President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech exposed his own lies about “obliterating” Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
Last year, after the U.S. military’s middle-of-the-night attack on the Iranian regime, the president insisted the Pentagon had completely destroyed the nation’s nuclear enrichment facilities and said it would take “years” to rebuild.
However, in his joint sitting to Congress on Tuesday night, Trump told the audience: “They’ve already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they’re working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America.”
The comments were viewed as an attempt by Trump to justify his potential involvement in yet another foreign war, despite coming to office as an “America First” president who would avoid such entanglements.
Observers likened it to the infamous claims made by George W. Bush ahead of the Iraq invasion, when he insisted that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and posed an immediate threat. After the invasion, no WMD stockpiles were found.
But as America embarks on the biggest military buildup in the Middle East since the Iraq War, the issue is particularly contentious for Republicans as they head towards the midterm elections in November.
Figures such as MAGA warrior Steve Bannon, former Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene, and libertarian-leaning Senator Thomas Massie have all spoken out about US intervention.
“Americans do not want to go to war with Iran!!!” Greene exclaimed on X last week.
“They want to be able to afford their lives and get ahead. They want to be happy and enjoy life. They want their government to put elite pedos in jail. And they voted for NO MORE FOREIGN WARS AND NO MORE REGIME CHANGE.”
Even the president’s favourite cable news network remains deeply skeptical, with Fox’s Rachel Campos-Duffy, the wife of Transport Secretary Sean Duffy, saying last week: “I think that the president needs to make a better case as to why this is in American interest to potentially go into a kinetic war.”
Last year’s Iran strike, dubbed by the Pentagon as “Operation Midnight Hammer”, involved the use of about 75 precision-guided weapons to hit Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan—the core of Iranian nuclear infrastructure.
This included the use of 30,000-pound “bunker bombs,” marking America’s first ever operational use of this weapon.
But the attack was carried out without congressional approval, prompting calls for impeachment from some Democrats. Massie and Democrat Ro Khanna are now pushing new laws that would curb Trump’s use of military force in Iran, but House Republicans—and some Democrats—are resisting.
After last year’s Iran strike, Trump bragged about its success, telling Americans: “Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace.”
But now, after making the same claim for months, the president is considering “an initial limited military strike on Iran,” in order to pressure the country to bend to his will and strike a favorable nuclear deal.
“They were warned to make no future attempts to rebuild their weapons program, in particular nuclear weapons. Yet they continue starting it all over,” he said during his speech on Tuesday night.
“We wiped it out, and they want to start all over again, and are at this moment again pursuing their sinister ambitions.”
Trump’s State of the Union speech was a chance for the president to recalibrate ahead of the midterms, at a time when polls show Americans are increasingly questioning his leadership and priorities.
But things got off to an interesting start when one of Donald Trump’s own Supreme Court appointees—Neil Gorsuch—refused to show up to the State of the Union address, days after striking down his signature economic policy.
Another dramatic moment unfolded soon after the speech began when Texas congressman Al Green was escorted out of the House chamber for holding a sign reading “Black people aren’t apes!”, an apparent reference to the racist video Trump previously posted of Barack and Michelle Obama.
The speech descended into a screaming match at one point, as the president embarked on a racist tirade over illegal immigrants and alleged fraud by Somalis.
“Liar!” screamed Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, whose state recently reeled from the fatal shooting of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti. “You kill Americans!”
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