achieved. March 25, Levitt's briefing: Levitt referred to a time estimate of "approximately 4 to 6 weeks" for the war as a whole, reiterating that the military was ahead of schedule: "From the beginning, President Trump and the Department of Defense estimated that accomplishing this critical mission would take about 4 to 6 weeks.

And now, after 25 days, we find that the greatest army the world has ever known is ahead of schedule and performing its tasks exceptionally." March 26, Trump's remarks at a Cabinet meeting: He repeated the estimate of "4 to 6 weeks" twice while discussing the war as a whole, mentioning both times that the United States was ahead of this timeline. First, he said: "We estimated that accomplishing our mission would take about 4 to 6 weeks, and we are now significantly ahead of schedule."

If you look at what we have accomplished regarding the destruction of that country, I mean we are very advanced. Think about it: they have no navy, even though they used to have good ships; 154 ships have been sunk and are now resting peacefully at the bottom of the sea.

Secondly, he said: "We accomplished that in less than a week, because we have the greatest army in the world without a doubt, and no one comes close to our level. So, we estimated that it would take between 4 to 6 weeks to complete our mission; and now, after 26 days, we are very advanced - significantly ahead - of the set timeline.

The Iranian regime has begun to internally acknowledge that it has suffered a crushing defeat." March 30, Levitt briefing: Levitt stated to reporters: "Regarding the timeline, I reiterate that the president - as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces - and the Department of Defense (the Pentagon) have always set a period of 4 to 6 weeks as an estimated timeframe for Operation (Epic Fury)." March 31, Trump's dialogue with reporters: Speaking about the war, he said: "I think it will take two weeks, maybe; two or three weeks." When a reporter asked him if he meant that "the United States will withdraw or finish the war in two weeks," Trump replied: "I think two or three weeks, yes."

And when another reporter began a follow-up question saying: "Those three weeks, if...", Trump interrupted him saying: "We will leave." Shortly after, he said: "I had one goal: to ensure they have no nuclear weapons, and that goal has been achieved.

And I think it may take two weeks, or perhaps a few additional days to get the job done, as we want to completely eliminate everything they have." In other words, despite his reference to the Iranian nuclear threat, he clearly stated that he believes the United States will end the war within less than eight weeks of its start. April 8, Levitt briefing where he said: "From the very first moment of the launch of Operation 'Epic Fury', President Trump confirmed that it would be a military operation lasting between 4 and 6 weeks, aimed at dismantling the military threat posed by the extremist Islamic Iranian regime thanks to the amazing capabilities of American fighters, the United States achieved those core military objectives - and even exceeded them - in just 38 days."

Trump and his administration made other statements that were characterized by greater ambiguity; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was often less specific than Trump regarding the expected duration of the war. On March 2 - the day Trump mentioned "4 weeks" and then "4 to 5 weeks" - Hegseth said: "President Trump has the full freedom to talk about how long the war may take, whether it's 4 weeks, 2 weeks, or 6 weeks; the timeline may shorten or extend.",

At various times, including in March, Trump made ambiguous comments about the duration of the war; for example, he stated on March 9 that it would end "very soon" without specifying a timeframe. In a social media post during April, he began to distance himself from his previous estimates that indicated 6 weeks or less, claiming that the Democrats are the ones who "love to say that I promised to defeat Iran in 6 weeks.",

Trump may argue about whether what he provided was a "promise" or merely an "estimate," but records confirm that the phrase "6 weeks" was personally issued by him.