Share and Follow
During the National Republican Congressional Committee’s annual fundraising dinner on Wednesday, former President Donald Trump shared his approach to discussing the situation in Iran. He explained that he deliberately avoids the term “war” when referring to the conflict.
Addressing the gathering of GOP lawmakers at Union Station in Washington, D.C., Trump remarked, “I steer clear of the word ‘war’ because they say it’s possibly not the best choice. Instead, I refer to it as a ‘military operation,’ which is essentially what it is. It’s a military decimation.”
Last month, the U.S. and Israel initiated strikes against Tehran. The White House has since indicated that ceasefire discussions and negotiations regarding Iran’s nuclear weapons program are ongoing, though Tehran has recently shown resistance to these efforts.
According to the Constitution, only Congress possesses the authority to declare war. While some lawmakers and Trump himself have at times labeled the military actions in Iran as a “war,” others argue that the U.S. is not technically at war.
Following the initial strikes in February, Democratic members of Congress have insisted that the president should seek approval from the legislative branch before escalating military actions in Iran.
But the Senate on Tuesday rejected the latest Democratic-led effort to try to rein in the president’s military operation, with only one Republican, Sen. Rand Paul (Ky), voting in support of the measure. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) voted with Republicans to shoot down the resolution.
The result mirrored similar votes on war powers resolutions that failed earlier this month.
The administration and Republicans argue the president does not need to get congressional approval because the Constitution says he can use his power as commander-in-chief to strike Iran.
But Democrats have said the administration has not given enough evidence to show that Iran was an “imminent” threat to the U.S. and that preemptive strikes on the country were in fact necessary.
Trump said Wednesday that “nobody has ever seen anything like we’re doing in the Middle East with Iran,” adding that “every president” should have gone into Iran to stop them from building a nuclear weapon.
“Iran would long ago have had a nuclear weapon if it weren’t for us; the entire world would be under mortal threat, and the prospects for peace in the Middle East would be absolutely shattered forever,” he said. “Forget the Middle East, we would have had a cloud over us, too.”