Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) used a CNN appearance to accuse President Donald Trump of reckless rhetoric on Iran, even as the administration keeps military options on the table.
According to Breitbart, Warner joined CNNs OutFront after President Trump and his Defense Secretary declined to rule out the possibility of deploying U.S. ground forces to Iran, a nation of roughly 92 million people. Host Erin Burnett pressed the Virginia Democrat, asking whether, based on his briefings, theres real planning going on about this, that this is a real thing that they are considering? American boots, American soldiers on the ground in Iran?
Warner responded that he hopes the administration is not moving toward another large-scale Middle Eastern conflict, noting that this president got elected on the basis of no more endless wars in the Middle East. He added, But I sometimes think, you know, we know the president says rash things. I dont think he thinks them through.
The senator then raised a hypothetical scenario in which Iranians respond directly to President Trumps calls for regime change. But when the president of United States calls on the Iranian people to go into the streets and take back their government, and if theres 100,000 protesters and then tens of thousands of them are killed by the Iranians because they responded to the American presidents call to action, do we owe a moral obligation? I dont know, Warner said, framing the issue as a potential U.S. responsibility.
Warner concluded with a broad swipe at the Presidents leadership style, insisting that you have to be careful with your words if youre president of the United States, and this president is never careful with his words or his threats or his boasts. His criticism reflects a familiar Democrat line of attack against President Trumps unapologetically assertive foreign policy, which many conservatives view as a necessary break from the indecision and weakness that characterized prior administrations.
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