President Donald Trump played it cool — and a bit cryptic — when asked a pressing question about the Middle East on Wednesday.
A well-dressed Trump and First Lady Melania were headed to the Kennedy Center to watch “Les Misérables,” according to The New York Times.
On that trek, however, Trump was asked about a pending evacuation of nonessential personnel from American embassies in the Middle East.
The official line, per the Associated Press, is that personnel are being evacuated “due to the potential for regional unrest.”
The U.S. embassy in Baghdad is the primary one affected.
“The embassy already had been on limited staffing, and the order will not affect a large number of personnel,” the AP noted.
However, nonessential embassy staff in Bahrain and Kuwait will also be authorized to evacuate, meaning that they can leave on government expense and with government assistance.
“President Trump is committed to keeping Americans safe, both at home and abroad,” one official said, according to ABC News.
“In keeping with that commitment, we are constantly assessing the appropriate personnel posture at all our embassies,” the official added. “Based on our latest analysis, we decided to reduce our Mission in Iraq.”
If Iran is days from getting a nuclear device, should the U.S. attack to stop them?
Given the lack of details otherwise, it made sense that intrepid reporters would test their luck trying to pry more information out of a president about to go relax and enjoy a date night with the wife — and thus potentially with his guard down.
Alas, no dice for the reporters.
You can check out the entire exchange below:
Footage of the exchange: pic.twitter.com/ooaZFVS9yR
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) June 11, 2025
The reporter asked why “military personnel” are being “authorized to leave the Middle East.”
The president offered a nondescript shrug before responding.
“You’ll have to see,” Trump said. “Thank you.”
The question that’s obviously on the mind of all those concerned is simple: What’s happening, or about to happen, in the Middle East to prompt such an abrupt pullback?
Are Israel’s various conflicts about to become something much wider and deadlier? Is a “much more aggressive” Iran the impetus for this evacuation? Or is it something worse?
Without details, Americans will have to wait on an official word for more.
Nothing is coming from Washington, at least for now.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
