Video: Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11) Says the “Art of the Deal” Guy Is “unable to make a deal to end his own mistake” with “Stupid” Iran War

Last night, Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11) was on MSNOW to discuss “Trump’s Catastrophic Failure” in Iran. See below for video and highlights.

“…you know, our service members have done everything asked of them. They have performed amazingly. They haven’t failed. Their leaders have failed. Secretary Hegseth, President Trump have failed. You know, Donald Trump as candidate ran and said he wasn’t going to start any more stupid foreign wars. He said he was going to end the stupid foreign wars. Here we are six months in to this stupid foreign war still talking about it. It is a complete and abject failure. And I think when the history books are written about Donald Trump, just like the history books about George W. Bush, the first thing in there will be the catastrophic war in Iraq. The first thing in Donald Trump’s history books will be this catastrophic war in Iran…

… in terms of what it was for, we should remind ourselves what Donald Trump and his administration said at the time. They said they were going to replace the regime or, you know, help the Iranian people to rise up and replace the regime. That obviously didn’t happen. and they said they were going to destroy Iran’s ballistic missile capacity. We know that hasn’t been achieved. They continue to launch missiles throughout the region and they were going to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. Well, Iran wasn’t working toward getting a nuclear weapon before this war started. What has happened is Iran now has learned that they can control the straight of Hormuz and exercise tremendous pressure and leverage. In fact, this regime in Iran has more leverage today, I think, than the regime has had since the hostage crisis in 1979. And they’re exercising that leverage as we speak. You know, Donald Trump wrote a book called Art of the Deal. If he really had any dealmaking abilities, now is the time to utilize it. It doesn’t seem to be the case. He’s unable to make a deal to end his own mistake…

…The callous words from the president and others in the administration are, you know, disrespectful to our service members and their families. Obviously, it’s not the first time President Trump has made comments and statements disrespectful to our service members and our veterans. I’m glad to know that the USS Lincoln is going to be relieved and those folks can get the the support and the sustenance that they need. But it highlights how important it is that we bring this war to an end and get the best possible deal that we can get, given the strategic blunders that have led us to this point. Our service members are paying the price and so are the American people at the gas pump and at the grocery store every single day…

…I certainly hope [the war ends by December]. If I were a betting man, I would say no. Unfortunately, I don’t see a clear path to end the war. Neither side, the regime in Iran is dug in. Donald Trump, I don’t think, is willing to concede the folly of getting into the war. So, unfortunately, I think it’s unlikely that it ends before then.”