As Israel launches a major attack on Iran, Trump's pre-election rhetoric runs into reality
About a month before Election Day 2024 in the United States, tensions in the Middle East escalated as Iran targeted Israel with a ballistic missile attack. Asked about the developments, then-candidate Donald Trump appeared largely focused on himself, insisting that there were no similar events during his White House term — a claim that was demonstrably ridiculous.
But that's not all he said.
Referring to Iranian officials, the Republican argued, 'They have no respect for the [Biden] administration. This would have never happened if I was president.' As part of the same exchange, Trump added that the sooner he was returned to power, 'the safer the world will be.'
The rhetoric was absurd but familiar. In the four years following his 2020 defeat, Trump routinely tried to convince the public that his first term was a time of global peace, stability and tranquility — in part because so much of the world respected his awesomeness, and in part because U.S. foes feared his mightiness. It was an utterly bizarre effort to rewrite recent history, but it nevertheless became a staple of his pre-election pitch.
As MSNBC's Chris Hayes summarized via Bluesky, 'Trump's go-to line about every foreign policy crisis and war — from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, to October 7th, to the Israel's devastation of Gaza — was 'It would never have happened if I was president.''
Ahead of his second inaugural, Trump similarly told Time magazine, 'I think that the Middle East is an easier problem to handle than what's happening with Russia and Ukraine. Okay, I just want to say that up front. The Middle East is going to get solved. ... I think it's more complicated than the Russia-Ukraine, but I think it's, it's, it's easier to solve.'
As the president really ought to know, his rhetoric often has unfortunate confrontations with reality. NBC News reported that the Israeli military launched a massive attack on Iran on Friday, increasing the risk of another war in the Middle East.
The strikes, which killed senior Iranian scientists and top military officials, involved more than 200 fighter jets. They were aimed at Iran's main enrichment facility and targets associated with the country's ballistic missile program, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei swiftly vowed retaliation. Soon after the strikes, Iran launched more than 100 drones towards Israel, Israeli Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said.
The Trump administration, which has spent recent months negotiating with Iran over the future of its nuclear program, made no secret of the fact that it wanted Israel to hold off on launching such a military offensive as the diplomatic talks continued. Netanyahu appears to have ignored those calls.
With this in mind, the State Department made clear after Israel's attack that the United States was not involved in this offensive and was not providing assistance.
The next morning, the American president seemed to undermine his own administration's line with a statement published to his social media platform.
'I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal. I told them, in the strongest of words, to 'just do it,' but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn't get it done,' Trump wrote online, putting a spin on his own inability to successfully negotiate a deal. 'I told them it would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come — And they know how to use it. Certain Iranian hardliner's spoke bravely, but they didn't know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!'
The Republican suggested that Iran should continue to negotiate with the United States and 'make a deal,' in order to 'save what was once known as the Iranian Empire.' (There was never any such thing as 'the Iranian Empire.' Whether Trump was trying to refer to the Persian Empire was unclear.)
I won't pretend to know what the White House might say or do next, though Politico reports that the broader MAGA movement is largely divided between those who expect the U.S. administration to rally behind Israel and those who want the administration to steer clear of a burgeoning Middle East crisis.
As of this writing, it's unclear whether Joe Biden will tweet, 'They have no respect for the Trump administration. This would have never happened if I was president.'
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
31 minutes ago
- New York Post
Pizza shop tracker showed spike in activity near Pentagon before Israel's strikes
An X account created to track the busyness of pizza shops could have predicted a major international event. The Pentagon Pizza Report tracks the real-time foot traffic at pizza spots near the Pentagon, hinting at officials working late at the government building, which may suggest potential conflict. Hours before Israel launched 'Operation Rising Lion,' the account posted the activity of four pizza shops, captioning the post, 'Most pizza establishments near the Pentagon are currently experiencing average traffic as of about 3:05pm ET.' The strikes took place late Thursday evening as the Pentagon Pizza Report monitored pizza shops in the Arlington, Virginia, area. The account continued posting updates about the closest and second-closest Domino's to the Pentagon leading up to and following the airstrikes. A post at 8:57 p.m. reported that the location had 'surged in traffic.' 'With about an hour left before close, the 2nd closest Dominos to the Pentagon (about 8 min drive) is experiencing EXTREMELY high levels of traffic compared to a normal Thursday at about 11:00pm ET,' the account said in another post. 5 The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on March 21, 2025. REUTERS 5 The Domino's Pizza near the Pentagon was busier than usual at 11 p.m. on June 12, 2025. Pentagon Pizza Report/X The account also tracked Freddie's Beach Bar and District Pizza Palace in the area. 'With 30 min to close, this Dominos continues to experience extremely high traffic. Freddie's Beach Bar, however, has jumped back up to average levels of activity,' the account posted at 11:30 p.m. Social media users took to the comments to discuss the findings of the account. 'It's going to be an all-nighter, eh,' said an X user. Another person added, 'They should really open a secret Dominos inside the building.' 5 Israel's Iron Dome launches air defense projectiles at Iranian missiles over Tel Aviv on June 14, 2025. AP 'I feel like this really is telling us that there's a panic at these places,' commented one individual. Another person posted, 'Pizza tracker is never wrong.' 'Open-source tracking of pizza spot activity around the Pentagon (and other places),' the X account's official description reads. 'Frequent-ish updates on where the lines are long.' 5 The closest Domino's Pizza to the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. Google Maps 5 Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth answers a question during a Pentagon budget hearing on Capitol Hill on June 12, 2025. AP The Pentagon Pizza Report has over 50,000 followers with posts garnering nearly millions of views. A Friday afternoon post focusing on pizza joints near the White House updated followers that the closest Domino's is 'experiencing another LARGE surge in activity today as of around 4:10pm ET.'
San Francisco Chronicle
39 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
The Latest: Iran launches retaliatory strikes on Israel, killing at least 3 people
Iran launched retaliatory missile strikes on Israel into Saturday morning, killing at least three people and wounding dozens, after a series of blistering Israeli attacks on the heart of Iran's nuclear program and its armed forces. Israel's assault used warplanes, as well as drones smuggled into the country in advance, to assault key facilities and kill top generals and scientists. Iran's U.N. ambassador said 78 people were killed and more than 320 wounded in the attacks. Israel said the barrage was necessary before Iran got any closer to building an atomic weapon, although experts and the U.S. government have assessed that Tehran was not actively working on such a weapon before the strikes. It also threw talks between the United States and Iran over an atomic accord into disarray days before the two sides were set to meet Sunday. ___ Iran's Foreign Ministry calls nuclear talks with US 'meaningless' after Israeli strikes Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman on Saturday called further nuclear talks with the United States 'meaningless' after Israeli strikes on the country, state television said. 'The U.S. did a job that made the talks become meaningless,' Baghaei was quoted as saying. He added that Israel has passed all Iran's red lines by committing a 'criminal act' through its strikes. However, he stopped short of saying the talks were cancelled. The Mizan news agency, which is run by Iran's judiciary, quoted him as saying: 'It is still not clear what we decide about Sunday talks.' Jordan will reopen its airspace to civilian aircraft Jordan will reopen its airspace to civilian aircraft on Saturday morning, its state-run media reported, signaling the Mideast kingdom believes there is no immediate danger of further attacks. Jordan's airspace had seen Iranian drones and missiles cross through it, with Israeli fighter jets likely engaging targets there. The crossfire between Israel and Iran disrupted East-West travel through the Mideast, a key global aviation route. Woman dies in missile strike in Tel Aviv, hospital says A spokesperson for Beilinson Hospital in Tel Aviv said a woman was killed in an Iranian missile strike, bringing the total number of fatalities in the barrages from Iran to three. The hospital also treated seven people who were wounded in the strike early Saturday. Israel's Fire and Rescue Services said a projectile hit a building in the city. Israel's paramedic service says 2 people killed when missile hit central Israel Israel's paramedic service Magen David Adom says an Iranian missile struck near homes in central Israel early Saturday morning, killing two people and injuring 19 others. Israel's Fire and Rescue service said four homes were severely damaged. UN chief calls for escalation to stop, saying 'peace and diplomacy must prevail' UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Israel and Iran to halt their attacks on one another, while calling for diplomacy. 'Israeli bombardment of Iranian nuclear sites. Iranian missile strikes in Tel Aviv. Enough escalation. Time to stop. Peace and diplomacy must prevail,' Guterres wrote on X on Saturday. Iranian media reports a fire at Tehran's airport Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency is reporting a fire at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport, posting a video on X of a column of smoke and orange flames rising from what the outlet said was the airport. A handful of minor injuries reported from second wave of Iranian missiles Ichilov hospital in Tel Aviv said it has treated seven people hurt by the second Iranian barrage; six had light injuries and the seventh was moderately wounded. Iran fires a second wave of missiles at Israel Sirens and the boom of explosions, possibly from Israeli interceptors, could be heard in the sky over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv early Saturday. AP journalists in Tel Aviv could see what appeared to be at least two Iranian missiles hit the ground, but there was no immediate word of casualties. The Israeli military said another long-range Iranian missile attack was taking place and urged civilians, already rattled by the first wave of projectiles, to head to shelter. Around three dozen people were wounded by that first wave. The Iranian outlet Nour News, which has close links with the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, said a fresh wave was being launched. Iranian air defenses are firing against Israeli attacks The sound of explosions and Iranian air defense systems firing at targets was echoing across the center of the capital, Tehran, shortly after midnight on Saturday.
an hour ago
Marines temporarily detain man while guarding LA federal building
LOS ANGELES -- Shortly after they began guarding a Los Angeles federal building Friday, U.S. Marines detained a man who had walked onto the property and did not immediately hear their commands to stop. The brief detention marked the first time federal troops have detained a civilian since they were deployed to the nation's second-largest city by President Donald Trump in response to protests over the administration's immigration arrests. The Marines were activated earlier this week but began their duties Friday. The man, Marcos Leao, was later released without charges and said the Marines were just doing their jobs. A U.S. Army North spokesperson said the troops have the authority to temporarily detain people under specific circumstances. He said those detentions end when the person can be transferred to 'appropriate civilian law enforcement personnel.' Leao's detention shows how the troops' deployment is putting them closer to carrying out law enforcement actions. Already, National Guard soldiers have been providing security on raids as Trump has promised as part of his immigration crackdown. Leao, a former Army combat engineer, said he was rushing to get to a Veterans Affairs appointment when he stepped past a piece of caution tape outside the federal building. He looked up to find a Marine sprinting toward him. 'I had my headphones in, so I didn't hear them,' Leao said. 'They told me to get down on the ground. I basically complied with everything they were saying.' Leao was placed in zip ties and held for more than two hours by the Marines and members of the National Guard, he said. After Los Angeles police arrived, he was released without charges, he said. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department said they responded to a call at the scene but weren't needed, and no charges were filed. 'I didn't know it was going to be this intense here," he said later. A U.S. official told the AP that a civilian had stepped over the line. He was warned they would take him down and they did, according to the official, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter. About 200 Marines out of the 700 deployed arrived in the city Friday, joining 2,000 members of the National Guard that have been stationed outside federal buildings this week in Los Angeles. Another 2,000 Guard members were notified of deployment earlier this week. Before the unusual deployment, the Pentagon scrambled to establish rules to guide U.S. Marines who could be faced with the rare and difficult prospect of using force against citizens on American soil. The forces have been trained in de-escalation, crowd control and standing rules for the use of force, the military has said. But the use of the active-duty forces still raises difficult questions. 'I believe that this is an inevitable precursor of things yet to come when you put troops with guns right next to civilians who are doing whatever they do,' said Gary Solis, a former Marine Corps. prosecutor and military judge. He said it's an example of Trump's attempt to unravel the Posse Comitatus Act, which bars active-duty forces from conducting law enforcement.
