Posted on 02/19/2016 6:35:00 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Six days ago in South Carolina, Donald Trump blasted George W. Bush for invading Iraq, claiming that he had opposed the war all along. When pressed for specific instances of public opposition to the war, Trump insisted that he had made his feelings known to people he knew at the time, but that since he wasn’t involved in politics at the time, those conversations were never recorded for posterity. Buzzfeed’s Andrew Kaczynski managed to find one recording from the first anniversary of 9/11 in 2002, and Trump had a very different take on the Iraq war than he now claims:
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."
Kaczynski also found a passage in a book Trump wrote in 2000 in which he demanded a “principled and tough” policy applied to rogue states, including Iraq. In that passage, he alludes to the same dissatisfaction with the conclusion of the 1991 Gulf War. "But the fact is, if we decide a strike against Iraq is necessary, it is madness not to carry the mission to its conclusion,” Trump wrote. “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."
That was a common criticism of the US policy on Iraq at the time — on the Right, which wanted a conclusion that would have removed Saddam Hussein altogether. That also contradicts another Trump statement, in which he credited George H. W. Bush for his limited intervention.
This story broke while CNN conducted a townhall event with Trump as one of the participants. Anderson Cooper challenged Trump with his 2002 quotes, and Trump responded by saying he may have been for the invasion before it happened, but he opposed it afterward:
COOPER: Again, continuing. I literally was just handed this. There’s a report now out tonight on Buzzfeed that includes – I have not heard it – includes an audio clip of what appears to be you on Howard Stern talking on the radio on September 11th, 2002. He asked you are you for invading Iraq? You said yeah, I guess so. You know, I wish the first time it was done correctly. Is that accurate? Do you remember saying that?
TRUMP: No. But, I mean, I could – I could have said that. Nobody asked me – I wasn’t a politician. It was probably the first time anybody asked me that question.
COOPER: But does that…
TRUMP: But by the time the war started – that was quite a bit before the war started.
COOPER: Yeah, this was 2002.
TRUMP: By the time the war started, I was against the war. And there are articles – I mean, there are headlines in 2003, 2004 that I was totally against the war. And actually, a couple of people in your world in terms of the pundits, said, you know, there’ definite proof in 2003, 2004 Trump was against it.
COOPER: But 2004, the Reuters article, which you pointed to a lot, and there were a couple of comments you made, I think, at a Vanity Fair party and one other comment. Those were, I think, a couple of weeks after the war began.
TRUMP: Which is OK. A lot of people said – you know, it was so early that even if it was a little bit after the war, I mean, he was totally against the war. I was very much against it. That was probably the first time I was ever even asked about the war.
This is a strange answer. “I guess so” isn’t exactly passionate support, but it’s clear that Trump didn’t oppose it before the war started. By September 2002, Congress had begun debating the AUMF that would allow Bush to launch an invasion of Iraq, so it was hardly an esoteric topic at that moment, and one would think especially for New Yorkers. Trump would hardly be alone in the category of people who supported the war initially and then changed their minds later, but that’s not what Trump claimed on Saturday. He claimed that he’d always been opposed to it as a way of presenting his judgment as superior to both Jeb and George Bush. It’s not just a flip-flop, it’s a deliberate misrepresentation. At the very least, it demonstrates an appallingly facile approach to policy even when it is most consequential.
Under normal circumstances, this kind of revelation would damage a politician. These aren’t normal circumstances, however. Trump is giving vent to widespread anger and frustration over the collapse of the Iraq project, even if he’s aiming at the wrong president for that issue. September 2002 won’t be relevant to most of those voters.
We are where we are. Lets move forward and not make stupid mistakes again. Hypotheticals and early assessments are interesting over a good scotch, but what does a candidate say they will do now on todays burning issues?
This has already been dissected in previous posts of the same article subject matter.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/pb/archive/lifestyle/2003/03/25/hollywood-partyers-soldiering-on/06327347-83d3-44c4-ab7b-dcd6fbda5437/?resType=accessibility
Looking as pensive as a "Nightline" talking head, the Donald concludes, "The war's a mess," before sweeping off into the crowd.
Trump had several discussions with Sean Hannity prior to the Iraq war and from what I remember he did oppose our invasion. He felt that there was a balance between Iraq and Iran that would be tilted in Iran’s favor. I have searched for links unsuccessfully. Maybe others remember?
Therefore, let’s not make the accusation that Bush KNEW that Iraq did not have WMD’s and invaded anyway ( as you-know-who did ).
Old news.
How many times does someone need to post this stuff? Ok, we get it, he was sort of kind of I guess in support of the war in 2002, but now he claims he was against the war by the time the war began in 2003. A lot of people were forming their opinions of the war in 2002-03. Some people changed their minds later.
The truth is that we went to war under George W’s leadership in 2003 and it didn’t turn out to be anything that was promised, it cost billions of dollars, many lives, and we have nothing to show for it except more chaos than ever in the ME.
RE: Ok, we get it, he was sort of kind of I guess in support of the war in 2002
This is to counter Trump’s claim that Bush KNEW that there were no WMD’s but invaded anyway.
There was no such knowledge and even Democrats ( Hillary and John Kerry included ) who saw the intelligence reports VOTED FOR invasion.
Lol!
Let's ignore everything someone says in the past, their entire life history, and just focus on what they are "saying" today. Let's not go back even 1 or 2 years. What that person said this morning is the only thing we should focus on.
RE: Old news.
How old was Trump’s claim that Bush invaded Iraq under false pretenses, that he KNEW there were no WMD’s but invaded anyway?
I know they had WMD, just not to the extent perpetuated. Saddam admitted to interrogator he lied about the extent to throw off Iran from attacking in their weakened state.
I believe it also was revealed that Saddam himself was mislead by his corrupt underlings, who stole the money Saddam intended for WMDs.
No, I was speaking of the issue of going to war with Iraq, the rationale behind it, the opinions to support or be against it. Not all issues. I think Cruz is the smartest of the bunch but he has never ran anything. Trump has been in development for a while but has no acumen or couth on his remarks,but he is learning fast. Kasich was a governor but is boring and from the same old establishment brand.
Maybe so. Bottom line is he is dead, Iraq was turned over in relative good shape, as much as could be, Obama took over and t turned into a big pile of shiite.
That’s what Obama promised to do. Elections have consequences.
Should I listen to your excuses or my own lying ears?
Did not Donald Trump say with his own lying lips that he was always opposed to going to war in Iraq?
Didn’t he accuse GWB with his own lying lips of lying about WMD’s for the purpose of going to war?
The Trump phenomenon has all the earmarks of a religious cult.
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