Republican, Democratic senators offer clashing views on Iran tensions
In a not-so-shocking development, Democratic lawmakers had some harsh words for President Trump's actions in Iran, while their Republican counterparts offered some hefty praise Sunday.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) questioned the White House's stance that killing Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani made the U.S. safer, arguing the fatal airstrike last week might open a "Pandora's box" and possibly expose American officials to assassination. Ultimately, he said, it's likely more Americans will be killed because of the decision.
In an interview with Fox News' Chris Wallace, Murphy's colleague Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) went beyond questioning the strategy and focused on the validity of the intelligence that reportedly prompted Trump to order the airstrike, citing the Iraq War as an example of what could happen if governments hang on faulty, or even manipulated, reports.
Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) reacts to some Democrats criticizing President Trump's action to take out Soleimani without congressional approval. Sen Van Hollen weighs in: "administrations sometimes manipulate and cherry-pick intelligence to further their political goals." #FNS pic.twitter.com/JZ6plscy4g
— FoxNewsSunday (@FoxNewsSunday) January 5, 2020
But Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) doesn't see things that way. Instead, he told CBS' Margaret Brennan he thinks Trump has routinely shown great restraint when it comes to Iran, having opted not to make a move after several other incidents. Eventually though, Rubio argued, something had to be done to protect American interests.
.@marcorubio's response to criticism over Trump's order to carry out airstrikes: "It's called self-defense", adds Soleimani's death should send a message to Iran: "Iran needs to understand that if we're attacked...we will respond." pic.twitter.com/UG1B9nQVqX
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 5, 2020
Trump's stalwart domestic supporter Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), meanwhile, was happy with how things played out, too. Graham doesn't always approve of Trump's foreign policy decisions, but he said he was "glad" Soleimani is dead and that "we finally got a president who understands Iran is the cancer of the Middle East." Tim O'Donnell