Trump denies that Israel forced US’s hand in launching strikes against Iran | Donald Trump

Donald Trump sought to counter the simmering anti-Israel backlash in Congress and among his own Maga supporters on Tuesday by denying suggestions that he was driven to attack Iran because Israel had already decided to do so.

Amid mounting criticism from opponents and allies alike, Trump has rejected claims that he struck Iran only at Israel’s urging; That suspicion was fueled by comments from Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

When asked by reporters whether Israel had pushed him to take military action, Trump told reporters: “No. I may have pushed them.

“We were having conversations with these crazy people, and I thought they were going to strike first. They were going to strike. If we didn’t, they were going to strike first. I felt strongly about that.”

Senate Democrats reacted angrily after Rubio suggested during a visit to Capitol Hill that Saturday’s attacks were motivated by the need to prevent Iranian retaliation against US interests in response to Israeli attacks that Washington knew were coming.

Rubio’s comments, made after a briefing with CIA director John Ratcliffe and U.S. armed forces chief of staff Gen. Dan Caine, raised suspicions among some on both the left and right of the political spectrum that Israeli interests, rather than U.S. interests, determined the decision to resort to open warfare.

“We knew there would be an Israeli action,” he told reporters on Monday. “We knew that this would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we did not preemptively go after them before they launched these attacks, we would face more casualties.”

This logic has sparked outrage among Democrats as well as parts of Donald Trump’s base, who see the attack on Iran — and especially its timing — as inconsistent with his previously declared “America First” foreign policy goals.

Democrats seized on Rubio’s statement as the basis for upcoming votes on war powers resolutions brought before the Senate and House of Representatives this week to assert the constitutional principle that a president must consult Congress before waging war.

“There was no immediate threat to the United States from the Iranians. There was a threat to Israel. If we equate a threat to Israel with an imminent threat to the United States, then we are in uncharted territory,” said Mark Warner, the senior Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee.

“Are we such a weak nation that Israel now decides when to go to war?” Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, said in his Senate speech.

Even Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate and one of Israel’s staunchest supporters in Congress, has expressed doubts. He called the explanations “completely and utterly inadequate.”

“In fact, in my opinion at least, this briefing raised many more questions than it answered,” he said.

Growing concerns about Israel’s role in the White House’s decision to go to war, building on criticism following the long war in Gaza, could further alter perceptions of the country’s relations with the United States. Opinion polls show a sharp decline among Americans following an Israeli military offensive that killed nearly 70,000 Palestinians, launched in response to a bloody Hamas offensive in October 2023 that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, on the Israeli side.

Trump offered a fluent rationale for why he ordered the attack last Saturday, along with the Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s most powerful figure, religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It also sent mixed signals about whether it was willing to deploy U.S. forces in a “boots on the ground” capacity; It is almost certain that this decision will further fuel criticism within the country.

In his first statement on Saturday, in question The goal was to “defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”

But some of the president’s most prominent social media influencers jumped on Rubio’s remarks to question that reasoning.

“Rubio’s comments are a record-breaking moment” wrote Mike Cernovich is a prominent pro-Trump social media influencer. “He said what was most anticipated of the situation. [this] loudly … a major change in foreign policy. “There will be major calls to step back.”

“So he’s telling us openly that we’re at war with Iran because Israel is forcing us.” sent Matt Walsh of the right-wing Daily Wire magazine. “That’s actually the worst thing he could say.”

Steve Bannon, Trump’s former White House aide, said on the War Room podcast: “If we knew Israel was going to attack and Iran was going to retaliate against us, where was the coordination? We need a strategic statement.”

The belief that an attack on Iran is primarily in Israel’s interest has been further strengthened by comments, most recently last month, by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has visited Trump several times in recent months to pressure him to take action against Tehran’s theocracy.

“This coalition of forces allows us to do what I have desired to do for 40 years: hit the terrorist regime in the hips and buttocks.” in question Sunday. “That’s what I promised, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Conservative journalist Megyn Kelly cited the top four U.S. casualties in Iran’s retaliation for the attacks. in question In his online post: “My opinion is that no one should die for a foreign country.

“I don’t think these four soldiers died for the United States. I think they died for Iran or Israel… That seems like a lot to me, like this is clearly Israel’s war. That explains perfectly why President Trump has such a hard time explaining why we’re doing this.”