Utah Land Orders Set the Stage
President Trump on Monday evening signed proclamations changing the boundaries of two Utah national monuments, Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The White House said the changes would return the monuments to “appropriate sizes” and allow more “common sense land use.” In plain English, Washington is trimming back a large federal footprint, which tends to cause great distress among people who think every acre west of the Mississippi should be managed by a clipboard.
The Numbers Were Not Small
According to the White House, Grand Staircase-Escalante would be reduced from about 1.87 million acres to about 181,500 acres. Bears Ears would be reduced from about 1.36 million acres to about 121,100 acres. The administration said the specific landmarks, structures, and objects protected under the Antiquities Act would remain protected, while surrounding lands not tied to those protected features would be opened for multiple-use, sustained-yield management.
Collins Pressed Him on the Strait of Hormuz
After the signing, reporters questioned Trump, and CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked who would reimburse the United States after Trump said America was “going to get paid for guarding” the Strait of Hormuz. It was a direct question about money, military risk, and who gets the invoice when American power is used to keep a critical waterway open. Naturally, the exchange did not turn into a calm seminar on shipping lanes and reimbursement policy.
Trump Fired Back at CNN
Trump responded by accusing Collins and CNN of pushing “fake news.” He said, “You read fake news like your network, CNN,” and added that “the fake news would rather us lose the war,” calling that “really treasonous.” The remark was classic Trump: part media critique, part broadside, and part reminder that press-room diplomacy often has the shelf life of warm milk.
The Press Was Sent Out
Trump then said, “We’re doing a major attack tonight,” adding, “for 47 years, nobody’s hit them militarily. We’re hitting them very hard. Thank you very much!” After that, he ended the exchange and had the press removed from the room. So a land-use event about Utah monuments turned into a sharp clash over Iran, CNN, and U.S. military action, because in Washington, even a paperwork ceremony can become a foreign-policy fistfight before the microphones are packed away.
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