The United States is at war. The conflict in Iran, now in its third week, is expanding, and President Trump has made it clear that he is looking for allies to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.
So when Mr. Trump announced on social media on Monday that he would hold a news conference at the White House, Iran seemed to be the subject at hand.
But the war was not the only thing on his mind.
Before he even took a single question, Mr. Trump went on a series of tangents that were notable even for a president who boasts about his oratorical “weave.” All told, his remarks were a glimpse into the priorities of a wartime commander in chief.
For about the first 10 minutes, Mr. Trump did speak about the war — reiterating calls for U.S. allies to join in the effort to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, while also saying that the United States did not actually need any help. He did not mention the 13 U.S. service members who have died since the war began.
But for the next half-hour, he veered from topic to topic: He spoke about his track record as a project manager and his coveted ballroom under construction. He detailed the private medical history of Representative Neal Dunn, Republican of Florida. He discussed the breast cancer diagnosis of his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, who had revealed it publicly less than an hour before.
In no particular order, he also insulted his predecessors, said Disney had gone “woke” and attacked the chairman of the Federal Reserve — then spoke about his excitement over the World Cup and an Ultimate Fighting Championship bout at the White House.
He also spoke about the planned makeover of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts — the original topic of the day’s appearance, before Mr. Trump said he would hold a news conference at the start.
Mr. Trump boasted about the hard-to-get “quality marble” that he had already purchased for the renovation, and the seating that he said came in “at the highest level.” And he lamented the “cheap” gold columns before he had them redone in “a very expensively painted white.”
“Gold leaf is a very, very big and expensive process — but it’s a beautiful thing — but not when you use paint,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump seemed to momentarily forget that he was confirming criticism that he had packed the Kennedy Center board with loyalists who were poised to rubber-stamp all the plans he had made. The board voted on Monday to close the building for two years for the renovation project.
“As I announced in February, after a one-year review, based on input from highly respected experts and subject to board approval today — we determined — it’s a little late for the board, because we’ve already announced it,” he said.
That was not the only renovation Mr. Trump wanted to show off.
“What I do is build, I build great stuff,” Mr. Trump told the assembled journalists, moving on to the ballroom he plans to construct in place of the East Wing, which he directed to be torn down last fall. “And what we’re going to do is, you know — right outside — in fact, if you look behind me, see the nice gold curtains.”
“If you want to look into a nice foundation and you want to see a lot of work — very deep, very, very deep for specific reasons — we have a magnificent ballroom being built,” he added.
Mr. Trump’s comments about Mr. Dunn seemed to be the most unexpected.
He raised the topic while praising Speaker Mike Johnson for getting legislation passed despite thin margins. Those margins were made even tougher, Mr. Trump said, because of Mr. Dunn’s illness.
“I mean, I think it was a terminal diagnosis,” Mr. Johnson said.
“He would be dead by June,” Mr. Trump said.
“OK, that wasn’t public,” Mr. Johnson said. “But, yeah, OK. It was grim, that’s what I was going to say.”
Mr. Trump recounted a conversation he had with Mr. Johnson, who informed him that Mr. Dunn’s illness meant Republicans might lose another reliable vote in the House by the summer.
“I said, that’s bad,” Mr. Trump recounted. “Number one, it was bad because I liked him. Number two, it was bad because I needed his vote.”
Mr. Johnson said Mr. Dunn had “a new lease on life” after the president connected him to doctors at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Mr. Trump then briefly praised Ms. Wiles as an “amazing fighter” following her diagnosis.
“The prognosis there is excellent, beyond excellent,” Mr. Trump said. “But who needs it, right? Who needs it?”
At some point, Mr. Trump decided the actual news conference could begin.
“Friends, it’s a great honor to have you here, and we’re going to do a great job with the Trump Kennedy Center. OK, yes, please,” he said.
And then he took some questions from the media.
Erica L. Green is a White House correspondent for The Times, covering President Trump and his administration.
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