House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) didn’t take kindly to CNN chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju’s questions about the ongoing Iran war, now in its sixth month.
In a video Raju shared on X, the CNN reporter reminded Johnson that he had “said repeatedly that this war,” which President Donald Trump launched without congressional approval in February, “was gonna be over soon” and that rising gas prices would be only a “temporary blip.”
“It is more than six months,” Raju continued. “People are getting hurt still at the pump. Should the American people not also judge you on your projections here that were clearly off base?”
“Manu, that is one of the stupidest questions you’ve ever asked,” he said.
“Why is that stupid?” Raju asked.
“I have nothing to do with the prosecution of the war across the globe,” Johnson argued.
Raju pushed back, saying Johnson is “responsible” because “you are selling this to the American public, are you not?”
“So, should the House speaker be held responsible for the duration of a military conflict around the globe? You answer that question,” Johnson shot back.
“I mean, you called this a short-term skirmish. It is costing billions of dollars,” Raju replied.
Johnson then took someone else’s question.
On X, Raju described Johnson as “defensive about his past projections” about how long the war would last.
The exchange came as the U.S. struck more targets in Iran on Tuesday, reportedly including a home hosting a wedding.
Iran responded with strikes across the region.
Trump, meanwhile, claimed Tuesday that he “couldn’t care less” whether Iran now signs “a worthless, to them, agreement,” while boasting that the U.S. has “almost total control of the Hormuz Strait” and that Iran’s economy is “totally collapsing.”