Trump’s big mouth just accidentally revealed Republican hawks are lying about Iran

President Trump appeared to debunk a month’s worth of his own administration’s propaganda efforts when he admitted to the media that in fact, he has “no indication” that the Islamic Republic of Iran is plotting some kind of attack on America or American interests in the Middle East. 

His comments fly in the face of the messaging that John Bolton, the State Department, and prominent Republicans have been promoting for weeks. The anti-Iran national security hawks have been peddling cooked intelligence and prematurely jumping to conclusions in a deliberate effort to heighten tensions and possibly trigger the conflict with Iran that National Security Advisor John Bolton has been pushing for since the 1980s.

A war with Iran would be a cataclysmic conflict that even Iraq War cheerleader and perennial warmonger Max Boot predicts would be the “mother of all quagmires;” for Bolton and the rest of the Iran hawks in Congress to be caught being so fast and loose with the truth with on a matter of such high stakes and with so many lives at stake should be an indictable offense.

On top of that, as CNN’s Chief National Security Correspondent noted, the president’s words are yet another devastating blow to the administration’s credibility and our international reputation. While assuming that the Trump team is lying about everything at all times has been the most productive way to engage with government statements over the past few years, to see this kind of pathetically amateur and shamelessly duplicitous approach to international relations from some of the most powerful men in the world is absolutely terrifying to consider.

How ironic is it that it’s Donald Trump’s own inability to self-filter that is keeping the public abreast of what’s really going on behind the scenes in Washington.

Colin Taylor

Managing Editor

Colin Taylor is the managing editor of the Washington Press. He graduated from Bennington College with a Bachelor's degree in history and political science. He now focuses on advancing the cause of social justice, equality, and universal health care in America.