Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA07) on MSNOW last night had a lot to say about Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, and the completely FUBAR war with Iran. See below for highlights and video.
- “The statement that [Secretary Hegseth] during that press conference was shameful, it was dishonorable, it was disgusting and I gave him an opportunity to take it back and he he doubled down. I mean, for him, he’s got an audience of one, he’s got to please the president. And the cavalier attitude that he and the president have displayed to American casualties and the deaths in this war and frankly the 400 or so that have been wounded is unacceptable. Those lives are permanently injured. The families, I’ve met the families, I’ve met the children that had lost parents, the parents that had lost children, and just unacceptable behavior.”
- “I mean, we have a job to do. We represent constituencies, in my case, I represent three military installations, 72 ,000 veterans…20,000 activity service members. And it is my job to ask the tough questions about how we ended up in a war without a plan. And what is our plan on getting out of this war. And the Secretary, frankly, did not have a plan. And right now this preposterous statement saying that the ceasefire is a termination of the conflict is just absolute nonsense. A cease fire is just that – cease firing. It’s a temporary pause to bombing, shooting and fighting. The president and the Secretary owe it to the American people and owe it to Congress to come with a plan on how we actually exit a conflict where the status quo before would be, frankly, a dream. You know, the Iranians control the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices have skyrocketed, the American people are paying the price for this war.”
- “[Trump’s] done that repeatedly. I mean, this is sort of the eighth conflict, twice now in Iran that we’ve been engaged in conflict. And the president has not sought congressional approval for any of these. And he’s gotten basically a blank check, a rubber stamp from the Republican-led House of Representatives and the Senate. And he doesn’t feel like he has a need, has an obligation to take this to the American people or Congress. And that is why this war is so unpopular. Two months in, obviously, the American people are paying higher gas prices…significant inflation. But I’ll tell you one of the reasons is the president never laid out the case of why we fight now in Iran and that’s showing in the approval.”
- “[Hegseth] struggled to make the case. He claimed repeatedly that, you know, imagine Iran with a nuclear weapon. Well, guess what? Iran does not have a nuclear weapon. Iran has not demonstrated a desire to get a nuclear weapon. In fact, there was a fatwa issued by the previous Ayotalloah, prohibiting a nuclear weapon. The assessments were that there’s no nuclear weapon. Now, obviously, that would be an unacceptable outcome. But it is an absolute fabrication to claim that [Iran is] on the verge of a nuclear weapon…”
