SacBee: California leaders react to Donald Trump’s Iran war speech. ‘Totally delusional’
By Lia Russell
California political leaders reacted with a mix of disbelief and outrage after President Donald Trump said Wednesday the U.S. had scored “decisive, overwhelming victories” in the month-old war with Iran in his first speech since the U.S. and Israel began their strikes on Feb. 28.
Trump claimed his administration had “absolutely destroyed” Iran’s defenses and “crippled” its ability to build nuclear weapons. He downplayed the economic disturbances caused by the war as temporary.
By the end of his 20-minute address, the price of oil had risen to $104 a barrel as Iran continues to block the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s gas and oil reserves flow, though Trump dismissed that, saying “America has plenty of gas. We have so much gas.”
California Democrats seized upon the economic and human impacts of the war, which has claimed the lives of at least 13 American troops and caused a fracture within the Republican Party between Make America Great Again isolationists and GOP war hawks.
“He brought America into a war the people do not want,” former Vice President Kamala Harris said in a pre-recorded video. “He has put American troops in harm’s way. Costs are rising by the day, and meanwhile he has done nothing to address the needs of the people of America.”
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla warned the consequences would be far-reaching, even if Trump successfully ended the conflict, as the military strikes have led Iran to retaliate against other Gulf States: “With his poll numbers falling to record lows, Trump is now trying to cut and run with little to show for it. He started this unauthorized war with no clear or consistent justification and the consequences of his choices won’t disappear when he walks away.”
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach, said on X: “’The strongest economy in history’ Trump said tonight. Totally delusional.” Trump said the U.S. was “on the cusp of ending Iran’s sinister threat” to the U.S. and allies like Israel, and that the military would ramp up its offenses but did not offer details: “We’re going to hit them extremely hard. Over the next two to three weeks, we’re going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong.”
He also threatened to bomb power plants if Iranian leaders did not agree to a “deal” to end the war, a potential war crime as they supply energy to non-military civilians. He called the plants “the easiest target of all, because it would not give them even a small chance of survival or rebuilding.”
“The only thing worse than taking us into another Middle East war is telling us nothing about how to end it,” said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Fremont.
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