Donald Trump set off a wave of confusion and laughter on Wednesday after casually telling a Fox Business anchor that his hoarse voice was the result of spending the day “screaming at Iranians.” The comment, made during a live interview, left MSNBC hosts Jen Psaki and Chris Hayes in stitches while also raising a genuinely serious question: was the president actually conducting secret diplomacy with Iran?
The moment came during an appearance on Fox Business Network’s Mornings With Maria, when host Maria Bartiromo asked Trump if all-day negotiations were to blame for his rough voice. “I’ve been screaming at Iranians all day, yes,” Trump replied.
“A little bit of laryngitis because of my scream. I’ve been screaming at the Iranians.” When Bartiromo followed up, asking if he meant Iranian leadership, Trump doubled down: “You know why? Because that’s the only thing they understand. They don’t understand being nice.”
It wasn’t the first time Trump’s voice made headlines. According to Mediaite, Trump attributed a similarly hoarse voice back in November 2025 to blowing up at foreign officials over a trade dispute, saying he “blew my stack” at people he called “stupid.” This time, however, the Iran angle gave the comment a much weightier dimension, given ongoing tensions over the Strait of Hormuz and active but fragile nuclear negotiations.
Psaki and Hayes couldn’t keep it together
During the handoff between their shows on Wednesday night, Psaki flagged the moment to Hayes, who admitted he had missed it entirely. As soon as Psaki described Trump’s “screaming at Iranians” explanation, Hayes burst out laughing. The two then laid out what they saw as the only three possible explanations.
“One is there’s direct top-level, president-level diplomacy happening over the phone,” Hayes said. “Huge news if true!” Psaki chimed in, still laughing. Hayes continued: “Number two is he’s lying, which that would be par for the course. And number three, perhaps the most intriguing, is that he’s so deluded and out of touch with reality, he thinks he’s been talking to Iranians when he hasn’t.”
Psaki summed it up with a line that captured the absurdity perfectly: “It’s happening in his mind. We don’t know. We may never know.”
She also noted she was about to ask former National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan about the claim in her next segment, underlining how seriously the comment was being taken alongside all the laughter.
Iran talks remain in murky territory
The backdrop to all this makes Trump’s offhand remark even more loaded. Negotiations between the US and Iran over nuclear enrichment have been stop-and-start. Also, Trump has framed his aggressive tone toward Iran as a deliberate strategy, arguing loud pressure is the only language Iranian leaders respond to.
Meanwhile, Trump had separately hinted to the New York Post that fresh talks could be taking place this week, pointing to possible meetings in Europe or Pakistan.
Whether Wednesday’s “screaming” was metaphorical, literal, a diplomatic slip, or pure invention, neither the White House nor any Iranian officials clarified the remark. As Hayes and Psaki noted, the world may never know.
