'What the hell?' GOP strategists baffled by Trump's 'nonsense' Iran address

President Donald's Trump prime time address on the Iran war rattled Republican strategists in battleground states.

The 79-year-old president declared Wednesday night that Operation Epic Fury was nearly complete but indicated military operations would intensify over the “next two to three weeks," but he offered conflicting objections and insisted spiking fuel prices were temporary, and GOP strategists told Politico he had not given them much to work with for their candidates.

“What the hell did he just say?” said one GOP strategist in a battleground state. “A quick recap and a path forward would’ve been helpful. Instead, it was nonsense left for Sean Hannity to articulate.”

Public opinion had shifted away from Trump's domestic agenda before his decision to launch the war, and that's cutting into GOP approval as they campaign for this year's midterm elections.

"Conversations with more than half a dozen operatives and party chairs across seven battleground states revealed their anxiety that the prolonged conflict is overshadowing the White House’s affordability message and could hurt their chances of holding onto power this November," Politico reported.

Trump continues to insist the U.S. was enjoying “the strongest economy in history” with “no inflation," which they told the news outlet sounded like President Joe Biden's assurances that sounded hollow to voters.

“Not sure people will buy the strong economy part,” said Todd Gillman, a Michigan GOP district chair. “Inflation is definitely more under control than it was under Biden, but the prices haven’t come down on a lot of things.”

Republicans told voters should be relieved that Trump talked about an exit strategy, but some criticized his lack of specifics about when the war would end or why he even decided to launch it Feb. 28.

“I think it could’ve been a little more specific or expanded on the exact threats that Iran poses to the U.S.,” said one Wisconsin-based GOP strategist. “I don’t know the extent he’s able to get into that stuff based off intelligence, but maybe he could have been a little bit more expansive there.”

The timing of the address also puzzled some GOP strategists.

“It’s something that probably should have been done at the beginning of the conflict,” said Dennis Lennox, a Michigan-based GOP strategist.