MSNBC television host Joe Scarborough said Monday on "Morning Joe" that by attacking Iran, President Donald Trump did what other presidents would have done.
The U.S. military struck three sites in Iran early Sunday, directly joining Israel's war aimed at decapitating Iran's nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran's threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict.
"The president had no good options. What would Monday look like if he hadn't have moved?" Scarbough said. "If Iran wasn't already at 60% [enrichment] and an ability to create nuclear weapons in a short matter of time, right? I'm not championing either side of this. Although I ask you, How difficult would it have been for any president to not take that shot if they knew that Iran was even being attacked by the United Nations?"
Scarborough said Presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton would have attacked Iran, as would Hillary Clinton, if she had been elected.
"Any president wouldn't have felt compelled to take that strike," Scarborough said. "[Former Secretary of State] Henry Kissinger famously said that when you're sitting in the White House and trying to make a decision on foreign policy, the possibility of war, you're never handed a good decision and a bad decision. You're handed two very difficult choices. And the president made that choice."
Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, said on "Morning Joe" that Trump inherited a battle plan from previous presidents who faced the same scenario after diplomacy was exhausted.
"His choices were debased at the moment. He had to make the decision," Ignatius said.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Sam Barron ✉
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