Posted on 02/18/2016 6:48:37 PM PST by Citizen Zed
For months, Donald Trump has claimed that he opposed the Iraq War before the invasion began -- as an example of his great judgment on foreign policy issues.
But in a 2002 interview with Howard Stern, Donald Trump said he supported an Iraq invasion.
In the interview, which took place on Sept. 11, 2002, Stern asked Trump directly if he was for invading Iraq.
"Yeah I guess so," Trump responded. "I wish the first time it was done correctly."
Trump has repeatedly claimed that he was against the Iraq War before it began, despite no evidence of him publicly stating this position. On Meet the Press, Trump said there weren't many articles about his opposition because he wasn't a politician at the time.
"Well, I did it in 2003, I said it before that," Trump said of his opposition to invading Iraq. "Don't forget, I wasn't a politician. So people didn't write everything I said. I was a businessperson. I was, as they say, world-class businessperson. I built a great company, I employed thousands of people. So I'm not a politician. But if you look at 2003, there are articles. If you look the 2004, there are articles."
Trump's comments on Stern are more in line with what he wrote in his 2000 book, The America We Deserve, where he advocated for a "principled and tough" policy toward "outlaw" states like Iraq.
"We still don't know what Iraq is up to or whether it has the material to build nuclear weapons. I'm no warmonger," Trump wrote. "But the fact is, if we decide a strike against Iraq is necessary, it is madness not to carry the mission to its conclusion. When we don't, we have the worst of all worlds: Iraq remains a threat, and now has more incentive than ever to attack us."
No, all criticism of Trump is a nothing burger.
His comment about carrying it to it's conclusion if it was started was spot-on.
"Did George Bush lie?"
"No, but it's clear that Donald Trump did."
Mic Drop.
Absolutely correct assessment. But this directly contradicts what Trump as said during the campaign regarding his position on Iraq.
Trump did not he was cautious or indifferent prior to the invasion. Trump said was vocally and publicly opposed the invasion prior to it launching. He said he was so vocal and so public the Bush administration sent people to his office to "silence" him. He has repeatedly said he stated prior to the invasion the invasion would "destabilize the Middle East."
Trump:
"I was visited by people from the White House asking me to sort of, could I be silenced because I seem to get a disproportionate amount of publicity."
"In fact, a delegation was sent to my office to see me because I was so vocal about it."
Trump is John Kerry. He was for it and then against it.
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